Making Decisions
Students depend greatly on their teachers and professors for new information and knowledge. It is through them that students learn and develop skills. Students trust their mentors, as well as the school, regarding their academic life.
Because students spend most of their time in school, their teachers and instructors become their second parents. They provide guidance and work hard so that the students become the best that they can be. However, there are times when the school and faculty members tend to take their work too seriously and hold on to their students too tight. They believe that students are not capable of making their own decisions because of they consider these students too young or the fact that they are not mature enough yet.
The problem with this idea is that the students will never get the chance to do things for themselves. As early as teenage years, they should learn how to be independent and make decisions on their own even if it just as small as where to eat or who to hang out with. Making decisions on their own gives them the chance to know themselves better, as to their limitations and strengths. It provides them the experience they need to deal with life. With these experiences, students are able make better decisions, thus, making them better individuals. In addition, being able to make a decision for one’s self is considered a big thing for high school students. It tells them that they are ready for bigger things in life and that their opinions matter though they are still young.
If students are unable to practice and apply what they have learned from school in real life and if they are not allowed to make decisions on their own, the knowledge that they acquire from school and their teachers would become insignificant. A lot of schools and institutions indicate that their mission is to provide the students the proper knowledge in order to prepare them for the real world. However, this “mission” will not be fulfilled if students only depend on their teachers and professors. If they get used to this kind of situation, they will never learn how to cope with the difficulties that they may encounter by the time they leave the school and start their lives in other universities and colleges, wherein students are left to do things on their own. They will have a hard time adjusting to the demands of their professors and would be left confused without any idea how and where to proceed.
Some adults can become quite uncomfortable with the thought of leaving the decision making to people as young as high school students. Because high school students or teenagers tend to do things compulsively without thinking things first, adults can not be blamed for having second thoughts giving them the power to make decisions. Still, this is the only way to measure how much they have learned in school and how they apply what they have learned to their everyday lives.
There have been many occasions in history when young people have made bad decisions and caused more trouble than what they asked for. This is why schools need to prepare and give opportunities to students for them to make their own decisions. With the knowledge that they have acquired and the guidance from adults around them, especially their teachers, it is probable that they will make decisions that are matured enough and will benefit them greatly.
