Are We Prepared For Life After School?
Bring back home economics but let the boys in the class too! Of course, math and science are important school subjects, but we tend to neglect basic life skills that are essential to a larger spectrum of people. Instead of mandatory calculus classes, students should be forced to take subjects like cooking and finance to prepare them for life independently. If we were all taught these practical skills at a younger age, we’d be set up for success as soon as we leave the classroom for the real world.
1. Cooking
Basic cooking skills are essential when you leave home and your parents don’t cook your meals for you anymore. Home Economics was once a subject in school for girls but it shouldn’t have been taken out of the curriculum and it should be mandatory for everyone. The better you are at cooking, the more nutritious meals you’ll be able to make yourself, and the greater knowledge you’ll gain about nutrition and cooking methods.
2. Navigational Skills
Navigation may be touched upon in geography class but kids need to learn how to read a map. Nowadays, we rely on our devices way too much to get us around. Problems arise when our technology fails us or we travel somewhere remote and out of service. We should know how to read a map, follow directions, and understand a compass.
3. Finances & Budgeting
Understanding the banking system and how finances work in the real world is very important knowledge yet it’s not a main subject in school. Learning how to budget is a crucial skill that a lot of adults aren’t good at. If we were taught about finances at a young age we could carry that knowledge with us after we graduate and start our adult lives off on a better foot.
4. Household Chores
If you’re not taught by your parents, chances are you don’t really know how to clean your house properly once you set off on your own. Household chores and basic knowledge of cleaning product safety should be taught in high school. From laundry to dishwashing, cleaning is a practical life skill that we use every day.
5. Environment Care
Environment care is incredibly important yet it’s not enforced enough in the classroom. If there was a mandatory class at school about environmental studies, the Earth might be a cleaner place. Kids need to understand the importance of waste management and how to reduce their environmental footprints. If we understand what pollution is and how we create it, maybe more people would leave school caring more about the planet.
6. Business Skills
If we don’t choose to take a business class in high school or post-secondary, we don’t learn much about it. Business skills are crucial skills to have for success in the corporate world. If kids were taught how to run a business, they could take those skills into action in any career, whether they want to run their own business or not.
7. Sewing
Sewing is another skill that was once taught to girls in the good old days. It seems old-school but sewing is a skill that would give kids more understanding and appreciation of how clothes are made. It’s also a beneficial skill to have to stitch rips yourself and sew things from scratch without buying everything from a store. It’s a skill that could lead to less fashion waste and less cheaply made clothes from fast fashion industries.
8. Car Mechanics
The majority of people drive cars these days but not all of us truly understand how they work. Knowing what goes on under the hood is the knowledge that should be taught to everyone not just aspiring mechanics. If we learn about how to fix issues and change tires, more drivers would be safer on the road and know how to handle accidents better.
9. Self Care
Self care should be a school subject from kindergarten to college graduation. The healthier habits kids develop at a young age the easier it is to continue them as we grow older. Self care isn’t a topic talked enough about in school even though it’s very important in life. Students should learn about stress management tactics, mindfulness practices, and the importance of exercise. Health and gym classes should practice these skills in greater depth.
10. Nature Knowledge
If more people were educated about nature from the roots up, the more appreciation and respect people would have for the trees and animals. Students could be influenced to reduce mass deforestation or help endangered species. Learning about nature in greater depth leads us to understand life and the planet better.
11. Gardening & Agriculture
Unless you grew up on a farm, chances are you don’t know much about where your food comes from. We should all be taught about agriculture in school to have a better understanding of how to grow and care for food and pay more respect to the industry. Gardening is a skill that we can benefit from greatly and learn about composting and living off the land.
12. Hospitality
Whether you end up in the industry or not, hospitality skills are beneficial for the real world. It teaches you how to communicate with others and solve problems. You’d learn to be more than a stellar host, you’d also learn leadership, management, and etiquette skills.
13. Herbalism
Hogwarts isn’t real so the closest we can get to witchcraft is a herbalism class. Herbalism is a practical subject for a healthy lifestyle. Understanding how to use plants and herbs to heal us and fuel us is important knowledge many people don’t know much about. Students should be taught what plants do for us medicinally and how we can use them topically and orally.
14. Interview Preparation
School is supposed to set us up for careers for it seems obvious that interview prep is an essential part of success. But that’s not the case in many high schools–– there isn’t a school subject about interviews and resume writing. If we were taught how to nail an interview at a young age, we’d have a knack for it by the time we’re ready for a grownup job.
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15. Understanding Taxes
We should learn everything there is to know about taxes. A lot of us load off our paperwork to the accountants during tax season but we’d be better off understanding what they’re doing. We can learn why taxes exist and how they get put to use and carry that knowledge with us when it’s time to start contributing to them. How to file taxes properly and beneficially for you is a helpful life skill to have.
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16. How To Be Credit Card Smart
Why is there an astronomical amount of credit card debt? Maybe if there was a subject in school about credit cards, fewer people would use them carelessly. Most people will have a credit card before they graduate from high school and if they don’t understand how they work, they might run into financial trouble early on and never be able to dig themselves out.
17. Self-Defense
Unfortunately, you’ll encounter violence in and out of school. Why is self-defense not taught to everyone when we’re young? If kids learn how to defend themselves they’ll be safer when they’re on their own. We don’t all need to achieve a black belt but basic defense skills would help protect us.
18. First Aid
First aid seems like the most crucial life skill yet a lot of us aren’t taught enough about it. Unless we enter a workforce that requires it, first aid isn’t broad knowledge. Everyone should be taught what to do in a crisis such as when someone is choking or how to care for burned skin.
19. Empathy
To put yourself in someone else’s shoes is more important than we think. Empathy may be easier to obtain if we’re taught how we can understand and take on the perspectives of others. Only more love can come out of learning about how to be an empathic person, and that should be a life lesson we all need to learn.
20. Time Management
Time management is an essential skill to use in all aspects of life. If we could all learn how to prioritize our time effectively, we would be more productive at school, at work, and in our daily lives. Since time management skills would benefit students the most, it should be a focus in the school curriculum.
