by Akua Hinds

Created on: July 20, 2011

High school is designed to prepare students for their future careers, and the courses that high school students take can have a huge impact on their chances of getting accepted in to the post-secondary institutions of their choice.  Certain subjects should be mandatory while others should be strictly optional.  Society and job demands are constantly evolving and secondary schools need to offer courses that will prepare students for the future.  The following courses listed should be mandatory for all high school students:

English

In order to compete in a competitive job market, proper reading and writing skills are a must.  High schools in countries like St. Lucia, Barbados, Canada, England, The United States, Australia and many others where English is the official language, should make it mandatory that all students study English in each grade level until graduation.  The ability to write and speak well will help open doors for everyone who is looking for a job, applying to colleges and universities, or wants to improve their opportunities in life. 

Mathematics and Sciences

Not everyone has a desire or a need to learn advanced trigonometry or physics, but high school students should be taught basic science skills, especially human biology, so they understand how their own bodies function.  Calculus is not a necessary math subject to learn if you want to be able to figure out the tip percentage on a restaurant bill, but business math will be helpful to students who need to understand how mortgages and annuities are calculated for when they own their own homes in the future. 

History and government studies

Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it.  We all live in a country and people who have never immigrated to another country usually do not know too much about the history of their own birth country.  People who immigrate to another country to live in must study about the country and take citizenship tests to become legal and official citizens.  People who are born in the country they grew up in never had to take tests about their country’s history, and sadly, many people have very little knowledge about their homeland.  High schools should make it mandatory that every student attending must learn about their country’s history, government structure and world history so that students have a better understanding of their citizenship rights and how other countries operate

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