7 Things that Schools don't teach you

    What schools don't teach you?

No doubt, schools have always been a great part of one’s life. We entered crying, left crying, made lots of friends, and did everything together from early morning prayers to taking classes, sharing stationery, going to the canteen together, discussing in the corridor, and making teachers mad. These small memories are just wonderful and whenever I think about them, it makes me smile.

School is the very foundation of one’s life however today’s people are overly educated and underemployed. Schools produce job seekers, rather than training them to think and be independent.

So, here are 7 things that schools don't teach you-

 

1. HOW TO THINK

Teachers expect us to be a quiet person focusing on our studies. They expect us to reply and answer the textbook material instead of generating new ideas. Since almost everything is so focused from only one viewpoint, students simply believe that rather than finding of it more.   

Schools never teach “how to think” rather they teach “what to think”. Learning is a process that teaches us how to make the best decisions.

The school's focus is on transferring the knowledge and drawing perfect conclusions rather than letting the students think for themselves. This way makes the children believe everything they see in their books which has taken their self-thinking ability away from them.

 

2.  FIGHT BACK AND SELF-DEFENCE

"Self-defense can prevent bullying and other violent behaviors in school".

Schools always teach you not to fight, but they never teach you to fight back. You are expected to complain to your teacher if someone fights with you, isn’t it? But does that work in the outside world? No, it does not.

Schools never teach how to fight back and stand for yourself against bullying and physical violence. Protecting yourself is one of the most critical things one must know and schools generally overlook this important aspect.

Self-defense isn’t something useless, just like academics, it is important for our future. Why? Because it concerns our safety. Basic self-defense includes what to do in what situation, involving both physical and mental practice. It would mean a difference between good and bad and not fearing the unpredictable in any situation.

3. BASIC FIRST AID

We all had those few “first aid” sessions in school, but it was never really that effective. Sitting and showing our presence was our only job, nobody cared if we could apply it in real life. Everyone needs to learn a few basic first aids, not only for ourselves but for others also.

Hope it never happens but in any extreme event, first aid knowledge could mean a difference between life and death. This knowledge may help a person not to panic and not rely on the untimely medical profession.

Basic knowledge like how to clean and dress a wound, apply different ointments, or how do CPR. Every student must know how to treat common injuries like burns, stings, sprains, etc., it will help not only themselves but also their dear friends as well.

4. DIGITAL RULES

Yeah, teachers always tell us to be away from social media. “Use it after you grow up, it’s a time waste” … who hasn’t heard this once in their school time, I bet you definitely must have heard it.
Since we spend most of our time on social media everyone must be aware of the digital rules. Just like self-defense, it helps save our emotional and mental security.

Cybercrimes are becoming more and more prevalent and many people who do not know fall into the trap and become innocent victims of it. Nowadays, many students also become fall into the trap of data theft, fraudulent messages, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and many others. Hence schools must teach and make their students aware of these threats and ways they could solve them.
 

    5. CREATIVITY

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
                                                                                  -Albert Einstein

Schools kill creativity, don’t you agree? The teacher expects us to memories every line of our textbook. Idealistic, new, and creative presentations are not expected. The examination tests our learning power on specific information; it doesn’t matter if it is rote learning or pure understanding.

Students are not taught how to think. Even in the exam, students rely on their memory, which leads to cramming and mugging up the information right before the exam and then forgetting the day after. That information is there in our minds without knowing when and where and how it will be applicable in real-life scenarios.

The extra-curricular activities are not even considered important and just like its name, it’s an “extra”. No attention is paid to these subjects as that the other core subjects.

6.  MANAGING MONEY

"Schools don't teach how to manage money and that is the reason 85% 
of Indians are either Middle class or poor" 

Managing money has become one of the important tasks, especially for a teenager. Managing finances is not just relevant for businessmen or students in the commerce field, it is important for everyone. Many students grow up and make some significant financial mistakes because they were not taught about it.

Some basic ideas schools can give include-

•  How to save money
•  How to invest money
•  How to use credit cards
•  Budgeting and spending wisely

These skills are extremely valuable and schools generally neglect to teach about such kinds of stuff.

Just imagine how even successful people are thrown into the pool of debt because of unwise spending and managing. Wouldn’t many adults be better off if they would have good knowledge of handling finances since their school days?

 

7. SELF LEARNING

One of the most essential things to learn is to “teach yourself”. Not everything can be taught and hence self-teaching and self-learning have become an important aspect.

In the process of self-learning, the students voluntarily step up, and thus they move in the right direction. It is encouraged by a strong desire and hence students learn better without any pressure.

Self-learning helps to access yourself, understand yourself better, and make you a better communicator and an optimistic person. With the advent of the internet, self-learning has become a new form of learning and almost anyone can learn nowadays with just one google search.

 

In a nutshell

Nowadays many schools are focusing on teaching students beyond the curriculum and have also taken initiatives to teach.

There is no perfect school. The way a teacher teaches, the procedure, the use of words, and the teaching style can be of great influence on the students. The “extra-curricular activities” should be converted to “extended-curricular activities”.

Schools must create a very strong foundation in every student's life so they stay confident, independent, optimistic, and face every situation without any problems.