Five Courses that Should be Mandatory in Schools
Recently, I was speaking at a school in Antwerp, Belgium. We were discussing goals and habits and I posed the question, "Do any of you already know what you want to be doing ten years from now?" Students typically hate this question (I know I did when I was their age) but it usually elicits some good responses.
Now, before I go any further, it's important to understand that these students were sixteen, seventeen and eighteen years-old. This was at a Dutch-speaking school, although they were communicating with me in English (at an impressively high-level), and most of the students had already achieved complete fluency in French as well. The majority of the courses are taught in Dutch, but every student takes mandatory English and French courses every year.
But check this out - 90% of the students speak a fourth language at home. Antwerp is one of the more surprisingly international cities in Europe, so many students' native languages are Arabic, German, Chinese, or a wide variety of other languages. So as they are just hitting their stride in puberty, nine out of ten students at the school already speak four languages fluently.
This has nothing to do with the article but, especially as an American, I find this extraordinary.
Anyways. Back to the purpose of this article.
As the students were listing some examples of professions they wanted to enter upon graduation, I noticed a subtle, albeit alarming, trend. The majority of things students wanted to be doing ten years from now had nothing to do with calculus, chemistry or history. Instead, common answers were lawyers, financial advisers, general business practices or professional sports. One student even said she wanted to be a social media influencer, which other students quickly seconded.
This got me thinking. How are we preparing our future leaders for the real world? What can we be doing better to ease the transition from education to vocation? Although the list could arguably be longer, here are five courses that should be mandatory in schools:
Financial Literacy. Learning about taxes, insurance, interest rates, spending vs. saving, debit/credit cards, and how to pay bills are absolutely necessary for young people to be educated on. Some of this knowledge should come from their parents, but not everyone is afforded the same opportunity in their own home. For me, this course would have been a game changer before I headed off to university and beyond.
Social Media Management. You can laugh and smirk but this is the world we live in. Students need to understand the proper usage (and potential hazards) of social platforms and digital interactions. How you choose to present yourself on social media is how you choose to present yourself to everyone in the world.
Entrepreneurship. This doesn't necessarily need to have a business focus, but it should emphasize how to spot a problem, design a solution, and market the benefits to a target audience. Learning the fundamentals of business and entrepreneurship would greatly benefit any student.
Leadership. Leadership is simply the ability to influence. If we educate students on how to effectively and positively influence others, we set them up for success in the future regardless of which path they choose to take professionally.
Adult Skills. This is my personal favorite. This hybrid course essentially pairs Home Economics with Adulting (yes, that's real. Click the link) and has students learn basic skills such as how to change a tire or learning how to cook basic dishes so they are prepared when they live on their own would greatly benefit everyone. Again, some of this knowledge should come from their parents, but having a mandatory course in schools would alleviate potential problems for students in their future.
Teaching is one of the world's most noble professions. Teachers have the rare opportunity to impact young people everyday and shape the way they see the world. Many teachers spend more time with their students than the students spend with their parents, so the curriculum provided is of the utmost importance and needs to be extremely valuable and highly transferable.
Schools should have one goal: to prepare students for life after school and to empower them to become equipped, well-adjusted citizens. Students should not be judged merely on their ability to memorize and regurgitate a myriad of inapplicable facts and outdated constructs, but instead should be ready and able to enter the real world with an array of useful knowledge that can benefit them regardless of what career path they pursue.
Education, like American football, is evolutionary. It is constantly evolving to the modern world, and if you're not evolving, like in American football, you're falling behind. I envision a reality where education is not centered around test scores and entrance exams but instead on life preparation and transferable skills. Let's be the generation to put this into action.