The only downside to this is I hate that kids seem pushed to choose their passions at such a young age. I think we should be encouraging kids in H.S. to try lots of different things, to help them figure out WHERE their passion is.
Interesting, where I live in the NE most say that elementary and middle school kids should have exposure to various things so they can figure out where their passion lies. The idea is that by high school a child will know which passion/s to pursue based on past experience. I don't know if that really works in practice since my DC are not yet HS age.
In the UK, their equivalent of high school kids take their AS and A level exams in very focused subjects usually 3 - 4 subjects. So a student interested in studying a STEM major in university will take Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Math or Chemistry, Physic, Math and Further Math. They will also be expected to have pursued extra-curricular activities related to the major they have applied for for instance a future medical student should have volunteered in hospitals or similar healthcare settings. Prior to high school, UK students study a lot more than those subjects through and then sit exams (the GCSE exams) on them. This helps them to determine which subjects they like and are likely to do well in.
