This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As a current high school student, I think it is safe to say that our school and education system are not on par with other countries because we aren't learning useful skills.
Many high school students, including myself, have no idea how to pay taxes or what a mortgage is, but, never fear, our school will teach quadratic equations.
By high school, and for some even by middle school age, kids have an idea for what field of work they would like to go into. So instead of going over classes for next year and what is required, why don't we change the system so the kids take classes useful to their future jobs.
For example would you teach a future writer about mitochondria or a future biochemist about poetry? No. If they want to take those classes as an elective just for fun, great, but the requirements shouldn't be the same for everyone.
I know it is very hard to make it perfect for every student, but it really would make our country and the world that much better.
Sam Fenwick
Salt Lake City