Okay, I have a strong philosophy about this, and my answer is an emphatic “yes”.
Education is extremely important. It is what helps many people excel professionally, and is usually quite necessary to get your foot in the door on the path up the career ladder. Granted, there are exceptions to this, but it is generally the rule.
So why then, is it apparent in many instances, that some people come through school with exemplary grades and scholastic achievements, but land themselves into situations that propel them into debt, or other real-world tumult?
Of course personal accountability plays a big part in this, and my intention with this philosophy is not to blame others or society for a person’s pitfalls, but I do strongly feel that our younger generations could benefit immensely from a more formal education in adulthood’s many responsibilities.
Parents should shoulder a very large portion of the task of teaching their children about what it is like out there, when they leave the nest and start a life away from home, but unfortunately, in a busy life such as this, there are many factors where this may not always end up being the case. Parents working in a dual-income household may feel they lack the time to spend with their children on these sorts of subjects, especially when the kids come home with so much homework of their own, or are heavily involved in sports or other productive activities. On the other hand, parents may also be under the impression that the schools are teaching them about finances, buying a home, finding the best mortgage option, and other subjects, so they may think that is all taken care of. But even in other cases, the kids may live in a broken home with parents who don’t really care, so they may just miss out on any sort of semblance of parental guidance altogether.
Personally, I think that the entire curriculum of most public schools could use a major overhaul. There are, of course, many subjects that are absolutely essential. English, the sciences, and many others are the cornerstone of any good education.
There are other subjects though that may be unnecessarily elaborated on with too much detail. Although I am a big history buff myself, I think that it is a subject where too much time is spent on going way too far into detail. A lot can be learned from history, but when you are having to memorize names and dates of something that happened over 500 years ago, then I think the point is being missed.
The same goes for certain elements and branches of mathematics. Basic math that applies directly to the real world should be taught and ingrained. But having high school requirements for advanced algebra, geometry, calculus, and such may be quite unnecessary for someone who plans to go to college for a marketing or business degree. Really, at no time in my career can I even remember the need to perform such advanced calculations for anything. Unless you are going into a branch of the sciences, engineering, architecture, or other related field, it is quite unlikely that these advanced branches of mathematics would ever be applied.
I’m sure you may be able to think of other subjects or things you learned in public school that you have never used once you graduated or closed the book, so I won’t elaborate further.
So with an absolutely rough calculation, I could guess that if some of these subjects were condensed or eliminated, then it might open up approximately one period per semester, for all four years of high school, which could be devoted to more productive, real-world subjects that the students could directly apply into their current or future daily lives.
But I’m not saying that the detailed variations of the aforementioned subjects should just vanish into thin air; rather, they could likely be condensed and integrated into the course requirements for the specific college degree or field of study that necessitates them, and could be taught in a more efficient college curriculum.
And what great things could be done with that one period per semester that could be opened up!
Check back in the near future for a discussion on what sorts of subjects could be taught.
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