Things We Don't Learn In School

"Formal learning can teach you a great deal, but many of the essential skills in life are the ones you have to develop on your own.”

~ Lee Iacocca
I learned an immense amount in school. I think teacher’s have probably the best job in the world. The importance of an education is irrefutable. That being said having been in the so-called “real-world” for a fair amount of time, there are certain life skills that I feel I didn’t learn enough about in school.

Thoughhigh school and college are excellent in teaching many valuable skills, our current academic curriculum doesn’t teach many aspects necessary to succeeding and thriving in life in general, such as financial responsibilities and investments, how to think logically–retaining information and not merely temporarily memorizing information, and how to apply such abilitiesto real-world scenarios which are bound to occur. And some of these skills are the most important skills that we will use in our lives, with the highest stakes.

1. CONVERSATION

This is number one because it permeates every area and aspect of life. Conversing with coworkers, bosses, loved ones, dates, friends, spouses, neighbors, acquaintances, etc., all require certain social norms and boundaries to be observed—such as mutual respect and give-and-take—whether it’s face to face, by email, social media, and telephone. The younger generation has been called the silent generation, due to communicating overwhelmingly via mediums that do not require actually speaking to anyone, such as texting, social media messages, email, and so on.

In so doing, their personal communication skills are being hindered. The broader outcome could be social isolation, arrested social development, and not learning from the common lot of other’s experiences and mistakes who are their age and older, which could stifle a person in various ways and potentially become a barrier to rewarding careers and the full enjoyment of relationships. Knowing how to connect with others, being empathetic, when to speak and when to listen, is of great value in the workplace and in interpersonalrelationships. To learn the art of conversation is to actually do it, with peers and other varied and diverse people.

2. MENTAL HEALTH

There is an immense amount of controversy today about mental health. From ADHD to schizophrenia to bipolar to depression and onward there is a long list of undiagnosed mental illnesses in our society. Not only that, but with controversy about big pharma, meds being under and over prescribed, lots of denial, andmisdiagnosis many are forced to go through life without quality awareness of their mental state. A 2014 report byNewsweekstated that 42.5 million American Adults or 18.2% of the total adult population in the United States suffers from mental illness. That’s nearly 1 in every 5 Americans. By emphasizing this as a topic of required learning and discussion, students would go into the real world not just with much more understanding of each of the primary mental illnesses and medical or holistic approaches thatcould help them, but with a better understanding of themselves. If you know what the issue is within yourself, you can find a way to fight it. There is therefore great value in learning more about this. Let’s start placing more emphasis on educating our children on mental health so that our future generations can live happier and more fulfilling lives and achieve what they are capable of.

3. MONEY MATTERS

The importance of handling money responsibly is obviously valuable. Accounting, finance, and business classes do explain accounting procedures, financing arrangements, and business structures, but do not focus much on personal finances, saving or investing. The job of these classes is to prepare students for working environments, and not necessarily for managing their own finances.

Popular financial personality Dave Ramsey’s advice for money management and getting out of debt is a good place to start. Furthermore, higher education doesn’t spend much time teaching students how to beself employed. For the self-starter, knowledge of how toset up their company’s structure, manage the finances, pay taxes and reinvest into the company is crucial, and can mean the difference between failure and success.

4. Dating and Romantic Relationships

Romance has gone the way of cursive handwriting.”

~ Rachel Greenwald, Author and Dating Coach
Nothing is more saddening than people who continue to get straight A’s in school, pile on the electives, build great resumes, yet have forgotten or never realized the meaning of love.Many people lose out on love simply because they don’t realize that indeed there is much to learn about falling into, maintaining, and flourishing in dating and romantic relationships. There is a lack of knowledge today on attachment theories, what romance means to people, the rules of dating (are there rules?), and the meaning of love. If this was focused on more in schools I strongly feel we’d be more prepared for “the one” when he or she comes along.