Intellectual Advancements by Ashley

Intellectual Advancements by Ashley - August 2015 Scholarship Essay

The average American student will spend fifteen years in school learning basic education (not including college). Students are educated on subjects such as English, math, history, foreign languages, and physical health. Although these subjects are necessary to know; unfortunately, none of them educate students on basic life skills. If a subject were to be added to America’s high school curriculum, it would be to teach the importance of life skills- such as, paying taxes, writing checks, developing and following budgets, acquiring expectations for interviews, etc. Education is the key to the intelligence of future generations. If a program like this existed it would prepare students to become accountable adults, better educate students on the basic elements of life, and mature the youth to become better equipped for reality.

Most young adults do not learn responsibility until they are required to support themselves. The consequence of learning responsibility while living independently sets the student up for financial struggles. If students had access to a course that educated them on creating budgets, saving money, paying bills and taxes there would be a major decrease in the number of students in debt.

The basic elements that every person should be educated on are people skills and interview techniques. If these skills were taught in the American education system, then the future adolescence of America would be more innovative than ever before. Future generations would develop an expansion of central knowledge as well as a sense of realism. As many educational programs that have been cut in the public school system, the Department of Education should make a positive change in the improvement of future generations.

Youth are constantly searching for ways to “grow up”. We have all heard it before, “Enjoy your childhood while you have it”. The truthfulness of it is, is that teenagers will make ignorant and destructive decisions to craft them to feel grown up. If there were a class that taught students how to become independent, as well as leaders in the community, then I believe the number of teen pregnancies, young drug users and alcoholics would decrease. Students would achieve a sense of accountability, an understanding of the economy, and would remain less dependent on peers and family members.

If America appointed a program specifically to educate generations on these significant life skills, I believe the outcome would be remarkable. Currently, the American education system does not inform the youth of the significance of responsibility. If the education system cannot teach teens independence when they are young, then they should not expect them to be, when at the age of eighteen. The education system is in desperate need of a positive change. If America does not attempt to do anything different, they cannot expect to achieve different results.