What Subjects Should Students be Learning?
- aldendebates
- May 15, 2024
- 3 min read
This following article is a deeper dive into what subjects are best to learn, and what is most beneficial to students in their futures.
What is the point of subjects in school? The reason for them is to learn and help prepare the student, so it can be viewed as a topic of learning. One also knows that there are lots of things in life, almost infinite, that you can learn. But, for most schools, there are only nine periods a day. This allows minimal subjects to occur, and many more should be taught. Math, one of the most essential subjects, is obviously in every school’s curriculum. However, many others are just as important, if not more important, such as a subject that you will not see in many schools called emotional intelligence. This subject of emotional intelligence is basically just learning how to handle and be aware of your emotions, and no matter what profession you are in as an adult, this is used every day for anyone. At the same time, higher-level math is usually only used daily in certain professions, like engineering. Therefore, math is not the most important subject, rather I feel that emotional intelligence is more important because it prepares students for adult life and helps them better control themself.
First, emotional intelligence is more important than math because it prepares students for adult life. The text states, “The aim of education is to prepare students for adult life. So the role of schools should be thought through only after we have identified the challenges of being a grown-up” (Economist). In school, as stated in the article, the point is to prepare students for adulthood and be better people. This is the belief, but sometimes it isn’t shown, as some of the most important things in life aren’t even taught, such as emotional intelligence. As stated before, emotional intelligence is used everyday in life, and you can see it all over, from in an argument to a simple conversation. This establishes its importance, yet students are still not taught it.
Second, emotional intelligence is more important than math because it helps students better control themselves. The text states, “Students would learn techniques for reducing anxiety (in emotional intelligence classes). There would be classes on how to argue, how to persuade, and how to be persuaded” (Economist). This would also be very useful in life because if something annoys you, you have to learn to control yourself. For example, if you are at your job and you are getting mad at a coworker if you lack self-control, you would likely lash out at them or let your anger get the best of you. This could lead to you being fired, which would be a detrimental moment to your life. However, someone with great self-control, having taken self-control classes in school, would try to de-escalate the situation and not get anywhere near as mad as the person without self-control.
In conclusion, because it prepares students for adult life and helps them better control themself, emotional intelligence is more important than math. I am not trying to say that math is not an important subject, as it is, but rather saying that emotional intelligence would be much more helpful in everyday life for a much broader audience. In this case, it is not about what your favorite subject is, but what will be most useful later in life.
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