Five More Subjects Schools Ought to Teach

Last week, we discussed five things that schools ought to teach. It talked about a lot of great subjects I felt were necessary for kids to become fully-realized individuals. However, while such subjects would help free their minds, some might argue that they aren’t immediately practical and that that is what public education focuses on nowadays. However, the public school system neglects to teach kids a lot of practical subjects too. That’s why I want to focus this week on five more subjects that schools ought to be teaching their kids.

6. Personal finances

The importance of handling money responsibly cannot be understated. While accounting, finance, and business classes prepare students to handle finances in the business world, they hardly ever focus on personal finances, saving, or investing. Subjects like how to get out of debt, how to manage money, and how to be self-employed are all good subjects to tackle. That last subject would be a practical life-saver in this economic climate.

However, the biggest focus should be on teaching kids to establish and maintain good credit. In the world we live in, loans are required to obtain key necessities like a house or a car. However, lenders won’t give you money if you don’t have good credit, and everyone starts with zero credit, which is neither good nor bad. There are so many financial pit traps young people can fall into when they get their first credit card – “maxing out” their credit card, missing payments, and credit inquiries being just the ones off the top of my head. Teaching kids how to avoid these traps is an invaluable first step to financial independence.

7. Good Manners

“Kids these days are so rude!” How many times have you heard this complaint from older folks? Probably a lot. They might be right, but they shouldn’t blame the kids for not following rules nobody’s taught them. Back in the day, etiquette classes were standard, but those days are long gone.

Granted, one shouldn’t have to be given a class on good manners to know to say “please” and “thank you,” but that’s not all your etiquette class needs to focus on either. Simple conversational skills are also a part of good manners – you need to learn to speak properly to observe certain social norms and boundaries. These skills are unfortunately hindered by a reliance on email, social media, and text messaging. Without these skills, social isolation and arrested social development follow.

These etiquette classes would also teach students how to avoid unnecessary offense. A single standard for what constitutes proper manners can reduce scandal and promote kindness and respect for all people encountered in normal society. In addition, one could also be taught the manners and customs of other cultures too, thereby broadening their horizons. The manners of society are an important part of its cultural soul.

8. Penmanship

This is yet another skill being eroded by reliance on modern technology. So many schools have begun using tablets or iPads to assist students, seemingly rendering handwritten notes obsolete. However, we don’t live in Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse yet, so the physical world is still meaningful. Handwritten notes, letters, and essays are still vital if you want someone else to be able to read your writing. In particular, the art of writing thank-you notes has become something of a lost art. For that reason, I believe that good penmanship would lead to a more thoughtful and polite society.

9. Cooking

Cooking? Why should anyone be taught household chores? Believe it or not, they did use to teach such things in a class called “Home Economics.” It makes sense too. Food is essential to life, so cooking food is an essential part of self-reliance. Cooking at home allows you to control the ingredients and dishes and make portions commensurate with one’s appetite. Home cooking is also less expensive in the long run than going to fast-food restaurants, which will help you save money in a bad economic climate.

The kinds of skills that a culinary class would teach include food pretreating and preparation, kitchen safety and hygiene, and basic recipes. It might also teach home gardening to better help students.

10. Local Law

Somebody decided long ago that ignorance of the law is not an excuse from the law. It’s unfortunate then that most citizens live in ignorance of any laws besides the basics. To paraphrase one civil rights lawyer, a day in the life of the average American professional consists of waking up, going to work, coming home, eating dinner, going to sleep, and unwittingly breaking several laws. This article gives a list of bizarre laws one can run afoul of in one’s day-to-day life. One can wind up being arrested and jailed for such things as “driving with a noisy muffler, failing to use a turn signal, and riding a bicycle without an audible bell.”

Maybe this class can’t prevent you from violating these arcane laws, but it couldn’t hurt either. This class would teach kids the laws that’ll affect their lives once they become adults. Subject matters would include whether trespassing is a misdemeanor or a felony, whether decorating a friend’s car could be considered destruction of property, the rights of someone who has just been arrested, and the legal consequences of failing to pay off one’s debts. Given how many areas this class could cover and how grave the consequences of breaking the law are, it’s criminal that this subject isn’t being taught.

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I know that nobody in charge of education will take my list seriously, but there’s no harm in highlighting the deficiencies in modern public education. It only emphasizes the necessity of parents stepping up to teach their kids personally, even if they go to public school. Perhaps you too can go and research these topics and create “classes” to teach your kids? It couldn’t hurt, right?

What do you think of this list? I think it could be easily doubled or tripled, but I think these subjects are the most important. Do you disagree with it? Let me know down in the comments if you do and what you would like public schools to teach your kids.