Students urged to challenge themselves with school subject choices
Students should be prepared to pick subjects they find challenging — because life is a challenge — and the skills they develop to cope will serve them longterm, says career mentor Michelle Gibbings.
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School students suffering through subjects with gritted teeth should take comfort that they are developing key employability skills in resilience, determination and flexibility.
Career mentor Michelle Gibbings advises students to choose a well-rounded mix of subjects, even if it means studying subjects that they do not particularly enjoy.
“Sometimes, as children, you don’t know what you’re good at until you give it a go,’’ says Gibbings, the founder of Change Meridian and author of Career Leap: How to Reinvent and Liberate Your Career.
“Go broad (with your school subject selection).
“Let’s get some subjects that are fun and interesting but let’s also do some subjects that are challenging — because life is a challenge.
“Persevering with the more difficult subjects develops all those soft skills like adaptability and flexibility.
“It prepares (students) for a future that’s uncertain and gets them comfortable with change and gets them comfortable with the idea of continual learning.’’
Gibbings believes the current obsession with studying STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) at the expense of humanities-based subjects is misguided because many technological tasks will eventually be undertaken by robots.
She also urges students to consider taking subjects such as philosophy “because it helps them to understand how others think and … with critical thinking and problem solving — the skills that are needed in our careers’’.
Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, careers counsellor Monica Magann advises most students to stay broad with their subject selection but warns it does not suit everyone.
“You have to be really careful about just randomly choosing subjects when your heart is not in it,’’ Magann says. “Play to your strengths.
“You don’t want to get to Week 8 of first term and be hating a subject you have to continue with for the rest of the year.’’
Magann says maths and English are essential for anyone wanting to eventually run their own business and always suggests students study subjects at the highest level they are capable of.
Jason Coleman, 19, knows the benefits of choosing a range of subjects, having last year enrolled in a medical degree but this year changing his career path and choosing to study law instead.
Coleman, who undertook maths, English and biology in Year 12, as well as accounting and design, says choosing a breadth of subjects enabled him to keep his tertiary options open.
“I’m a well-rounded person, I’m interested in a lot of things and I like to feed my curiosity,’’ he says.
Originally published as Students urged to challenge themselves with school subject choices
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