Redheaded Jill

The life of your average American kid. 12+ years are spent in the public education system. Messages like, “You need a college degree to have a good life!” are beat into them for a decade. When they graduate they are handed a pen, which they use to sign their life away. 18 year old kids are handed the ability to sign up for a loan that will take decades to repay. With little to no knowledge of debt, taxes, loan repayment, anything.

Now, it is the parents’ job to teach their kids about life, but at this point all the parents with kids entering their college years have been through the same system. It has come full circle. This generational trauma has been allowed to continue.

And what is college? Indoctrination? Sure, but no worse than what they face in your average kindergarten classroom these days. In college they are told to take courses categorized as Gen Eds (General Education requirements). The first two years are spent repeating high school. Literally. There are required science courses, math courses, English courses, there’s even PE requirements. It. Is. ABSURD!

As a survivor of this broken system these are things I think we should do differently. High school, if it HAS to exist, should be focused on actual life skills. Home economics should be the most valued course. Everyone should know how to do basic house chores, tend a garden, prepare food, mend clothes and basic etiquette… There should also be a mandatory shop class. Everyone should know the basics about using power tools, hanging a shelf or assembling a bookcase, changing a tire, changing oil in a car, jumpstarting a battery… Next kids should take a finance course. They should learn how to open a bank account, invest money, apply for a job, pay taxes, what is a mortgage, and taught the danger of credit cards and loans. Life skills. Kids need to learn life skills.

After learning the basics they should be allowed to explore their interests. That might mean apprenticeships, reading all day about American history, performing science experiments in a lab, solving equations or playing sports. Whatever they choose is fine because by this point they’ll have learned all the things they need to survive in the world.