When I was in high school, the pressure on me was to go to college. I wasn’t taught basic life skills like cooking and budgeting, or even just finding a place to live after moving out. Which for me, I was out on my own by 19 and didn’t have any furniture or anything to cook with or any of that stuff. I was also encouraged to apply for college after college instead of job searching.
Life skills need to be taught in schools because people won’t do well, and college doesn’t teach you any of that stuff; they think if you can get a loan, then you know how to take care of yourself. You need to know what to do in various situations, like how to talk to a boss or dress appropriately for a job interview.
Schools also need to teach that if you happen not to get the job or even if you get fired, you have to have a backup plan, another job set aside, and money for emergencies so you don’t find yourself on the streets and jobless. They also don’t teach you how to do interviews.
Some students think they will graduate high school and move out and get a job, but what they don’t know is that even entry-level jobs require prior experience, and straight out of high school you will not have any experience, unless you are lucky enough to be in a family with a business or something where you got experience.
I struggled as an adult because I am very shy, and it’s hard for me to ask for help on things, but luckily I had a lot of help. I just know that not everyone has someone to teach them basic life skills. I think cooking, sewing, and budgeting, that should all be taught at least in middle school, if not high school, because that is when students are old enough to understand. College is great to be informed about, but it should not be the main thing until the end of senior year. Life skills need to be a required class to graduate!
