Unready for life beyond

Students are leaving high school and entering the real world without important life skills. Students must work with schools to make sure they are set for adult life.

The school has a responsibility to teach.
High school should prepare students for real life, laying a foundation of practical knowledge.

Math and English classes are important and can teach critical thinking skills; however, these core subjects leave out aspects of education students should receive from school about surviving in the real world.

The school already provides some classes that would be useful. Consumer Education is required for every student, but one can take Economics (Econ) instead, and those two classes offer different skills. Consumer Education teaches personal financial knowledge. Econ teaches the basics of the economy. Both classes have important information, and by passing up on one, students miss value from the other.

Two classes that could also be helpful to students are Adult Living and Single Survival. According to the program of studies, both classes teach life skills like food preparation and home repair. However, both classes are optional, and neither class is really encouraged, especially for students in honors or AP classes.

Schools and society as a whole emphasize academics over life skills. The focus is on getting into college, but neglects how to survive once students reach that goal. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center study, 94 percent of parents surveyed said they expected their child to go to college. However, there are many post-secondary options available.

What every one of those options has in common is a need to survive on one’s own. Mechanics and accountants alike need to know how to balance a checkbook or what sorts of home cleaners should not be mixed. The school must prepare students with a balance of life skills and academic skills.

Students need resources to help them. Some can argue these skills are things teens can learn from their parents, but then students with guardians who cannot aid are left without help. Schools are the way to standardize education and make sure everyone is ready.

However, students must also step up.
While schools must lay a certain foundation, students will soon become adults, and they must begin to take control of their lives and learning.

Various resources are available to students at school through the counseling office or College and Career Center. If students need help with more broad sorts of life issues than specific skills, they must learn to rely on themselves and utilize the resources offered.

Another important matter is initiative. Students cannot take a passive role in their education, or they will gain nothing from it. They must constantly ask questions and seek out help from teachers. If they cannot meet a deadline, they must communicate that ahead of time and see if it can be resolved.

Communication is a key skill that students must foster in high school. It will always take place on multiple levels: casual, professional, or personal.

“Knowing how to connect with others […] is of great value in the workplace and in interpersonal relationships,” according to successfulstudent.org. “To learn the art of conversation is to actually do it, with peers and other varied and diverse people.”

High school is the perfect environment to garner communication skills, but students must practice this for themselves. Communication is a largely personal skill that is difficult to help someone with; instead, students must practice on their own, as much as possible. In such a diverse place as a high school, with so many different people with different views and interests, it is within one’s capabilities to practice communication skills, both with peers and teachers.

Another skill students should teach themselves is good time management. They can ask for help if they need, but time management cannot really be taught. Students will need to know how to use time wisely for the rest of their lives, not just in high school.

Students must take control of their own lives and learning in order to be fully prepared for college. These personal skills will never go away.