Is What You Learn At School A Waste Of Time?
In this article, I will look at the various areas that are and are not taught in schools, in an attempt to answer this commonly asked question.
In school, when learning a boring subject, I ask myself a question.
“When will I use this in life?”
Let’s take a look at the answer to this question in a handful of different subjects.
1. Problem solving, maths and reading
Let’s go over the useful skills you learn in school first (for general life, and not specific jobs). Problem-solving is very important as it can help you through life and helps people look at issues in different ways. Problem-solving is often taught through maths. As for curiosity and imagination, this is usually taught in primary school and in the earlier years of school. It helps to widen a child’s way of thinking and makes them open to more ideas. This skill is usually taught through reading.
2. Finance, media literacy and news
However, there are also lots of subjects and information that should be taught in school that are not. For example, how to manage your finance is often not taught in school. It is only taught in subjects like Business Studies. This skill is extremely useful and will get you far in life by showing you how to save money and how to spend it wisely.
How to spot ‘fake news’ and propaganda in the media is also an essential skill. However, this is only taught in special classes, like those provided by The Student View. It’s important because children are more easily influenced than adults, and fake news could change their perspective on life in a negative way. This is a very dangerous thing to happen and could change their behaviour.
3. Tests
I think that most subjects teach things that are only useful for tests, but not in life. Most things you learn in school are only used in an inevitable test, and more tests after that, but nothing else. A school makes you learn stuff, just for a test, then you learn more things for more tests, all while forgetting things you discovered before. Then, rinse and repeat!
School is vital for learning core skills. I’m not saying everything you learn in school is useless, but the majority is only used in tests you take.
More must be done to make children learn more useful information. I think children should have more power to choose what they learn, and schools should help their students learn more critical life skills.