Day in and day out we learn things in high school that are in one ear and out the other. Everyone here walking these halls constantly stresses about classes and tests that we will never hear of again. They are all simply a means to an end. Many of us don't know what we don't know until we realize that we should know whatever it is we don't know (yes that was simply to confuse you).
Here's a list of things we should really learn how to do before we're chucked out into the "Adult World."
1. Taxes
Majority of Americans don't even know how taxes work, how much should they be paying, why they pay taxes, and more specifically, how you even pay them. Why don't we learn this in high school before many of us will need to pay taxes for real?
2. Managing money
Besides needing to know about taxes, we also need to know how to not go bankrupt. If we learned how to balance the books and get some more knowledge about money, who knows how many people would not be living in financial hell?
3. Sewing
You lose a button, don't throw the shirt out. WE NEED TO FIX THE BUTTONS.
4. Interviews
How to dress, act, handshakes, thank-yous, answering questions... the whole package. Many may want to learn by experience, but that doesn't mean you can't be prepared for the ordeal.
5. Mental health
There is too much stigma around mental health, but we have to know to confront such dilemmas. We should learn signs of mental illness along with what we can do. 450 million people around the world struggle with mental illness. The least we can do is try to help where we can.
6. Dealing with your car (buying, selling, maintenance)
How to get a car, how to get a new one while selling your old one, and how to take care of one once you have one. All things we should really know about cars.
7. Family planning
We've all heard how to use a condom, but we should also be taught what to do when we actually want to have kids.
8. Dealing with procrastination
EVERYONE deals with procrastination. It's a sickness. If only we learned some tips to combat it, huh?
9. Registering to vote
Millions aren't registered simply because they don't know how or are unaware of their rights. Pretty simple if we just a quick powerpoint on that instead of one over the War of 1812 again.
10. Informed voting
Not only is it enough to register to vote, but we should learn how to be effective. We only have one vote, we need to learn how to find a representative that will speak for us and not just for their pockets.
11. Resumes
Employers look at resumes maybe 6 to 7 seconds at a time, and many of them are littered with errors. We should have at least some kind of lesson to help us create our own, and fix our mistakes.
12. Current events
Nowadays we hear about current events by taglines on Twitter and Facebook, but we need to have open discussions with our peers in order to help students broaden their perspectives, and learn how to have a conversation about politics without going for each other's throats.
13. Basic first aid
CPR, cleaning wounds, safety precautions. All of these merely spoken about in 5 minutes and tossed aside. These are things that can save lives, so why aren't we talking about them at least a little more?
14. Figuring out your major
Seniors every year apply to colleges with some random major because their parents want them to or with some idea that they'll make a lot of money. Truth is sometimes, that major doesn't work for you and we need to be taught how to look for options and find something we can really be passionate about.
15. Cooking
I don't know about y'all, but I'd rather cook something rather than having to go out and buy some very unhealthy fast food. Taste great every once in awhile, but if you want to save money and stay healthy, learning how to cook can really help.
16. Finding a job
Many people find themselves stuck in a job they hate and/or they may be over qualified. We need to learn how to actively seek jobs more suited to our skills and never settle for something we hate.
18. Handling failure
We're human beings which means we are inherently flawed. We will fail every once in awhile and it'd be good to learn how to be productive with it rather than go crazy because of it.
19. Learning more languages
Majority of the world speaks multiple languages, and no, that one class in Spanish isn't going to help you very much.
20. Learning Excel
You go into college and you don't know excel, good luck. At least that's what my teacher that taught me Excel would say.
21. Ironing
You don't want to look terrible going into work or interviews or dances or dates or whatever. Wrinkles SUCK.
22. Studying
Everyone learns differently, so why don't we learn a variety of techniques to study besides just reading a textbook?
23. Taking notes
A lot of high school for me was handouts and sparse note taking. I highly doubt just doing that will prepare me for the vigorous note taking in college.
24. Working with your goals
Too many of my peers constantly say they want to do something and never stick to it. As simple as it seems, we need to be taught how to effectively execute goals.
25. Fruits and veggies
If you're going to be cooking you need to know how to buy good, fresh fruits and vegetables. You know, make sure you don't get sick from your own food.
26. Recycling
There's dozens of things that we toss out every day that can be repurposed. If we could learn how to find and use them we would be able to save money and help the environment too. What a deal!
27. Being yourself
I'm sure all of us have realized we tend to become the people we surround ourselves with, but we need to remember to be true to ourselves. Be who you want to be. It's a valuable lesson too many people don't learn until late in their life. In a place like high school, it'd be nice to be reminded it's okay to be me.