There are over 15 million students enrolled in public or private high schools in the United States right now.

These are students who, just like myself, go to science class, English class, history class, and math class. I wonder how many of those students will remember what they learn. 

What will they remember when they graduate?

Will they remember the hours of free education that they receive and the endless opportunities for knowledge? Or will they remember having an education shoved down their throats as they struggle through an endless school day, learning things they never wanted to learn in the first place? 

America’s students—especially those in Coffee County—are required to pursue further education in subjects that they were never interested in. 

A student’s academic and career interests do not determine their education. Their education is determined by what state governments decide is the correct course of learning for a child.

What a dramatic loss of interest students will feel in education. What a harmful connotation education will gain in the eyes of our children. What a loss of advancement our society will see as our fellow citizens lose their passion for learning. 

Have we thought of what we will do when the scholars and the researchers and the philosophers all disappear at once because they never got to pursue what they loved to learn? 

What good will it do to cultivate a student’s love of a subject while teaching them further hate of another? 

Of course, students should learn the foundations of math, English, writing, history, and science, but as students reach more complicated forms of these subjects, it will become more clear to each individual what they are truly interested in pursuing.

So why are we making students with clear passions for certain subjects weep as they prepare for a test that covers material they will have no use for in their future careers?

After these stringent regulations begin to set the standards higher and higher, they shame students for not excelling in these areas, adding an unnecessary weight to the already labor-weary backs of America’s youth. 

A society where we removed this weight, allowing students to put a greater focus on their passions, would undoubtedly create a world where unbridled research could be put into every aspect of life on Earth.

If all of the millions of people in America had been taught to keep researching and improving whatever field they were in, our society would have a zeal for progress so strong that no turmoil could ever quench the fire of America’s love for learning.

The decline of interest in education has come about so gradually that hardly anyone has noticed just how much disdain has developed in the hearts of America’s youth. 

Education is no longer a way to stimulate the mind and become more familiar with the world. 

It is a routine that must be followed. It is the fear of revealing weaknesses. It is a distrust for those who could help us most. 

We are forced to learn what we have no interest in, so we have no interest in learning what we like.