Essay prompt: Is what you are learning in school affecting the way you live your life now?
School is such a big part of student’s lives and we learn many subjects through the curriculum. As we are learning many diverse things, the majority of it is fun to know but how much of it is relatable to us? In my opinion, what I am learning in school does not affect the way I live my life right now because it is too concentrated on academics, on honing my skills for the future, and it does not cover basic life skills.
Firstly, the school curriculum is too focused on academics, currently I am in grade 10 and I got to choose only ⅞ of my courses for this year, my choices are limited and I am forced to attend and pass classes in fields that do not interest me as a future career path. For example, the school makes math class mandatory in grade 10 and we are starting to learn about parabolas. As someone who doesn’t plan on being a mathematician, the information we are learning in class not only is not affecting my life now and in the future but is instead causing me unnecessary stress.
Whats-more, what I am currently learning in school is not designed to help me in my life now but more so for the future. I really enjoy science class and am considering pursuing a career in pharmaceutical sciences. However, though I am passionate about the subject, what I am learning now does not change the way I live my life now because I don’t need the knowledge for basic skills such as cooking or going out to buy groceries. On the contrary, what I learn in science is preparing me for my prospective day to day job and will heavily affect my success as I use that knowledge for forthcoming.
Lastly, schools should include more courses that focus on refining our basic life skills
Basic skills such as holding a conversation and knowing how to cook are so overlooked yet so important in daily life in comparison to book smart skills such as knowing your multiplications which can be done by a calculator. Teachers should incorporate the acquisition of these skills in their classes so that all students are able to improve upon them and actively use them. This change encourages more hands on learning in the class and will show immediate results because these skills can be put in practice right away. These practical skills are used frequently and therefore useful to our current daily lives
School would be more helpful to my daily life if they didn’t focus primarily on academics, our future careers, and on skills that are not as practical. If schools focused more on honing skills that would affect our daily lives it would better prepare us to be responsible adults in the future.
