Opinions are divided on whether students at a young age should learn every subject at school, while others believe that it is better for children to only study the subjects they are talented at or are interested in. This is indeed a strong case to be made for both sides of the debate, which will be discussed now.
On the one hand, it is understandable why supporters of the former school of thought say that children should only learn things they find interesting. Indeed, studying all subjects at school gives children life skills that are required for their future because pupils need to have a basic understanding and life awareness about some situations. This can be seen in the way primary and secondary schools in Vietnam teach students all subjects when they go to school such as biology and chemistry. As a result, students can have a well-rounded understanding and awareness of some situations like house burning or solar eclipses. However, a strong counter-argument would be that not every child needs to have a deep knowledge about all subjects, so forcing them to study these can be overwhelming with a heavy workload at school. As a result, they will also have knowledge in every subject on a base level and can pay attention to more domains that they want to focus on. A good example for this is high schools in Vietnam, where students would choose subjects that they are good at to study, thus enabling them to feel free to learn and diversify into things they are interested in.
On the other hand, students’ immersion into what they are good at might boost their self- confidence given they have been a master at a particular subject. Therefore, children should not learn all the things but to dive into what they find interesting, enabling them to explore more about their talent and succeed in the future. My uncle, who was not into literature when learning in high school, still succeeded and won a scholarship for studying abroad in his 20s. As a result, he is now a professor at University Of Economics Ho Chi Minh City with many high-level degrees.
In conclusion, the stronger argument is in favor of allowing students to learn things they like, with all the advantages of freedom and self-discovery in their learning journey.