Life Preparatory Class by Jane

Life Preparatory Class by Jane - August 2015 Scholarship Essay

High schools’ main focus is to get their students to graduate. After that, the kids aren’t their problem. Because of this many schools don’t bother teaching the skills that become crucial after graduation. Students are prepared to handle the most rigorous college academics, but not to be able to wash their own clothes or balance a check book. As soon as student’s graduate they are forced to make life altering decisions about their future, yet many receive little help from their high school. So, what if high schools added a class that’s only subject was preparing for life’s upcoming responsibilities. High schools could implement a life preparatory class or even a series of classes to help their students transition into the real world more successfully.

The class would teach the basic skills students will need as they begin life after high school. This could include money management courses on things such as loans, insurance, mortgages, investing, managing a credit card, and making a budget. Students could then learn early on to handle money responsibly rather than learning though trial-by-error once they leave home. Students could also be taught how to obtain money though lessons on finding jobs. They would learn how to write resumes, act in interviews, and handle work issues. This could be especially helpful considering many high school students get jobs while still in school. A few home skills including home safety such as CPR, basic first aid, and fire prevention would be really simple but potentially lifesaving to teach. Any basic skills needed to be a successful independent adult would have a place in the class.

One of the most important things this subject would cover is careers and college. High schools spend lots of time academically preparing their students for college and the workforce but often do little to educate them about careers or how to obtain them. A life preparatory class could provide the time and place for each student to learn about what they want to do with the rest of their lives and more importantly how to do it. Time spent on career, college, and scholarship search would allow students to discover they have more opportunities than they may have assumed. It would also encourage students to take time and prepare responsibly for their new lives rather than leave them to be thrust into quick decisions on things they know little about.

Life isn’t easy for young adults right now. There’s more compition than ever for colleges, the prices are only increasing, and many people are graduating from college in debt, and yet schools provide little assistance in preparing for these things. Many schools have also cut programs like home economics and auto shop, which at least provided some money and vocational lessons, leaving students to hopefully learn on their own. High schools should do what they can to prepare their students for the real world both with the major decisions, such as college, and with the minor lessons like money, job, and home management. Life preparation is a vital subject that will never become irrelevant and would be useful to every student no matter what path they choose to take after high school. It should be a school’s purpose not to develop the best students to pass tests, but the best people to contribute and function in society, and a life preparatory class could do that.