Hi,
Can someone please review my issue essay?
The topic is
Schools and universities should discourage students from entering academic fields where their chances of success are low.
Issue Essay:
Students in general tend to be very indecisive when it comes to choosing a field for their career. Schools and universities exacerbate this situation by encouraging them to follow only mainstream fields instead of letting them explore and choose what works best for them. The prompt states that academic institutions should discourage students from entering fields where they might not perform well. I mostly disagree because of two reasons which I will elucidate below , however I do concede that academic people are experts in their fields and after accurate analysis, they can foresee challenges that a student might face in certain fields.
To begin with, educational institutions encourage mostly mainstream fields for students because of higher chances of success in these fields. Students do not have enough courage and time to explore a field , mostly because of the debt looming over their head. For example, an average university student has a clear goal of finding a job right after college to get financial stability and clear off any student loan that the person might have. Had the person been given some time to explore other fields such as music, athletics and given enough encouragement and financial support, he or she might have excelled at it. Consider Marie Curie as an example, who was encouraged by her teachers to pursue science after seeing her dedication and commitment. All it takes is a small act of encouragement and support, knowing that there is someone who believes in you leads to exceptional results as was seen when Marie Curie discovered radium and polonium.
Secondly, this also helps in building self-confidence in the child at an early age when the student is vulnerable to absorbing ideas like a sponge. Discouraging students tends to kill their motivation to study and explore and it also takes away their creativity. For example, if a parent or teacher does not support the decisions of a child, the child loses confidence and tends to remain equivocal for even trivial decisions. Most of the time teachers are frightened of the repercussions that a wrong decision might have on a child’s career but we need to remember that no decision is right or wrong, it’s the actions that make it a success or failure. Even Edison could invent a light bulb only after failing for over a hundred times, but it was his persistence and his will to make his decision right that led to success.
Admittedly, I do concede that some intervention and analysis on the logic of judgement of a student is required by teachers and parents. Instead of discouraging the student, he or she can be explained the dangers of pursuing core fields but even if the student is adamant then the teacher should respect his or her passion. To conclude, I would argue that educational institutions should not discourage students but should rather provide encouragement because of the two points as detailed above. But I do admit that without considering the logical consequences, it is foolhardy of the student to relentlessly pursue anything that might interest him or her.