Quote:
Originally Posted by ISiddiqui
Well, personally, I am a big believer in a wide variety of subjects being taught through high school. Kids can decide what to specialize in during college, but in order to make an informed decision on that account, they need to experience everything.
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But in order to do that, then at least some colleges/universities are probably going to have to rethink their requirements for admission.
I'll pick on the Univ. System of Georgia for an example of what I'm talking about.
Starting with the (HS) Class of 2012, to be eligible for enrollment into most of the state's public universities, you must have
*4 units of College Prep English - must include American, English, and World Lit courses, integrated with grammar, usage, and adv. composition skills
*4 units of College Mathematics - must include "Math" I, II, and III (see earlier discussion for how traditional Algebra I/II/III and Geometry I/II into this model) plus a 4th year of advanced math.
*4 units of college prep Science - must include 1x Biology, 1x Physics or Physical Science, 1x Chemistry or Earth Science or Environmental Science, plus 1x additional science course
*3 units of college prep social science - must include 1x US, 1x World, and 1x other
*2 units of foreign language - must be consecutive years of the same foreign language
-- So there's 17 units that are basically proscribed, whether you want to enroll at UGA or at Valdosta State.
Now we head to the HS requirements
-- Let's be generous & assume that the student has one outside interest that's got creditable classroom time, for discussion purposes let's say they're in band. 1x each year, so that's 21 units.
-- State HS graduation requirements mandate at least 1/2 year of PE & 1/2 year of Health, so now we're at 22 units (i.e. classes)
-- The state min. units to graduate is now 23, the assumption is generally 24 units is the max available (figuring 6 classes per year gr. 9-12)
So the remaining slots available for that "wide variety of subjects" is a maximum of 2 ... unless you want to eliminate something.
edit to add: I feel like I've got to make sure it's clear that I'm not trying to give you a hard time or arguing against your position. This was just an exercise meant to illustrate how it can be easier to say what we'd like than it is to actually get it. Even with my kid in one of the highest performing private schools in the state, one of my biggest concerns is how "mile wide but inch deep" the experience can be, they end up piddling at a goodly number of things but getting insufficient depth to be of any significant value in a large percentage of those.