Useful Classes We Don’t Teach in School
I used to be a teacher. I taught in public, charter, and boarding schools all across the country. I’ve had pretty much every different type of teaching experience you could have. I’ve also read a ton of books ranging from the “drill the kids on standardized tests” line of thinking (charter schools) to the “never send your kid to school – teach them real life skills” line of thinking.
Currently, I believe that almost every single thing kids learn in school is a waste of time.
Most classes have become glorified fact-memorizing contests that reward rote memorization over anything else. Unfortunately, in the age of the internet and AI – memorization has become pretty much useless. Kids are memorizing dates from past wars in history, elements of the periodic table in chemistry, and formulas in Algebra 2 that will have no real-world application to their lives after high school.
Meanwhile, they’re heading off into the real-world without a clue about…
- how taxes work.
- the difference between a Roth and Traditional 401k.
- how to start a small business.
- how to change a flat tire.
- how to grow food.
- how to take care of their bodies.
- urban planning.
- government.
- pretty much anything useful in the world.
This is a real problem. Even more so than underfunded schools in my opinion. Bad teachers and bad facilities suck of course – but the bigger problem is that what the kids are supposed to be learning is useless anyway! (see how I’d make America better)
As anyone who was once a teacher knows, the most common question you get from students is “When am I ever gonna use this in real life??” Most teachers have some preprepared answer to this question, but the real is answer is … never.
SO, while I hope I will not be heading back into school walls to teach state-sponsored propaganda ever again – I have come up with a list of things I would teach to kids that I feel are useful. All of these “subjects” could be added to a traditional school’s curriculum to make school more useful.
A good barometer for a useful subject is one that no kid would ever have to ask why it is useful. They inherently see the value of the topic in the moment. If a kid has to ask why the information is useful to them … it’s probably not useful. (probably)
Useful Classes I’d Add to School
Cars 101
The first key point to Cars 101 is that it will be performed on an actual car, not in a classroom. Each group of 3-7 kids will have their own car that they will be working on, either outside or in a garage.
What will they be doing with this car? Essentially, they will learn to do everything important. They will learn to change a flat tire. They will change the oil. They will change the wiper fluid. They’ll change the filters. etc etc etc.
Passing this class means that you and a group 1-3 people were able to do all of these things on your own. Kids are driving cars these days and have no clue how to perform the most basic of functions to their vehicles. This is a huge problem. For one, they may have to do these things one day. For two, mechanics are taking advantage of people and overcharging for their services. Uneducated civilians who know nothing about their vehicle make this much easier for mechanics to do.
I’d replace the standard “Health” class that most high schoolers take with Cars 101. Or your standard “driver’s ed” class.
When I was a teacher I learned that teaching young boys theoretical concepts on paper vs actually putting those things physically in front of them are very different things.
Taxes 101
Ask the average college student how taxes work in America and you’ll get some pretty amazing responses. (so bad they’re hilarious)
Kids should understand that we have a progressive tax system with varying tax brackets. A lot of college students do not know this.
Here are some topics that will be covered in Taxes 101.
- Taxable Income and Gross Income
- Marginal Tax Rates
- Deductions vs Credits
- Standard Deduction
- Withholding
- Tax Forms
- AGI
- plenty more
Minimizing your taxes through legal means is a massive part of getting rich for many people. The school system teaches our kids nothing about taxes right now.
That kids don’t learn about any of this in high school almost makes me scream negligence on behalf of the federal government. It’s such a MASSIVE hole that it’s gotta be happening on purpose … right?
Physical Education
This is a big one. PE in school has become a joke. By high school, it doesn’t count toward your GPA, it’s only once or twice a week, and not everyone even has to take it. Im sorry … what?
What in the world is more important than one’s own physical well being?
First off, PE would be every day. No excuses. And there will be no written tests, or wasted time on uniforms, squads, attendance, rules, etc. (if you grew up in the 90s or 00s then you probably know what “squads” are)
The purpose of PE is to…
- Get the kids into shape
- Show them the meaning of hard work
- Instill in them the value of a good workout routine
Right now we have 175 pound fat 12 year olds with a 98% in gym class. That would not be possible in my version of PE.
Every day of PE will be a challenge. It will be a combination of individual physical fitness training (runs, calisthenics, stretching, etc.) alongside team challenges (relay races, sports).
Every week we will have testing and we will track the students progress in a few different categories.
- Mile Run
- Pull ups
- Push ups
- Dips
- Shuttle Run
If a student does not improve over the semester, that student will not get a good grade – plain and simple. I plan to model the program off of La Sierra High School back in the day.
- classify kids by their performance
- when they improve they graduate to a different color of shorts
- similar to karate – when you graduate you get a different colored belt
- constantly motivate kids to be better
- exert social pressure on everyone else to get in shape
Right now “grades” are used as incentive to get kids to memorize their history and learn their Math. Why the hell is this same logic not applied to incentivize kids to improve their physical health??
Government
Kids need to learn how local government works. We spend way too much time in school at the national and international level, but not enough time at the local level. The local level is where the stuff that really affects your day-to-day life happens.
- Who approves property taxes that fund the public schools?
- Who sets zoning laws to approve where businesses and housing can be built?
- Who sets the police and fire budgets?
- Public transit, road repair, parks, libraries
- Why is the publicly funded high school turf soccer field not open to those who live in the community and funded it with their tax dollars?
No kid should leave high school without understanding these concepts.
Entrepreneurship 101
Most people who get rich do it by starting their own business. But school doesn’t teach you this. So what we end up with is that most people who start their own businesses are kids of people who started their own businesses. The knowledge gets passed down through the family tree.
Why do we not teach this? Is our education strictly designed to teach kids how to go and be a worker bee for someone else? (yes)
Starting your own business comes with massive tax incentives, and is the only way you’ll ever be truly free.
Kids should learn the ins and outs of starting their own business before heading out into the real world.
Summary – Useful things to teach in school
Most people will say the problem with education is that it’s vastly underfunded. Teachers don’t make enough money. Schools don’t have enough funds. Sure – this is a problem.
But an even bigger problem is that school’s don’t teach anything that is useful in the real world. Almost every kid is wasting their time in school learning skills that won’t serve them after they graduate. The difference is that for some – these useless skills will get them into college, which will then qualify them for a job.
For the majority of Americans who never go to college … they’re pretty much wasting their time for 12 or so years in “school”.
Some other things I’m thinking of…
- Growing Food 101
- Debate
- Programming
- Urban Planning
- Survival 101
What did I miss? I’ll be adding to this list for sure.
Sam