We come to school for one thing: schoolwork. For the last so many years we show up every day, attend our classes, take our tests, and move on to the next level. But rarely do we as students consider where our studies are taking us into the future and whether our current system is truly serving our needs. It is imperative that students reevaluate their approach to their education and learning in terms of priorities.

        Serving as a chemistry tutor for the past two years, and I have had the eye-opening opportunity to observe students and how they learn. I have learned how some students look at school and some of that mindset is a fallacy. One concern that has been seen, is that Chemistry students often attend tutoring sessions after a test, rather than before a test when they would actually benefit from looking forward and preparing. This results in students being unable to gain help and assistance for the chapters moving forward, since they are focused on their grades on the last test. students then try to argue for points, which teachers rarely give back. Students need to look beyond their grades and instead focus on the learning. Chemistry is a subject of concepts and theory. To think on simply the grades one receives is to ignore all that the field has to offer.

        Another problem that I have seen is around the humanities on campus; It is no secret that the majority of the school is focused on the sciences and mathematics. This leaves students questioning the validity of the humanities programs such as history and literature. Accordingly,  students in the humanities may feel boxed out from the science field. It is important to understand that subjects we take in school are applicable to many different fields.

        Having studied international relations and politics, I have found over the years that the best way to analyze history and foreign policy is by using the scientific method. This is but one way to find a more interdisciplinary approach to high school studies. By taking individual historical events and treating follow up events as experiments, one can perform strong historical analysis to predict future events based on potential consequences. In a similar way, students of science can benefit from elevated writing and critical thinking skills to create laboratory write-ups that are clear and concise. The skills learned in writing classes improve the communication ability of students across all disciplines. In the current job market many positions require employees to write reports and give presentations, skills that are growing more valuable as time goes on.

        It is imperative that as students, we not only complete our schoolwork but also consider where it is taking us for the future. Classes that students should not decide to take classes based on the AP/Honors label or the potential grade they will earn, but rather from the various skills they can learn from each class.