This is a submission from our Leaders 4SC Middle School Camp.
While some people may say that school is fine as it is, I believe that we should be teaching students fundamental life skills, and change the curriculum to fit things that are beneficial to learn for the future so that teens can be more prepared for entering the world.
One thing is that in science class, we spend a lot of time learning about earth formation, and sediment, or different crusts on the earth. Although this is good information to have, i believe the majority of science should be based on the human body since it is something we deal with every day. They should teach us about illnesses and common rashes or breakouts and how to treat them. They should teach CPR earlier and sex ed should be required. Schools should also teach girls about female anatomy and periods earlier in school. This will benefit students by knowing their body and being more aware of it.
We should be taught life skills such as how to pay taxes, how to fix a tire, cooking/baking, how to set up insurance, etc. there is no reason for us to be learning things we will never need to know in the future over fundamental things that even adults struggle with understanding. This will benefit students because they won’t spend as much time trying to get things figured out, and not as much school time will be wasted on knowledge we don’t need.
Schools should also teach students about mental health. Depression rates in teens are skyrocketing and 80% of teens with depression get little to no treatment. Students lack of knowledge about mental health causes them to just go more untreated and ignored.
Students also go into work with no knowledge as to how to act in a professional environment. Common etiquette should be taught in schools as well as how to properly respond to teachers, how to ask them questions, how to write them emails, etc.
There are many programs that are trying to teach students life skills like overcomingobstacles.org and it shows that when they taught students life skills 80% of students had improved grades, 96% said the program helped them overcome stress, and 98% of educators said that it helped the students overall with classroom management, student to student interaction, problem solving, etc.
This new curriculum will also make students more eager to learn because they will be learning something they actually need to know. I’ve heard many students before not do assignments and not pay attention in class because they say they will never need the information. Causing more students to fail tests, loss of interest from students, and teachers working 10x harder trying to get students to care.
Some may argue that students should learn life skills at home opposed to at school, but some people’s parents don’t have the time to teach them, or even the knowledge. This proves that even some adults are affected by not learning these things in schools, not just young people this negatively impacts everyone.
Students, teachers, and staff will overall be happier because students will be more engaged which will create a better learning environment for not only students but teachers as well.
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Written by Leaders 4SC 2020 Student, Isabella H.