School is supposed to be a learning environment, a place where students can grow and develop their knowledge as well as life skills, however, is that really the case?

“We’re trying to put in place the ingredients so that every child can be a successful 35-year-old. It’s not really about getting an A in algebra,” states Dr. Kenneth R. Ginsburg, an expert in adolescent medicine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in the article, “What are you really learning in school?”

Teachers and parents nowadays are mainly concerned with grades rather than if the child is actually learning anything. Students tend to memorize the material right before a test so that they can pass it, not necessarily to learn something. This is because grades control your life in school. They decide whether or not you pass a class, they are what teachers, parents, and colleges look at. It could be said that they are your future.

Many schools, especially high schools, claim that they are preparing their students for the real world so that they can be successful adults. It has also been heard numerous times that today’s generation of kids will become the future of our country. How can these children become the future if they don’t know how the real world functions? What are schools doing to make sure their students become successful adults? If students are not really learning anything in school other than merely memorizing material to pass a test, how can they prosper in the real world?

The question that every student has asked their teacher is, “When are we going to use this in real life?” Though it is often brushed off by the teacher, it is one question to take into consideration. Most of the curriculum that is taught, such as the Pythagorean Theorem, the history of the Renaissance, and the formula for salt, will not be used outside of school. These subjects can be a waste of time for what should really be taught. This generation of students are said to become the future of tomorrow, but they don’t know how to finance or keep a budget. Do they even know what’s going in the country? What political issues are being fought over? What new discoveries are being made? Do these students know how to function in the real world? Do they know what a resume is?

There are a number of young adults who do not how to make a resume because it is not taught in school. Some are even clueless about what taxes are and how they work, as well as financing. A Georgia high school teacher has been offering a course to her students on how to do taxes, demonstrating that it is a subject which teenagers are more than capable of handling. However, since this subject is rarely taught, many people pay someone to do their taxes.

Schools need to offer life skill classes even if they are just offered as electives. These classes will show students how life outside of school works and how they can be grow up to be successful. It would be a great use of time and will prepare many young adults for the life ahead of them. They will know what to do and how to handle adulthood instead of being confused and wondering what they’re being faced with.