We can all agree that schools fail to teach a lot of things, while also teaching many things that don’t matter. Here we take a look at ways the education system can be reformed to better suit the modern individual.
Before we get into ways the education system can be improved, we need to know the goal that we need to improve to. Any system is perfect if the goal is the exact system it currently is, but if the goal is to increase productivity, or raise the quality of life, the steps needed to reach the desired outcome will change in reflection of that said outcome. So what is the point of primary and secondary education, and how intertwined should the two be? In this article, we assume the best outcome is a population that contributes the most to society. Now to have this, understand happier people contribute more, healthier individuals can contribute more and other factors that are important for one’s productivity and ability to contribute to society become vital to the goal of said education.
Taxes & Personal Finance
It is very clear to see why understanding how to file taxes and manage personal finances would greatly prepare youth for their futures. Learning how mortgages work, how and why someone should have savings, and the ‘hows’, ‘whys’, and ‘whats’ in investing. Each generation falls more in debt than the previous with lower savings on average. Hopefully, introducing these topics will mitigate the polarization between the rich and poor and have society begin trending towards a middle class again. This drastically improves many individuals’ lives but also greatly improves an economy’s safety net during a disaster and also its growth rate.
Mental Health
Teaching students mental health is very important when trying to produce an individual who is most productive in society. A happy, low-stressed, individual is more productive than someone who can’t manage their time and blow out due to overstress or depression. Both of these events are on the rise in society as we fail to adjust to the modern world’s increasing demands. Teaching our youth to manage their mental health will reduce the burden on the health industry, and drive up efficiency at most corporations due to having more autonomous workers (a current trend in the corporate world).
Relationships (Friends, Love, Work)
How to manage personal and non-personal relationships also helps members be more productive, as they help keep business relationships cordial, and personal relationships. It also means how one has a relationship to work and other possible toxic environments, understanding worker’s rights or personal rights will greatly help the sanity of those who work and the environment in which they work.
Politics
Politics can be very complicated and the issues debated often require a longer understanding of the issue than almost every schooling system provides. Many free democratic countries have political class, and it shows in their political system with more open elections that often better represent the individual’s ideology than the traditional two-party system in both Canada and the USA. In addition to this, understanding the issues debated in politics provides a common understanding for people to base their vote on. A better-informed consumer will consume more accurately to their needs and wants, and this idea easily applies to politics.
How To Go From Here?
The problem with all the previous ideas is ‘how do we implement them’ rather than ‘should we implement them’. Most people would agree that these topics should be taught, yet for some reason, they aren’t. There are many reasons but the delays in adaptation, alongside the preservation of traditional academia, but being knowledgeable about changes that could be made to the education system is important for the future. As awareness grows, new bills and amendments can be made to the current system allowing for the change that is needed.
Click here to read about the Adverse Effects of Unhealthy Lifestyle Choices On Your Education