Let's face it, we all feel like we were taught something useless during our high school careers. Most of us will never use logarithms, have to dissect a frog (still scarred for life), or need to analyze an entire Shakespeare play ever again. However, there are plenty of things we all wish we would've been taught in high school because the real world is kind of scary.
1. Taxes
The majority of college students have to work to put themselves through school. We all have to pay taxes. What are taxes, exactly? When do I pay them, and how the heck do I fill out a W-4? This is definitely a subject that should've been taught during Economics, but never was.
2. Loans
Ah, the apparent key to paying for college. How do I take out a loan without having to sell my soul to pay it off? How much should I take out, and where is the best place to take a loan from? Yet again, our Economics teachers have failed us.
3. Credit Cards
Okay, the current Economics curriculum needs to be wiped and replaced with useful things. College students all too often seem to be guilty of overestimating the amount of credit we have accumulated. How do we pay off our credit? When is a good time to get a credit card? What do we do if we have royally screwed ourselves because we eat at Chick-fil-A like twice a day?
4. Interview skills
What do I wear? What do I say? What if they ask me about my biggest weakness? It’s high school’s job to prepare us for the real world, right?
5. Social Media Skills
Okay, social media is like 90% of every college student's personal life. It has also developed into a means of communication and interviewing for potential hires. Your friends can see everything you post, as can your employers. So, if you have a page full of late nights out on the town with a cold one in your hand while being underage, don't be surprised if you aren't offered the job. Also, if you do get a job, you now represent that company. Anything you post is a reflection of them. Nowadays, companies have guidelines of what you can and cannot post on your personal pages.
6. Stress Management
It is inevitable for college students to become stressed out; we need to be educated on how to deal with this stress properly. Stress can cause mental and physical sicknesses. Just let that sink in: stress can make you sick, which can cause you to stress even more. Great, right?
7. Voting
Voting is SO important. You have a say in your county and your country; take advantage of this.
8. Self-defense
This one is obvious because everyone needs to be able to take care of themselves. What happens when you’re out downtown one night and someone tries to steal your wallet or worse?
9. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle
Sure, we took PE, but what did we really do in there? Walk around aimlessly until that hour ended? Sounds productive. Students need to be taught the importance of working out at least 4 days a week and eating healthier. Then maybe America wouldn’t have the largest percentage of obese people.
10. The Importance of Travel
We are all so stuck in our ways. If we traveled a little more or at least attempted to understand other cultures and histories like we do our own, maybe our world would be a little more peaceful. Plus, who wants to constantly be around the same people and lifestyles all the time, anyway?
While we were spending our days daydreaming out windows, secretly texting under our desks and being bored to tears, there were useful things we were not being taught. Step up your game, high school.
