Persuasive Essay Example: Should Students Have A Greater Say In What They Learn?

Have you ever been in class and thought to yourself,  “When will I ever use this again?” According to a survey in 2019,  the average American only uses 37% of what they learn in school.  As a student myself, I find that I do better in class when I learn things that pursue me and I discover beneficial to me. Instead of learning about something that you’ll never use again, students should be able to choose the classes that will assist them in their career choice and learn about stuff that interests them. I believe that students should have a greater say in what they learn.

An attention span is how long someone can concentrate before getting distracted. A typical student’s attention span is about ten to fifteen minutes long. “It's not our attention span that causes us to zone out when we're bored; it's our interest span. We don't lose focus when we care about what we're watching, or reading, or listening to.” Anne Bogel claimed 

(Interest span vs attention span, 2017) Humans tend to unknowingly increase their attention span when they are focused on something they are interested in and care about. When a student is interested, they become curious, wanting to learn more.  As stated by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, “Interest is a powerful motivational process that energizes learning, guides academic and career trajectories, and is essential to academic success.”(Judith M. Harackiewicz, Jessi L. Smith, & Stacy J. Priniski, 2016) This statement shows that interest can heavily impact a student’s learning ability and if they don’t find a subject useful or entertaining they won’t be able to effectively learn. This is due to short attention spans. All things considered, allowing students to decide on what benefits them the most will give them a sense of motivation and the ability to succeed in their passion.

Students will begin to engage in activities regularly. As I mentioned before, students will become more curious when they are learning something they are looking forward to. In the report of the student engagement survey, student choice is listed as one of the most engaging techniques(Heather Wolpert-Gawron, 2018). The student engagement survey is a survey that examines the participation of students during classes. This indicates that students are prone to engage in learning activities when they are given a choice. “Research has demonstrated that engaging students in the learning process increase their attention and focus.” The University of Washington affirmed. Student involvement is essential to constructively learning. A middle school teacher, Heather Wolpert-Gawron, expresses, “Want to know how to engage students, enthuse them, and bring out their best effort? Want ways to differentiate organically? Give them a voice in their decisions. In a society that barely listens to each other, listen to our students.”  A Superintendent of the Mineola School District, Michael Nagler, also explains, “Students, like adults, tend to be more motivated to complete a task – and perform better on it – when they choose to engage in the task themselves, rather than having the task chosen for them.”  These two school staff both believe that students engage more and bring out their best effort when they can decide for themselves. Involvement is important for people trying to successfully learn. If we were to give students the choice to say what they want to do, they will become more involved and motivated to learn.

Not only will student choice increase their performance in school, but it will also simply make school enjoyable! Students will be able to be in classes with other people that share the same interests. This will most likely spark conversation in the classroom. Besides being conversation starters, students will also be willing to go to class knowing that they are going to learn information that will help them later in life. More than 20% of high school students are absent from school in the United States(Department of Education, 2015). Choosing what you want to learn will increase involvement and empowerment(Selena Kiser, Ed.D, 2020), making students willing to go to class to learn more out of curiosity.  This will possibly increase the attendance rate. However, just because a person goes to class doesn’t mean you're going to learn. Many graduates claim that 84% of what they learn they forget or don’t use on an everyday basis(CBS Philly, 2019). When having fun in class, students usually remember information learned.  The American English website noted, “Having fun while learning also helps students retain information better because the process is enjoyable and memorable.” Being able to choose what excites you the most when learning will lead to a more enjoyable and memorable learning experience. Like Blake Boles specified, “Real learning thrives when students have real choices.” Learning what you want to learn will easily make school to one’s liking.

Many people know that sometimes, or a majority of the time, younger students don’t usually make the right decisions. Some may argue that if we give them a choice of what they want to learn, some may choose subjects or classes that are useless to them and are easy to pass. A solution to this problem is guardians should have to approve of their child's choice, making sure they are making the right decisions. Another way this problem could be solved is by giving them a choice when they get to high school. High schoolers are regularly more mature than grades below such as middle school or elementary school.  “It may surprise you to learn that, from elementary school through high school, kids are generally capable of making decisions that are about as good as the decisions we’d make for them. And the more we give them the ability to make their own decisions, the better they’ll be at it as they grow.”(William Stixrud, Ph.D. and Ned Johnson, 2018) For children or teens to learn to make the right decisions, they need to make decisions because choices come with consequences. Many American students sense that they have no control over their life or destiny. According to Health e-University, Having a fair amount of control keeps a human balanced. When not having a sense of control over your life can accelerate anxiety or depression. Depression in teenagers has grown 37% after 2005(William Stixrud, Ph.D. and Ned Johnson, 2018). Humans learn from mistakes, but they can’t make mistakes if they don’t have a decision to make. Parents should encourage their children to make responsible decisions, but still, give them the responsibility of decision making. 

To conclude, students having a greater say in what they learn will have many benefits, such as increasing motivation and attention, engaging in more in-class activities, and just making learning enjoyable. “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”-Quote Dr. Suess. Making decisions is a huge part of life and develops a person who they want to become.