After a grueling 12-13 years of school you come out the other side with a brain full of math equations and limited life skills. Unfortunately the periodic table offers little to no help when it comes to submitting your tax return, developing healthy relationships or understanding equality. As society progresses, adulthood becomes increasingly more complex and dealing with aspects of the real world can be difficult.
So does our education system need an overhaul? Quite possibly. Plain and simply, students are graduating from school without any idea how to survive on their own, and binge watching Game of Thrones isn’t a substitute. Whilst a majority of the system has its place, there needs to be extra classes within the curriculum in order to boost students’ understandings of adulthood.
Furthermore, industries have changed as a direct result of technological developments. The jobs of the future are no longer lawyers or doctors, they are data analysis/presentation, mobile development, fintech etc, all of which have grown exponentially over the last decade. This poses the question: would it benefit an O level student to learn about World War 2, or simple baseline coding. The latter being almost vital to their future as technology pushes forward. The application of coding stretch far beyond creating apps as it can be used to create websites, possibly helping to promote their own businesses.
Below are three different life skills which should have their own class in the educational system.
Relationships
Relationships are a large part of adulthood. Not only at home, but also in the workplace. Creating a healthy relationships with co-workers comes from a base understanding of communication – how do you deal with conflict, handle personal emotions, determine boundaries between individuals etc?
Learning about these values will help strengthen bonds between family, friends, partners and future co-workers. Relevant to both the workplace and home, discussions about sexual values and love also play a large part in shaping a student’s mindframe on future relationships. By educating students on what is right and wrong and creating avenues to prompt discussions, the education system could help the fight against family violence and domestic abuse.
Logic And Reasoning
This may seem like a strange subject to be teaching at school, but when you think about it, a majority of the learning you do is rote based. You are taught to memorise the questions/answers, and then disregard them as you move onto the next topic. A large portion of us will never have to revisit the chemical formula for ammonia…(NH3) but it’s in our brain anyway.
Logical thinking and reasoning focus on problem solving techniques, which are used almost every day in the workplace. It teaches students to determine all the possible outcomes of a situation before jumping to the black and white conclusion. Without the ability to think logically, we may begin to make decisions which will negatively affect our lives.
A shining example sits as the world’s most powerful man. The illogical frame of thought would be, Trump’s businesses make money, the American government needs money, so Trump must be a good president.
Personal Finance
This is by far the most common topic people believe should be taught at school. Learning how to effectively manage your money is key to a student’s future, both personally and for business. A student who is taught how to effectively save his pocket money can then take this information forward when working with budgets and managing money for a future business.
Simple financial teachings such as the different types of interest rates and which one would best suit your situation could help to decrease the increasing debt that many young families find themselves in. Personal finance has an abundance of applications, and should be the first thing added to educational curriculum.
