You're a Freshman, Pick a Major Please

This year's freshman class in Florida high schools will have to not only get used to being at the bottom of the social heap after leaving middle school, but they'll have to declare a major.

It can be anything from gardening to world domination, it seems, but declare a major they must, according to this Miami Herald story. The new law, which kicked in this fall, is to combat Florida's tepid graduation rate of 66.7 percent, which places that state 43rd among all states.

Washington's rate is about 74 percent, according to the OSPI Web site.

The idea behind the new Florida law is to engage high school students with topics that interest them from the get go-from math to music- in the hopes they will stay in school through their senior year.

Oh, and with a nod to the fickleness of a 14-year-old, they can change their majors every year. Good practice for college.