Rationale: A student will not really begin to make any real progress in their life until they make their OWN decision on which way to go.

Students typically start off in general education and as they progress though the system they (1) drift towards, or (2) passively get pushed towards, or (3) actively focus on an objective. At some point, a decision is made to move towards either sciences or arts. This decision is often based on how well they do in a certain subject, a positive experience with a certain teacher, or best of all, on figuring out what they want to do and just getting on with it.

(1) DRIFTERS: They move ahead simply by avoiding what they dislike. They have no idea what lies ahead and progress made is based on avoidance. At worst, there is no objective and no direction.

(2) PASSIVES: They are pushed by a combination of parents, teachers, peers, and trends. They need to discover 'decision' and map out an objective.

(3) FOCUSED: These students stand out. Some will have natural talent for something. Some will have good self-study skills. Some just work hard, even if it is difficult. Some will have a good sense of future direction and will be motivated to do what is required to get there despite lacking abilities in certain areas.

A primary aim of Education Excellence is to create focused students. These are the people that will make the most contribution to society as adults. Knowledge remains important, but in today's information society, the keen mind can find whatever it needs at the click of a button and thus schools have lost their monopoly.

Life is not always easy and we cannot always just do what we want to do.

All students need to gain a certain level of literacy and numeracy and it may be that those who hate one or both aspects will just have to persevere. Students MUST 'learn to read' to enable them to 'read to learn' in all their classes. The better they read, the better they will write - all takes structured practice. Students MUST become 'numerate' early on to fully understand the numbers presented to them in other classes. The good teacher will find a way to make it all interesting and worthwhile. These essential skills are simply to improve their ability to learn and therefore their confidence across all their subjects. Further, those who can persevere and succeed in doing what they may not like will fare well in future life. There will be General Literacy and General Numeracy for everyday affairs, and a higher level of University Literacy and University Numeracy that satisfies requirements for tertiary study.

If a student is not up to par in English, they cut themselves off from a large range of future academic or job opportunities. Likewise for maths. Many believe they can get ahead by developing a skill, such as say in plumbing or building. This is possible, but lacking in English and maths will slow or limit their development, especially in terms of later running their own business. Worse, they will be forever destined to be a dependent employee, without even knowing why.

As adults:

Those who can fully understand what they read will fare better in apprenticeships or other tertiary, education; they will also understand the ramifications contained in future documents related to business, medical, and legal matters etc.

Those who can effectively put down reasoned thought on paper are more likely to get what they want. One of the best methods to stimulate reason and structured speaking is through structured writing.

Those who can speak effectively are more likely to be heard. Those who can write well will be better speakers as they will make the necessary preparations.

Those who can manipulate numbers to their advantage will make sensible decisions and are far are more likely to be financially successful.