School may teach us a handful of neat academic tricks but c’mon this just isn’t enough. Here’s a list of essential life skills that we believe teachers should be sharing with their students, too.
Do you remember back when you were just a kid and you used to wish you were already an adult so you could…I don’t know, get out of school and party and drink all the grog you possibly can. Well, now that you’re an adult, you’re probably wishing for your life back. I mean c’mon, adult life is exhausting and there are just too many responsibilities and bills to keep track of, keeping yourself sane is already a huge task in itself.
Do you even ever care what values your Xs and Ys in your Algebra are or who killed whom from your History class? There are definitely more pressing matters to be attended to and here are among the top life skills that we should all be taught as students!
Money Matters
It’s always best to get to know how money works and how to handle them early on in life. You certainly don’t want to be spending your day acting like a millionaire after getting that first paycheck from your after-school job, right?
Here are a few topics involving money that should be in the curricula:
- How to Open a Bank Account
- How to Read Bills
- How to Pay Bills
- Consequences of Debt
- Credit Cards
- How to get a Tax File Number
- How to Lodge a Tax Return
- How to Rent or Buy a House
- How to Get a Good Credit Rating
- How to Understand a Contract
- Understanding Interest
- What to do when you are in trouble
- When to Seek a Professional
Social Studies
Social Studies isn’t just about studying sociology and humanities that all revolve around past happenings. What about getting the students even more involved and modifying the lesson plan so it fits the 21st century?
- How to Complain Effectively (and nicely)
- Internet Safety
- Finding Purpose
- Hobbies and Interests
Working Life
Many of us study to get a job — or at least, make us stay in a job while we try to save up for business capital. Either way, adding these courses in school will definitely help set us up in achieving career goals successfully.
- How to Dress for a Job Interview
- How to Roll Over Your Superannuation
- Social Media and Work Etiquette
Personal Life
It’s funny why there’s even a need to study about how we should be getting our personal lives in order — but this one’s badly needed. Adult life often revolves around relationships, pregnancies, children and lots of health checks.
- The Effects of Porn in a Relationship
- Long Term Contraception
- The Cost of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Children
- Regular Health Checks
- Health and Life Insurance
- Dealing with the Medical Industry
- Where to Seek Important Information
Home Life
The most basic life skill of them all — and yet the most neglected. Kids ought to learn how to fix simple troubles at home before moving out of the ‘rents’ house!
- How to Fix a Tax Washer
- How to Turn off the Water at the Water Meter
- How to Unblock a Sink
- How to Change a Light Bulb
- How to do Your Food Shopping
- How to Set Up a Budget
- How to Menu Plan
- How to Cook Basic but Healthy Meals