What are you really learning at school?

Questions students have been asking their teachers for years are, what are we really learning in school? And what’s worth learning in school? Or why do we need to learn this?

Students are taught to listen and repeat what they are told. They do not let students value their own creativity and expression because it’s is mostly seen as “inappropriate” or “not allowed in school.” Students aren’t learning basic life necessities which means they will be book smart but not street smart.

Students should be taught subjects they will need in the outside world. They are being taught how to graph parabolas, how to find the atomic mass from an atomic structure, etc., but not how to pay their taxes, how to budget, how to take out a loan, how to write a résumé, how to change a tire or how to cook although other schools may have it as an elective but not all schools do.

I understand that there is not enough funds or time for another class but what if the students’ parents cannot explain to them how to pay their bills on their own, who do they run to ask these questions?

As stated in “What’s worth learning in schools” by Lory Hough, Professor David Perkins says, “The information in textbooks in not necessarily what you need or would like to have at your fingertips. Instead, even though most people would say that education should prepare you for life, much of what is offered in schools doesn’t work in that direction.”

Educators are preoccupied on building up students to gain knowledge but they often forget to inform them on the more useful subjects.

In the article, “Broken Education- What schools really teach our children” states, “Skills in mathematics and reading can be gained relatively quickly. It does not take… a child’s life to become ready for the world they were born into and constantly explore.” And that I agree with, which is why I believe they should have more life lesson type classes in our schools which teach us how to survive in the real world.

The writer says how mathematic and reading skills are gained quickly and maybe that’s because we are being taught those subjects since we begin school but life lessons? We should be learning those in high school so that when we are off to college we know how to handle our own situations.