Things They Didn’t Teach Us in School

 

                Mark Twain once said “Never let schooling interfere with your education”. I never quite got that until I graduated from college. Since we were kids, we are made to believe that finishing your studies is the greatest achievement we’ll ever have and after that, we will live happily ever after. But the reality is once you got your diploma, you’re back to zero. You’re like a kid again during the first day of classes, clueless and scared because apparently, there are a lot of things they didn’t teach us in school that would really help us if they did. For me, it is in fact after school that my real education began.

So here’s a list of things that would be totally handy if we actually learned them all in school:

How to Talk To People

                I was already working at my first job when I realized I suck at talking to people. It’s ironic really because I’m a communication graduate and yet when it comes to socializing, I fail so horribly. Back in college I’ve always thought I don’t need such a skill. I was fine with being an introvert, satisfied with communicating only with people who are in my network and I don’t even care if other people don’t like me as long as I don’t know them. I now realize that I must learn how to talk and connect with people if I want to get ahead in life. No one can succeed on their own and if you do not know how to talk and attract the right people into your life, you’re more or less screwed.

How to Handle Things Financially

                I’ve read somewhere that rich people tend to teach their kids the value of money and investments and how to read financial statements while the poor does the opposite and it’s one of the reasons why they remain poor.I must admit I agree with it because if only we are set to succeed financially right before we even knew what we want, pretty sure we will get it plus perks and street smarts. If only we learned how to balance a checkbook or know the how the stock market works and not a thing or two about the Pythagorean Theorem and its obvious use for everyday life, 80% of the population would be really rich by now.

Physical Defense

                I hated gym class when I was in high school and I was pretty shocked when I realized we have gym class in college. I was forced to play sports I didn’t understand and didn’t want to play. For others, it might be fun to play volleyball but for me, it’s not fun to get hit on the face with a ball and have my arms red with rashes while I’m too busy thinking about passing my major subjects. I wished then that there was more consideration with kids who aren’t physically active. Gym class would’ve been a great use to non-athletic students if they actually taught self defense. Heck, it might even benefit me for a lifetime and save my life. I would gladly accept body pains if it will help save me from bad people.

How to be a Good Person

                Sure we have GMRC (Good Manners and Right Conduct) subject but everyone knows not one kid took this seriously. This is the subject where most of my 100% scores come from because all the questions in the exams are more or else answerable with common sense. This is the most underrated subject and if we all paid a lot of attention to it like we do in Math, Science and English, more people would be kind and selfless. More than intelligence we need empathy and more than achievements we need more brotherhood.

                There are lots of other things I wished they taught us in school like how to fill out government forms, how to fix things inside your house, proper patriotism, how and why participate in political debates, etc. but given the current situation of our  educational system, that’s not going to happen anytime soon. I guess we really just have to learn these things by ourselves and hope we’re doing it right. Here’s a little tip: Asking advice from people with experience is a great way to lower your chances of failure.