There were many great life lessons, not just subject-related lessons I learned in high school. I found I had learned many things outside of high school that I felt should be taught in high school.
This is a compilation of those lessons:
1. To Question Everything
None of my teachers ever told me to question things. I am not sure where I picked up this lesson but I think it is extremely necessary to be taught. It should be taught not to accept everything as is, to question the books you read, the people you meet, the lessons you learn, everything.
By questioning things you start to learn. You broaden your mind and you are able to get an open-minded perspective on the world.
"The important thing is to not stop questioning" - Albert Einstein
2. The importance of health and physical activity
Sure, the importance of health and physical activity was discussed a little in some of my classes, specifically grade 9 gym (and gym only has to be taken once in high school). Since you only need 1 gym credit, you don't need to keep taking it. You don't even really learn about eating healthy or how much exercise you really need.
There is no doubt to how important being healthy is for the mind and for the body.
To the best of the ability of the instructor, lessons on being healthy should be offered. Obviously not all courses are tapered to display traits of healthy eating or how to work out, but some courses like Biology, Gym, Foods, etc., can be altered.
3. Money Management
I used to be horrible at managing my money. I am slowly becoming better because I have been learning how to organize my money and budget it out so I don't overspend and I can afford the things I need. This was never taught in high school. I still don't know how to do taxes! Nothing about money is ever taught in school, except how to count it. Some people don't even know this! When I used to work at a Cafe many customers informed me I am the only one who could count back change in my head.
If I had it my way, there would be a half credit mandatory course on money management in high school.
4. Reading Skills/Active reading
Sure, we all know how to read (at least where I went to school). We know how to turn pages, look at the words and then we know how to use chart paper to display our knowledge of the book. But never once did a single teacher mention the words "Active Reading" to me. Active reading needs to be taught. This is a big issue, especially since in university/college everyone has to go learn on their own without a teacher holding their hand and most of this reading is from a textbook. Active reading shouldn't just be taught in an english classroom with a fiction book, it should be taught in all classrooms with non-fiction textbooks.
To those who do not know what Active Reading is, check out this link.
I hope this can help some high school teachers and curriculum creators to gain some wisdom into the eyes of what really needs to be taught in our high schools.
Are there any lessons you wish you learned in high school?
This is a compilation of those lessons:
1. To Question Everything
None of my teachers ever told me to question things. I am not sure where I picked up this lesson but I think it is extremely necessary to be taught. It should be taught not to accept everything as is, to question the books you read, the people you meet, the lessons you learn, everything.
By questioning things you start to learn. You broaden your mind and you are able to get an open-minded perspective on the world.
"The important thing is to not stop questioning" - Albert Einstein
2. The importance of health and physical activity
Sure, the importance of health and physical activity was discussed a little in some of my classes, specifically grade 9 gym (and gym only has to be taken once in high school). Since you only need 1 gym credit, you don't need to keep taking it. You don't even really learn about eating healthy or how much exercise you really need.
There is no doubt to how important being healthy is for the mind and for the body.
To the best of the ability of the instructor, lessons on being healthy should be offered. Obviously not all courses are tapered to display traits of healthy eating or how to work out, but some courses like Biology, Gym, Foods, etc., can be altered.
3. Money Management
I used to be horrible at managing my money. I am slowly becoming better because I have been learning how to organize my money and budget it out so I don't overspend and I can afford the things I need. This was never taught in high school. I still don't know how to do taxes! Nothing about money is ever taught in school, except how to count it. Some people don't even know this! When I used to work at a Cafe many customers informed me I am the only one who could count back change in my head.
If I had it my way, there would be a half credit mandatory course on money management in high school.
4. Reading Skills/Active reading
Sure, we all know how to read (at least where I went to school). We know how to turn pages, look at the words and then we know how to use chart paper to display our knowledge of the book. But never once did a single teacher mention the words "Active Reading" to me. Active reading needs to be taught. This is a big issue, especially since in university/college everyone has to go learn on their own without a teacher holding their hand and most of this reading is from a textbook. Active reading shouldn't just be taught in an english classroom with a fiction book, it should be taught in all classrooms with non-fiction textbooks.
To those who do not know what Active Reading is, check out this link.
I hope this can help some high school teachers and curriculum creators to gain some wisdom into the eyes of what really needs to be taught in our high schools.
Are there any lessons you wish you learned in high school?
