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Autumn Edgar- Taylor

Mrs. Cramer

College Comp Pd. 8

20 November 2020

Things You Should Learn in High School

Imagine going to college not knowing how to do your taxes. Everyone pay taxes to the

schools to teach us the academics they think are important, but what they don’t teach us is the

things you should know for the life outside of it. School does not provide the education students

need to succeed after graduating. Everyone is all expected to apprehend the necessities of

growing up. High schools are not preparing students for the real world because graduates are

having trouble finding jobs in a field they are interested in, unsure of how to function

independently, and lacking knowledge of real-world tasks.

To begin with, graduates are having trouble finding jobs because they don’t have the

knowledge to get started. Neither high school nor college teaches anyone on how to look for jobs

after finishing school. According to Stephen Guise, “In 2011, 1.5 million, or 53.6% of college

grads under age 25 were out of work or underemployed.” (paragraph 7). Thus, more than half of

graduates were not working after finishing school or not working in the field they furthered their

education for. Also, another example by Hannah Young, she states in her last paragraph that it

should help kids work better and create a purpose as an adult. This is important, as it proves

young adults need more guidance when it comes to learning about different life scenarios.

Students shouldn’t have to struggle trying to find a job after college because they have no

knowledge of doing so.

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Another equally important reason is that people are finding it hard to be self-reliant after

they graduate. School should not just focus on learning regular common core; they should also

focus on knowing everyday tasks out of school. Academically, the schools are covering

everything that’s needed to know and more, but they fail to teach when it comes to real-world

problems. As stated by Grace Chen, to assist students after graduation, to start their life without

guidance, the schools should ensure that they are taught the truth of the reality. (paragraph 4).

Everyone should learn how to do important duties before graduating such as: writing a resume,

doing their own taxes, or buying assets. In paragraph two of Annabelle Toe’s article, she voiced

on how one of her family members had a college roommate who dropped out and went back to

live with her parents, because she didn’t know how to do laundry. A simple task that should be

taught as it is something everyone does the rest of their life. Easy chores like this should be

taught to students. It won’t take more than an hour to educate on these necessities.

Additionally, graduate students are keeping the economy going by paying to further

educate themselves believing they are going to be making an investment in their futures and

hoping to be able to live comfortably while paying their student loans off. By failing to get a job

in their field because they lack the required experience needed to obtain the job; they take a

lesser paying job or take on multiple jobs just to make ends meet. Additionally, there are further

trainings that are not adequately thought through. Take this pandemic for an example: former

college graduates turned into schoolteachers that haven’t used online schooling, are now being

forced to partake in doing so. Whether to further educate themselves to assist the needs of their

students or transition themselves from in school to online education they are needed to do this in

a short amount of time and expected to be perfect or be blamed by society, if unsuccessful.

Hence why all of learning real-world tasks is necessary.

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Lastly, students lack the knowledge of real-world tasks. Schools teach more about

common core and topics that aren’t always needed in the day-to-day life. We’re taught to

memorize the concepts teachers are teaching, take tests on them, and go on to learning different

topics. Most information won’t be needed or remembered two years from now. As Stephen

Guise says, they teach us to memorize information instead of life skills like negotiating,

communicating, and managing money. (Paragraph 1) All of this should be important to know

after graduating; some parents can’t teach their kids this because they don’t know how to do

educate of it themselves. Children more would be successful if school taught us about what to

use in the real-world. Annabelle Toe states, “And once out of college or trade school, young

people can focus on their careers and responsibilities as citizens and adults. Thus, jobs will be

done better, people will better understand their role in society, and be better rounded as both

students and individuals.” (paragraph 11). The school system should focus on teaching students

the responsibilities they have outside of school; but also teach the important topics already

instructed in school. Many of common core taught in school isn’t necessary after graduating.

Everyone should be taught how to handle real- world situations, as it would be easier to deal with

on our own when needed.

Overall, schools shouldn’t just focus on teaching us common core; students should also

be educated on the importance knowing the outside world. Teaching the students everything they

need to know outside of school could help reach our highest potential. There could be fewer

unemployed adults if these tasks were taught. The educational system should focus on teaching

to their best ability instead of just common core. Schools should prepare us on how to find jobs

after graduation, show us what we should already know how to do for ourselves, and teach us the

importance of knowing the real-world circumstances.

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Works Cited

Chen, Grace. "Are Public School Students Prepared for the 'Real World?'" Public School Review,

30 Apr. 2018, www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/are-public-school-students-prepared-

for-the-real-world. Accessed 23 Oct. 2020.

Guise, Steven. "How School Trains Us to Fail in the Real World." Steven Guise,

stephenguise.com/how-school-trains-us-to-fail-in-the-real-world/. Accessed 23 Oct.

2020.

"Opinion Opinion: High School Should Be Reaching Life Skills." Fenton in Print, 17 Dec. 2018,

fentoninprint.com/17064/opinion/high-school-should-be-teaching-life-skills/. Accessed

23 Oct. 2020.

Toe, Annabelle, et al. "Teenagers Need to Learn Life Skills in High School, Because Many

Aren't Learning at Home." The Dallas Morning News [Dallas, TX],

www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/05/17/teenagers-need-to-learn-life-

skills-in-high-school-because-many-aren-t-learning-at-home/. Accessed 17 May 2019.