“What did you learn about at school today?” A question parents inquire when their children arrive home from their diligent, tiresome days at school. Brains on override, students frown at the thought of discussing the mathematical equation or scientific theory they spent previous hours figuring out. They respond with, “I don’t know” and the conversation dissolves.

Although math and science are both essential subjects in the educational world, do they really mold students into better human beings? Do they go home and ponder the idea of mitosis? I know I don’t.

High schoolers can easily exist in a bubble. When students finally complete their homework,  sink into the cushions of their sofa and turn on the TV to relax, the news is not what they typically favor watching. It’s easy for teenagers to be entirely unaware of worldly issues.

Luckily, classes such as history and English tend to hold discussions about things bigger than what may appear on the test. These types of intellectual debates force students to realize there are bigger issues out there and as a result, create self-evaluation.

After reading “East of Eden” and discussing the many themes throughout the novel, I learned one should not allow what others expect of them to influence who they become. Discussing it in class forced me to think of it on a deeper level and inspired me to be my own person and care less about others opinions of me.

Students remember school days when they were encouraged to reflect on who they are as an individual,  not the day where they learned the quadratic formula. Debates that affect high schoolers and connect to them, are the ones they will come home to their families and say, “guess what my class talked about today?”

Teenagers may seem like they only care about the latest trends or what Miley Cyrus is up to, but they actually do find worldly things significant. Examinations of these topics should be discussed in every class because they give education a bigger purpose. School should not only teach the required information, but shape students into all around better people.

If math and science teachers jumped on board with the english and history teachers and occasionally took a short break from material to discuss the bigger picture, schooling as a whole would improve. There is more to life than memorizing the periodic table of elements.

These discussions held in English and history classes improve students desire to learn and attend school, and they better the future leaders of the world. If only other subjects could relate worldly events to their lessons, students could leave their biology or statistics classrooms new and better people.