Editorial: Students need time to choose majors

For those of you who still have not declared a major during your
time at UCLA, here’s a scary thought: In Florida, state law
might soon force students to declare a major ““ in their
freshmen year of high school.

The state known for its oranges, elderly people and Joakim Noah
could soon become the first to mandate that all high school
freshmen declare a major and minor. A bill to that effect recently
passed the Florida House by an 85-35 vote and is on its way to the
Senate.

Supporters of the bill ““ among them Gov. Jeb Bush ““
say it will make students focus more on their interests, making
them less likely to drop out of high school and perhaps more likely
to start thinking about college. But while the intentions here are
good, the approach is flawed.

People aren’t defined by their majors. This is especially
true in modern society, when the average person changes careers
nine times, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Rather than
forcing high school students to arbitrarily categorize themselves,
perhaps Florida ““ and all other states, for that matter
““ would be better served by addressing problems at the
classroom level, like teacher curriculums and class size.

College students are already expected to know what career they
want as soon as they graduate, and high school students have to
know their college majors before they leave the 12th grade. Now
middle-schoolers will face a similar pressure. What’s next,
majoring in ABCs while still in kindergarten?