High school does not teach students real life skills
January 29, 2018
Ever since we were little kids, many students couldn’t wait to grow up. From a young age, some of us knew what we wanted to do and many of us just wanted to get out into the “real world”. Now that we are in high school, growing up seems scary. We know how to measure density and how to write an essay in MLA format, which is all great, but when it comes to trying to balance my checkbook or do taxes, that is out of most students learning range.
Classes such as CADD, business classes and publications courses are all great classes for preparing students for a specific career, however FHS does not offer classes that prepare students for the things that will come as a surprise to many young adults, such as doing taxes and paying bills.
According to a survey released in 2012, 86 percent of 16 to 18 year olds would like to learn about money management in the classroom so that they can avoid financial mistakes when it comes to having to do them for real. While it is understandable that many people believe that these things should be taught by a parent or guardian of the teen rather than the school, the reality that these things are actually taught by a parent is pretty slim. While it is the hope that parents would teach their children these things, that reality is not always true.
With schedules changing for the 2018-2019 school year, it may be more difficult to add in a class that would teach such things like balancing a checkbook, doing taxes, or even paying bills. Perhaps these life skills could be incorporated into a math class or even Economy. An entire elective is not necessarily needed for a student to learn these, however if during one class, the first 10 to 15 minutes was spent teaching those life skills, it would benefit many students.
The opinion that high school prepares us for the real world, is true in a sense that it prepares us for a career, however it doesn’t prepare us for knowing how to do real life skills. Many students believe that high schools should be incorporating these skills into their teaching to help better students and prepare them for the “real world”.
Raphaela Lee • Jun 30, 2020 at 12:29 PM
SCHOOL HAS TAUGHT US NOTHING! No matter how good the teacher, we will never be prepared for the real world. When in a day to day basis as an adult am I going to need the events of the civil war and the specific names of each battle in order? NEVER! The whole concept of school has turned into a series of memorizing, reciting, and then forgetting. Never once have I seen a job interview where they asked for the person to solve for the slope of xy. People have forgotten that school is about learning, not passing. Most of us students are not prepared for the real world in the least. I know how to write a five paragraph essay in forty minutes, but I don’t know how to file for taxes, buy a house, and I have no clue what a credit score is. People are saying that our parents and people out of school are supposed to teach us about real life, but isn’t the idea of school to help us become successful? To prepare us for real obstacles? Schools need to realize this.
Harshita • Jun 10, 2019 at 7:22 AM
I want 10 reasons that schools shouldn’t teach life skills in schools. It should be outside the schools.