Many people have many ideas about what education should be like. Just look at Common Core. Yet it is almost universally agreed that the current education system is not the best.

Judging purely by Internet rants, this seems to be the case for one particular reason: students feel that they aren't learning any "applicable" life skills from their core classes (English, math, science, and social studies). So, I'm here to make the case for these classes in addition to why everyone should be required to take a class on psychology and economics.

First, the question of core classes. While some of them may not seem important for certain career paths, there is a subtler reason why these classes are taken. These classes, no matter how mundane they may seem, build up your ability to think critically and analyze situations from different perspectives. And while not all colleges require this, some of the more highly selective schools require you to take the highest level of calculus available at your school, no matter your major. Why is that? Because the classes prove your ability to work with higher level thinking and develop your critical thinking skills for any situation, not just that pesky trig sub you can't seem to solve. Anyway, even if you didn't develop these skills in these classes, at least you've mastered the skill of prioritizing according to your own values, efficiently putting in the least amount of effort needed to provide content that would pass a quality control, and the in's and out's of researching in this age of information over-saturation (even if it was just the first link you clicked on when you googled your question).

Another reason why these core classes are required is because they do indeed seem to be the core of a majority of careers. Math is needed in virtually every field from cashier to astrophysicist (and even if your job doesn't require complicated maths, probability, percentages, and the sort are always needed to calculate the inescapable truth of taxes... and shopping!)

Science, while a bit more benign, simply gives a reason behind many "common sense" facts, like why certain metals rust while others don't (hint: it's because of the activation series).

English will be needed no matter where you work, and is by far the most versatile subject yet. Have to reply to your manager's email? Proper grammar would go a long way in impressing them and giving the impression that you're sophisticated and capable. Feel a burning to school that internet troll? It's English class that will teach you how to properly argue your point without making it seem like you're saying my way is better than yours 'cause it's my way. The other reason why English is so important is tied to why social studies is so important.

Culture. While evolutionarily and based purely on scientific classifications, humans, or Homo sapiens, are animals. Many would vehemently oppose this, saying that we are more civilized than that, that we aren't savages who rely on our base instincts to make decisions. And this would be part of the reason why English and social studies are so necessary in school. Because a culture that does not teach its young about their history will inevitably stagnate. Plus, how are you supposed to understand all those old school references in movies and pop culture if you haven't read the books referenced? How are you supposed to understand the heartbreak of Gatsby, the tragedies of Shakespeare, the innocence of Holden Caulfield without having read their stories? By reading the novels you do in English class, you get an understanding of what attributes our society valued in the past, and what they will continue to value in the present and the future.

History, on the other hand, is our society's way of teaching us morals: this was wrong, so they fought a war over it. These people wanted something and this is how they achieved it. It teaches us our roots and how far our civilization has come and how far it has yet to go. Social studies, by far, is one of the most important classes not because you need to know that some archduke died and caused a world war, but because you need to know how this war (and all the past events) have shaped our present society to be what it is. Why is race so much of an issue in America? Why is a symbol of good fortune hated by polite society? Why do people fight so hard for equality and religious freedom?

Now, with all that justification for currently required courses, I would like to propose and petition, or suggest at the very least, that two additional classes become required courses, the first being psychology. While psychology categorizes itself as a science, I think that it's often mistaken classification of being a subject in social studies isn't entirely incorrect. Psychology teaches the way you think, the way others think, and the fallacies and advantages of these thinking styles. It teaches you persuasion techniques; it teaches you parenting techniques and expectations. It teaches you about your health and how stress and various other circumstances impact your health. It teaches you about yourself and the world, your function to the world, why certain things are the way they are, and how to rationalize the fact that not everyone shares your same beliefs. Psychology is basically a study of how to survive real life outside of the structured lifestyle we are provided at school.

The second class I hope will eventually be a required class is actually already a graduation requirement in twenty of the fifty states, so not quite half way there, but also not an entirely unknown concept. An economics type course which will give students a crash course on personal finances, insurance, consumer rights, etc. is a class that absolutely includes almost every topic young adults complain about not learning in high school. It prepares the students to live in the "real world," not just in theory but in all the practical aspects that they are sure to face once they enter into the workforce. So why isn't this a required class for all states already? I don't have a good answer for that.

And now, I would like to applaud you for having the focus to get through this entire monster of an article. I know our generation's attention span isn't the best (heck, if a video doesn't interest me in the first fifteen seconds, I have a bad habit of closing the tab). That being said, feel free to consider everything I’ve written in this article; think hard on it and its possible impact for the generations to come. Do you want to be known as the generation that plateaued? How can you change things so that we won't have that title? Whether you agree or disagree with what I’ve argued within this article, just remember that in the end, we argue to propose change, and change comes solely from the discussion of differing opinions, from people forming their own opinions beyond the status quo. So, agree or disagree, make your voice known and enter into the conversation of where our society is heading because I guarantee, no matter whether you wish to be part of this conversation, even your silence is an act of participation on your part.