Top 10 skills that should be (and usually aren't) taught in school

Although we learn a lot in school, some of the most important skills we need as adults are not generally and formally taught at all. Here are some topics and skills we wish we had learned much earlier than in school (but you can learn them now. It's never too late!).

10. Informatics 

With all the emphasis on programming knowledge, it's hard to believe that most schools today still don't teach computer science. According to code.org, programming is not taught in nine out of ten schools. Despite the fact that engineering and programming are among the fastest growing and most profitable professions today. Even if you don't plan to become a programmer (or raise one), being able to think like a computer scientist is one of the essential skills that anyone can benefit from. Just like learning physics or English composition is useful.

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9. Speed ​​reading

Speed ​​reading won't make you a genius, nor will it necessarily help you understand books more than other people do, but speed reading methods can still be useful. Techniques such as skimming, where one gets an overall picture of a book before diving into it, or clustering, where you group the words you read to get the gist of a long passage in a shorter amount of time, could help all struggling students. with time constraints and with their impossibly long lists of books they would like to read.

Comprehension is more important than skimming, but it's nice to have the ability to speed read later in life.

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8. Time management

Time management courses are usually reserved for CEOs and senior executives, but if there's one thing a busy student or worker (regardless of age) needs to learn, it's how to make the most of their limited time. Time management methods may be occasionally taught in unrelated courses to students from elementary through college, but perhaps our procrastination and performance problems would be solved if GTD (Getting Things Done) was taught in high school (or even earlier) or another similar to her.

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7. Study skills (or learning how to study)

The biggest life hack is "learning how to learn". The best teachers incorporate both time management and study skills into their lessons. But only in a small number of schools is it possible to learn about them formally. Learning to take better notes, using more effective study methods (highlighting works just as badly as practice tests), and perhaps the most important skill - being able to remember what one learns. These are the basic skills that every student should develop.

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6. Basic knowledge about money

Teaching kids about money should start at home, but as we know, many of us weren't lucky enough to get an education about personal finance at a young age. Maths lessons could include some real-world examples and teach children the basics of budgeting, debt, and compound interest, and instill a vital lesson - in short, save more than you spend.

 

5. Knowledge necessary for survival

Whether we're headed for a zombie apocalypse or not, having some survival skills is good for everyone (you never know when your car will break down in the woods, or when you'll have a modern-day emergency in the city like someone breaking into your house etc.). Wilderness survival involves skills like starting a fire or finding water. City survival skills include knowing how to prepare a meal from a very limited food selection. However, knowing how to provide first aid is an important skill in both cases.

4. Negotiation skills

It's amazing how often we need to negotiate in life - when we're buying a car, when we're trying to lower our bills, when we're negotiating our salary, or trying to get our significant other to finally do those pesky chores. Many schools have debating teams, but negotiation is something that everyone could improve on.

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3. Basic self-defense

For one semester in high school, I went to square dance classes as part of physical education. I think basic self defense stances would serve me better today. (To be fair, the school also taught judo, but it was only for boys. We girls had to go to "modern dances").

2. Mental health

Gym is supposed to reinforce the importance of physical health and school in general is supposed to strengthen the power of our minds, but unless you're specifically taking psychology classes, it's quite likely that mental health isn't discussed anywhere. Every one of us has to deal with mental problems (ours or someone we know) from time to time - whether it's dealing with stress or anxiety or more challenging problems like depression and different types of addictions. When the topic of mental health comes up in the news or a tragic event happens to a student body, these things are talked about more. However, if they were discussed earlier, we would all benefit more.

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1. How to ask for a job interview

If the purpose of school is to help us prepare for work and become efficient and successful citizens, shouldn't exploring career options also be part of our education? Learning how to respond to a job interview, how to write an impressive resume? I admit that universities do at least offer career guidance, but here again, the sooner the better.

Many schools teach these skills and subjects in different ways, but they do not form a universal part of our educational program. Perhaps we would all be better off if at least some of them were included.

The article was translated from the Czech article http://www.mimoskolu.cz/top-10-dovednosti/