When you first read this title, I imagine many of you must be thinking that I am planning to discuss why certain subjects are more important than others. Whether it’s the increased emphasis on the STEM subjects and whether or not the humanities should matter as much as they once did, or the increased emphasis on fitness and wellness and whether or not other specials and electives should matter as much as physical education should, there are plenty of teachers out there who do debate these things, but that is the last thing I am interested in doing. Though I am much more of a humanities person than a STEM person and am also much more artistic than athletic, I never saw arguing for my preferences as an opportunity to argue against the preferences of others. All I cared about was making the point that every subject mattered, and that placing new emphasis on certain subjects should not mean that other subjects receive short shrift.
The idea that every subject matters does not only apply to the focus of your school’s curriculum. It also applies to how each of you should approach your studies. I will admit that it is easier said than done to make every subject matter. You probably like certain subjects more than others, and you might find that certain subjects are more challenging than others. You may also have been given the impression by teachers, parents, and/or peers that certain subjects actually are more important than others. Even if every one of these things is true, and even if that has lead you to believe that not all subjects are created equal, treating them as if they are is one of the key things you can do to improve your study skills and become more successful.
You may be wondering just how you should go about treating all your subjects equally when it seems obvious that they are not really equal at all. Yes, in the literal sense, all subjects are not created equal- some are more time-consuming than others, some are more difficult than others, and some have more bearing on the future (both your own chosen path and our changing world) than others. Treating all your subjects equally does not mean spending equal amounts of time on them. Instead, treating all your subjects equally means giving each one the time and attention it requires for you to do as well in it as you possibly can. If you focus so much on your favorite subjects that you don’t spend enough time on the ones you don’t like, or you put off completing work in electives or specials because you don’t think they are as important as your core subjects are, or you get so absorbed in your latest science project that you don’t keep up with an assigned novel in your English class, your grades will reflect the choices you make. While teachers and parents certainly expect that you will do better in some subjects than others, most of them are more than capable of knowing the difference between lower grades earned despite your best effort and lower grades earned because you didn’t care enough to make much effort at all.
While all subjects may not be created equal in the strictest sense, they are all equally a part of your life in this moment. They all matter, not just to your present grades and your future plans, but also to the development of your study skills. Take the time to figure out how to learn more in your less interesting and/or more challenging classes. You might not come to love them or ever do as well in them as you do your more preferred subjects, but that’s okay. What you do learn, whether it’s that some things are more interesting than you realized or that you’re more capable of succeeding in your more challenging classes than you would have thought possible, matters just as much, if not more, than the grades you receive. Not only does making all your subjects matter make you a better student – it makes you a better person as well.