After two years of college, I started realizing that college is not all about education, but mostly learning how it is to be an independent adult. All the math equations I memorized in high school were of no help when I went to job interviews, but the communications class and job seminar (I voluntarily went to) were. While in college, I started using less and less of what I learned in school while discovering more and more skills that are vital to my success which were never even offered in high school. There are several things in life that we had to learn by ourselves that I believe should have been taught in high school. Instead of trying to find the infamous X and SOHCAHTOA, high school should have taught us basic life skills that everyone is supposed to know. Below is at least 9 of the the things I believe should have been taught;

1. Dating

Dating is one of those things in 2016 that are not the same as they were a few years ago. People are constantly and extensively “talking” and fear titles (boyfriend and girlfriend) because they fear what that (commitment) comes with, which is loyalty. “Talking” seems to be a code word for “I like the person but I’m not sure yet.” Dating however is a crucial aspect of our lives and we should not spend time with someone if they are not 110% “with it.” Dating, especially now that we are older is very valuable, for this is the first step in falling in love, getting married, and starting a family. It is, therefore, important to choose the right person to date and if they are not “wife” or “husband” material, we should not try and change them to fit this description but rather find someone who is. It is important to know what to look for and what to avoid in a partner, and most importantly how to be a good partner yourself. Another vital thing in life that we were never taught is self love. It is not selfish to love ourselves. It clears us so that we can love ourselves enough to love other people. I constantly tell my friends that if you love yourself the heartbreak won't hurt as much, because after a breakup the only person you will have is yourself. Learning conflict resolution in relationships is also important. If we were taught how to properly resolve these issues, it could potentially lessen the chances of domestic violence. Taking it even further, being taught about consent can be tied into learning about health relationships.

2. Communication

Sure, we all might have taken an English class in high school, but all those essays do not really teach us the most important thing we will need in nearly every aspect of our life. Our generation has sadly been called the dumb generation, due to communicating overwhelmingly via the internet which does not require actually speaking to anyone, such as iMessage, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and so on. By constantly relying and preferring social media as our means of communication we are further distancing ourselves from reality. We might think checking Snapchat or Facebook to see what others are up to is making us more social, but what it does is make us socially isolated. When we have conversations with people face to face we start learning from their experiences and mistakes, knowing how to connect with others, being empathetic, when to speak and when to listen, is of great value in the workplace and in our interpersonal relationships. To learn the art of conversation is to actually do it, with peers and other various and diverse people.

3. Cooking

My personal favorite! Knowing how to cook and how to handle household duties is something seen as women's job in society. Surprisingly, I have come across more men that cook than women, and girls usually find it attractive when a guy knows how to chef it up. Nevertheless, cooking is essential to life and very beneficial to eating healthy, and therefore being healthy. A lot of college students often complain on how bad the dining hall food is and often eat out which leads to them spending more money. Cooking at home generally saves money over eating at restaurants. I know Culinary school exists, however, the basics of cooking, food preparation, safety and hygiene, should be taught to all students as a basic curriculum. When we all know how to cook by the time we reach college, we will avoid eating unhealthy foods and we can save a lot of money by cooking for ourselves.

4. Finding A Job

The main reason we go to school for 12+ years is for us to make a living. The goal of education is to prepare us to engage the workforce and become self sufficient, productive, contributing members of society. As such, finding a job is crucial to anyone that attends school, of course, for the sake of supporting ourselves and our family. Imagine how many benefits and ahead of life we would be if we were taught how to successfully go about finding a job, applying for a job, building a resume and cover letter, the interview process, and understanding and negotiating how much we get paid. Unfortunately, only in college have I attended mock interviews, in which students go through a simulated interview process, learn what is beneficial and what to expect in a particular interview.

5. The Law

Officer am I under arrest? Am I free to go? These are two basic questions you can ask any officer that stops you for no reason or asks for your identification. If they say you are not under arrest, then ask them if you are free to go and if you are not being detained you have the right to leave without answering any questions. With over 2.2 million people in prison, it is important for us to not be taken advantage of in America's broken criminal justice system. Ignorance of the law will not keep a lawbreaker out of the criminal justice system if the law has been demonstrated to have been broken in the judicial system. Most of us generally have a knowledge of what laws there are that have any impact on our day-to-day lives, and we're consistently told to not do drugs. But what are the consequences? What about other crimes? Students should be taught the laws that might have an effect on their lives, aside from drugs. For example, is trespassing a misdemeanor or a felony? Can smoking weed land me in jail? Could decorating a friend’s car be considered destruction of property? Can someone be arrested for not paying a debt, such as a credit card? Is jaywalking actually a thing? What rights does someone have if they have just been arrested? There is nothing wrong, whatsoever, in making sure we know our rights and we know what is legally right and wrong. It is important citizens to know and practice your rights when appropriate, and enjoy the freedoms that the U.S. has to offer.

6. Taxes

Learning what taxes are, what type of taxes we pay and also how to pay for them is very important because everyone will eventually pay taxes, especially if you are in the U.S. Well, since we were never taught this in school here are the basic things you need to know about taxes.

In the United States, we have governments at the local, state and federal levels. All the government workers including the president, senators, judges, police officers and many others receive a salary and the money these government workers receive comes from our taxes. There are several different taxes and for different reasons. When you have a job you pay what is called an an income tax. Depending on how much money you make, a certain percentage of the money you make is withheld. That percentage is than sent to the government where they use the money for various reasons. If you wanna see the top 10 things they use your income for, click here. The second type of tax that we pay is called a sales tax. A sales tax is when you buy things at a store and pay a percentage of the cost of the item charged by the store. Some items may have the sales tax already included in the price and some you pay after the original price. If you own property, you also pay property taxes on the value of your property. Property taxes are paid annually by anyone who owns a home or a commercial property. The property taxes that you pay are used for a number of things inside your community. Any municipal employees, such as police, firefighters, and the local public works department are paid through your property taxes. Your property taxes help pay for the park or any other recreation areas that are constructed and maintained within your community. Traffic and street lights, sidewalks, public school and public transportation are all paid for through local property tax percentages that your local government collects each year. One other important thing they never taught us was how to file our taxes. For more information about that, please click here.

7. Sport

Every year, thousands of teenagers move to the United States from all over the world, for all kinds of reasons. They observe everything in their new country with fresh eyes, including basic features of American life that most of us never stop to consider. Coming from South Africa, there were several different sport teams and levels in high school; The A team, B team, and even C team. The reason for this it to give everyone an opportunity to play at whatever level they perform at and also give them the chance to improve to the A team. High school should encourage and even make it a requirement for students to participate in at least one sport. In addition, they should offer a variety of sports giving students the opportunity to participate in major leagues, including leagues that are deemed international, like rugby and cricket.

8. The Government

This is sometimes taught in U.S. history, but is not emphasized or rarely given its own class. Learning about the government and its functions is really important for any person that lives in the United States. Starting from the Bill of Rights, all the way to how congress can affect us and how all these broad rights actually apply to us in our day to day practice. It is also important and also beneficial to be involved in politics, from the federal to the local levels, and be aware of who the politicians are, such as the senators representing your state and the mayor of your city. Also, bills that either do or do not pass congress, or that are put to a vote, have an affect on us as citizens. A lot of us always want change in our community and that change can start by us writing our local elected officials or starting a petition.

9. Car Maintenance

According to www.photos.state.gov, 95 % of American households own a car, and 85% of Americans get to work by car. Guess how many Americans households use algebra in order to get to work? I bet none. Knowing the basic maintenance of a car like how to change the oil and oil filter instead of lettings someone do it for us can save us a ton of time and money. Maintaining proper air pressure in the tires helps gas mileage to go farther, and knowing how to change a tire can be the difference between waiting on the road or doing it yourself, but instead of learning all this we spent 4 years of high school trying to find X. Repairs and maintenance are certain to happen for anyone who drives a vehicle for any reasonable length of time, and as such it would be helpful if these skills were taught to students, given that quite literally almost everyone will encounter such issues. Also, knowing the rules of the road and getting everyone ready for a permit test by the time they graduate would be so helpful and beneficial for students.

These are just a few very important matters of life that students should be taught in school. Yes, learning chemistry and calculus is important, but if it's not crucial to what we choose to pursue in the future, why teach it now if it can wait until college? Hopefully, one day, schools will take some of these skills into consideration to help improve the futures of young people. I plan on becoming a teacher one day and I plan on teaching my students, at minimum, their own rights and more in the last 10 minutes of class. I urge anyone that will be a teacher to do the same.