I am constantly reminded of how ill equipped for adulthood I am. And it's not like I'm a fresh-faced 18-year-old. I've been an adult for a decade now! School did a really good job of teaching me about Paul Revere, photosynthesis, the Donner Party and the Pythagorean theorem, but it left me in the dark about some pretty important topics. Here are just a few things I wish I was taught in school:
Every year you guess your way through a bunch of forms, and then a month later the government sends you a check for some arbitrary amount that you just assume squares everything away. TAXES. WTF. Other than death, they're the only inevitable part of life. Yet, just like death, we don't have a clue what they're all about.
Taxes are a huge cause of stress in our lives and a major component of our sociopolitical environment, and yet we never get taught ANYTHING about them in school. Even the totally sane, in no way mentally ill, former defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld (and his wife, a college graduate) can't wrap his head around taxes.
Loans/mortgages
We all leave college with loans. We all eventually get a mortgage (although I'm not convinced I ever will). Wouldn't it behoove us to enter adulthood with some rudimentary knowledge of interest rates, down payments and credit scores? High school guidance counselors are great at supplying us with university brochures, but it would have been nice to learn the basics of investment planning before making a massive financial commitment at the age of 18.
First aid
This one seems so obvious that I'm sure Bob Education, or whoever it was that invented school, simply overlooked it when assembling the syllabi. If every teenager learned CPR, how to dress a wound (ew), the applications/dangers/benefits of common medicines, LIVES WOULD BE SAVED.
It seems so strange that, if you want to learn basic first aid, you have to sign up and PAY(!!) for a class. Free first aid classes seem like the exact type of thing taxes could subsidise. But then again, I know nothing about taxes.
Basic car mechanics
Like, where's the battery? Where does the oil go? How much is too much to pay for tires? I'm not talking rocket science. And I'm not looking to put mechanics out of business. I just think that kids should leave school with a rough idea of what's under the hood (bonnet for you Brits) of a car.
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| "Please, sir, can you teach me about taxes?" |
This child represents our future. Teach her well and let her lead the way. Show her all the beauty she possesses inside. Give her a sense of pride, to make it—OH ALRIGHT THEN, ladies and gentlemen, I am honoured to call to the stage the legendary Whitney Houston.
Cheers,
Margaret
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