I feel that students should be given the autonomy to develop their own curriculum as being granted this autonomy is beneficial to a student’s growth. A curriculum is the regular or a particular course of study in a school. Students being able to develop their own curriculum would essentially mean the students get to decide what and when they study certain subjects and learn different skills. Now, how would being granted this autonomy be beneficial to a student’s growth?
Firstly, it would help students become more independent. A student has to plan and develop his own curriculum to his advantage. For example, if he is weak in a particular subject like maybe Mathematics. He or she can arrange more periods or lessons for this particular subject, resulting in more time spent on that subject, hopefully leading to an increase in marks in Mathematics. Every individual is different, just like how every snowflake is different. Everyone has their own weaknesses. Therefore, there is no recommended timetable which would benefit everyone. Thus, a student has to decide for himself what he is lacking in and what he requires more practise in. As such, a student cannot depend on the school to form a curriculum for him, but he himself must put in the effort and develop his own curriculum, as a result encouraging independence.
Other than this, it enables a student to pursue their own interests from a younger age. A student may be very interested in the arts. However, the curriculum that the school has may focus more on Math and Science, with less focus on the arts. The student thus cannot pursue his interest and have to sit for Math and Science lessons which may be unappealing and uninteresting to him. Being able to develop one’s own curriculum would enable one to choose to spend more time on certain subjects. A student inclined towards the arts would choose more artistic subjects like music to study. Allowing this from a younger age would mean a head start compared to others. A student with the goal of becoming a Scientist can choose to specialise in Science from a young age. Due to this, he would have more exposure to Science when he turns 20 compared to other people. This head start would clearly distinguish the two, one being more experienced compared to the other.
Finally, being granted this autonomy would encourage self-discipline. A student would face the temptation of choosing more relaxed subjects like maybe Music and Art. These students would thus have a more slack school life compared to other students, which may appeal to some. However, a student must overcome this temptation in order to succeed academically. This requires self-discipline. Students thus must exercise self-discipline when developing their own curriculum. Through the development of their own curriculum, the students are likely to become more self-disciplined, which is beneficial to their adult life.
On the other hand, some may argue that not every student is has as much self-discipline and not every student is matured enough to manage such a task. This is true. These students should then be deprived of this privilege, as granting them this privilege would have negative effects such as poor academic results which may in turn affect their future on way or another.
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