Transitioning to an adult life after high school is nothing new, but many young adults have referred to the process of completing adult responsibilities after this time as “adulting.” As a new graduate from high school, I found myself caught unawares when it came time to living on my own and managing adult responsibilities like paying bills. I was never taught how to manage my finances or how to pay my taxes in high school. I received a basic education in academic subjects only. Looking back now, I would have found courses that taught me this information to be very useful. I would have known whether I should order fast food instead of cooking a homemade meal. I might have learned how to change a car tire. Should our school systems teach basic life skills to millennials? Are students adequately prepared to handle college? Are they adequately prepared for life?
In generations past, schools offered shop classes and home economics courses that taught students how to work on their own vehicles, how to cook, how to sew, and other basic skills necessary for functioning in life. In the 1990s, students in middle school and high school received technology courses, as they did not grow up in households with smart phones, and may not have touched a computer until they were in their teens. During this same time period, business administration courses were mandatory, courses that taught students how to file their taxes, how to balance their checkbook, and how to create a monthly budget, among other things. These courses provided fundamental skills that young adults could use in later life.
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"Argument: Should Public School Systems Teach Adulting Courses?".
As the state of the public education system changed, these courses disappeared. There was no longer the funding or the budget to allow many schools to offer courses beyond the basic academic skills mandated at the state and federal level, and students are poorer for it. There is a blame placed on others for not teaching us the things that we need to know, but only because it does not occur to us that we should find someone to teach us these skills before we leave home and go out into the real world. Should schools offer classes in what is colloquially known as adulting, in basic life skills? Yes. These skills were provided to previous generations, and our generation is struggling without their presence.
