Have you ever wondered why we learn certain subjects at school, rather than different life skills that we see everyone use? I have noticed a lot lately, either from my friend’s experiences or my own, that the things we are learning don’t seem relevant to what we are told life will be like. We are learning important life skills: Teamwork, independence, time management, etc. However, we also need to learn how to manage money, get a job, manage stress, and more. We need to learn even more about what is essential to our future.
I would like to point out that I think every class we are currently learning is important and effective, but not to the extent we could be. We could be learning/preparing life skills that we will use in our lives as much as possible, so there is no question about the impact of what we learn at school.
According to studyfinds.org, researchers have found that the average educated American forgets about 40% of what they learned, and uses only 37% of the knowledge and skills they learned in school. Being a student myself, knowing this does not motivate me to learn something if I am not even sure I will use it later.
When I asked Brecken Harris (10) how she feels about this, she said, “It makes me feel uneasy because I feel like I should know more.” She is not alone in this, as Brandon Schlutz (10) said, “That’s not a great percentage, one hundred is the goal. It’s something we have to work toward.” I completely agree with both students. However, Mr. Singh says, “Yes they may not remember the actual concept that is learned in high school, however, they still build important skills to help them in life going forward.” So, even if what we are learning may not seem applicable to our future, the skills that we gain on the way are just as important.
Another way that missing important skills brings is the amount of job switching that occurs. “Job hopping” has become increasingly more common, with approximately 61% of U.S. workers considering leaving their jobs at the beginning of 2023 (cnbc.com). Whether those numbers are from unhappiness in a field or not even knowing what they want to do, that percentage is undeniably high.
According to Apollo Technical, it is estimated that most people will have approximately twelve jobs during their lives. Twelve jobs! There are lists upon lists of reasons why people switch jobs, however, I believe that an important factor is the number of life skills we miss out on early in our lives.
When it comes to filing taxes, if we never learn how to do it in high school, many people would find themselves self-teaching or learning from unreliable sources. This is again faulty, for people who have no way of teaching themselves whatsoever.
One of the biggest reasons why schools do not hold classes for taxes is because of the number of variables when filing them. People file taxes differently, so it may seem useless to try to summarize this into lessons. I do see where that comes from, but I think I would personally at least want to know the foundations of taxes and how to file them, even if it is not exactly how I will do them.
When I asked Vanora Kirkpatrick (10) if a class on taxes, buying and renting, finance, etc would be beneficial, she said “It would help with life after school.” Brecken Harris (10) also says that “there are a lot of people who don’t know how to handle money, so it’s definitely beneficial.” Ms. Gollegly seems to agree, saying, “Yes. I think anything that actually prepares you [is helpful]. Like the same thing, you’re not going to remember most of it, but the little pieces can help.” I think that the small parts could definitely help students feel more prepared for the future, regardless of the class we acquire them from.
In terms of money and stress management, it varies from person to person, depending on many factors. However, I feel like a class that gives us practice on both of those factors of our lives (whether that is real-life examples or just tips for managing those) would be beneficial for students.
With all of this information, I feel that yes, we do learn things that will benefit our lives, just not to the extent that we should. This leaves me to wonder if we should accept or put effort into making a change. Should we be okay learning and remembering the amount we currently are? Should we accept missing out on such important lessons for our lives? I don’t think we should.
