Upon graduating high school, you are quickly thrown into that scary thing we've been trying to avoid for so long. Real life.
As soon as you move that tassel from the right to the left, BAM, you're an adult that is expected to be independent and have five times as much responsibility as you've ever had. During your adolescent life, when your brain is still developing, a majority of your time is spent in school. This is when you are most impressionable and need to be taught things that you can utilize for the rest of your life.
The reality is that at least 50 percent of what we are taught in school will be useless during the rest of our life. I absolutely believe that education is important, and everyone should have a proper education including math, science, history, reading and writing. However, a lot of class time is spent learning specialized areas of subjects. Not all of us are going to be environmental scientists or engineers. Here are some practical things that we're all going to experience and won't be properly prepared for.
1. I can't write a résumé, but I can tell you what areas of your tongue are receptive to certain tastes.
2. I can't appropriately cope with stress, but I can use the Pythagorean theorem.
3. I can't file my taxes, but I can write a haiku about the tree outside the classroom window.
4. I can't tell you my basic rights when confronted by a police officer, but I can sing you a song to remember the formula to factor quadratic equations.
5. I can't take out a loan that won't land me in massive debt, but I can tell you the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.
6. I can't change a tire, but I can play hot crossed buns on the recorder. (Has anyone ever seen a recorder outside of an elementary school?)
7. I can't properly defend myself if I am ever attacked, but I can tell you that the official name for the birdie in badminton is shuttlecock.
8. I can't budget my money properly, but I can write in cursive. (They tell you that you'll use it in college. Nope. You'll never use it beyond 5th grade.)
9. I can't respectfully tell someone they are wrong, but I can tell you the chemical formula for salt is NaCl.
10. I can't figure out my own insurance plans, but I can name the first 10 presidents in order.
11. I can't appropriately present myself and be prepared for a job interview, but I can tell you that copper produces a blue flame, calcium makes orange, and sodium is yellow.
12. I can't balance a checkbook, but I can tell you the difference between a cumulus cloud and a stratus cloud.
Disclaimer: I realize that some of the things that I consider useless in my life can be useful to others. Except the recorder. The recorder is useless to everyone.
