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Matthew Miller

Mrs. Cramer

College Comp Pd. 2

6 November 2020

Graduates and The Real World

Sometimes graduates feel as if they did not achieve adequate knowledge or even life

skills. Both students and adults have been concerned about receiving proper knowledge for the

real world. Students can have a negative impact from this because if they are taught the incorrect

skills in order to succeed in life then they could possibly grow up poor or without a well-paying

job. A shocking study performed by Alyson Klein with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

shows the percent of teens that think that they are ready for college, but not real-world work. The

studies show 81% of students are ready for college, but 52% are not ready for the real-world

work. This is because students believe schools do not provide essential knowledge for the real

world because graduates lack skills in handling money, communication, and leadership.

First off, students have suffered long enough from the lack of experience with handling

money. Schools could start new classes dealing with money management such as paying bills,

investing in the stock market, or paying taxes (Guise 1-3). These money skills should be taught

before college in classes like math, economics, or some sort of financial class. Not all students

will go to college in order to pursue their goals in life. One school already has started on this

extra step in making sure of their students' success and that school is the Austin High School in

Texas. They offer a wide array of unique electives and useful classes that the students can take

advantage of (Chen Paragraphs 10-11). Schools specifically teach students to memorize

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information for standardized tests which is not a good teaching technique instead teachers should

prepare their students for the real world. Having more real-life learning in schools could solve

our generations independent abilities. Schools could include classes such as an economics class

to teach about mortgages, taxes, loans, banking, housing, etc. Students should learn how to

handle their finances before college or the real world because otherwise they would be

unprepared.

Another important life skill that is not taught in schools are communication skills which

schools severely lack. According to Hannah Young (Hannah Young High School Should Be

Reaching Life Skills." Fenton in Print”) “students feel like they aren’t using life skills or

learning them during their high school career.” This quote causally relates to how students are

not learning communication skills in school. Classes that teach social skills should be brought

back to schools in the form of electives or a club. Some schools do offer certain electives and

clubs that could improve a person's knowledge of communication skills, but you must be willing

to try something new. The main purpose of high school is to prepare students for college, but

imagine the benefit that would come from teaching student's life skills which would help during

and after college. English class could teach students skills about communication and careers

(Guise paragraph 1). A basic English class could teach students many skills about what their

future could have in store for them and how to accomplish goals through communicational skills.

The last important skill that should be taught in school is leadership which could be

associated with history class. Leadership skills are important because anyone with the right

skillset can learn how to manage businesses or be in a supervising position, which could pay a

good amount of money. Leadership skills can also help kids get a grip on their lives as well as

teaching them to respect everyone and try to avoid altercations (Opinion paragraph 5). This skill
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is unique because unlike the other skills that have been discussed leadership skills can be taught

from schools or at home. A way to learn some leadership skills would be by standing up for

yourself as well as other people (G #6). Also, while learning leadership skills it would be a good

idea to be an example for younger children. Students cannot learn everything in school, but they

should not have to learn important skills at their home which could result in inadequate learning

techniques. Having leadership skills is very important for success in the real world because of the

benefits of being a responsible and strong person.

In conclusion, students do not receive the proper knowledge about important life skills.

One of these important skills is dealing with money. This is an important skill to be proficient in

because it is arguably the most important item a person could have. Communication skills is also

an important skill to have because you will want to be able to get a job and be able to make

connections with other people. Leadership skills are important because a person could be taught

on how to be a respectable person and how to get an important job like a manager role. In 2011

1.5 million college graduates under the age of 25 were either out of work or unemployed

according to NBC news. A large amount of these college graduates blame their unsuccessfulness

on their high school education. The St. Petersburg Times revealed that students have been using

the same teaching methods for hundreds of years and it has not yet been reinvented. St.

Petersburgh Times also stated “to reinvent education, we need to rethink our goals. In economic

times like these, we need to make sure our generation is ready to work.” This shows that our

education system needs to be reformed around the teachings of life skills.

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Works Cited

Chen, Grace. "Are Public School Students Prepared for the 'Real World?'" Public School

Review, 30 Apr. 2018, www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/are-public-school-students-

prepared-for-the-real-world. Accessed 5 Nov. 2020.

G, Alessandra. "10 Lessons High School Has Taught Me." Millennials of New Jersey, Odyssey,

20 June 2017, www.theodysseyonline.com/what-high-school-has-taught-me. Accessed 5

Nov. 2020.

Guise, Steven. "How School Trains Us to Fail in the Real World." Steven Guise,

stephenguise.com/how-school-trains-us-to-fail-in-the-real-world/. Accessed 5 Nov. 2020.

"Opinion: High School Should Be Reaching Life Skills." Fenton in Print, 17 Dec. 2018,

fentoninprint.com/17064/opinion/high-school-should-be-teaching-life-skills/. Accessed 5

Nov. 2020.

Toe, Annabelle, et al. "Teenagers Need to Learn Life Skills in High School, Because Many

Aren't Learning at Home." The Dallas Morning News [Dallas, TX],

www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/05/17/teenagers-need-to-learn-life-

skills-in-high-school-because-many-aren-t-learning-at-home/. Accessed 5 Nov. 2020.