this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2026
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I'm genuinely curious why, if this is serious. I feel like adulting badly needs to be taught better. I'm nearing mid twenties and still get so confused at a lot of adult things, especially government shit, because it's just so much to figure out for the first time.
It's definitely important to teach math and science and language, and to teach people how to do their own research, and think, and learn, etc. But are you saying practical skills shouldn't also be taught?
If anyone taught you how to do your taxes at school age I bet you'd forgotten all about it by the time you needed it
As OP said, what's important is to learn to learn
I was actually working and worrying about my taxes when i was in 10th grade. I think that's pretty common. It could be taught in 10th to 12th depending on when kids decide to learn it, maybe.
I interpreted it as a criticism of those who think there's no point to learning something if there isn't an immediately-obvious application for that knowledge. Like those who say, "What's the point of learning history? I'm not going to become a historian," as if learning needs to have a clear end-goal or else it's useless. Or those who think it's pointless to learn to play an instrument because you're not going to become a famous musician. It's a mentality that ties in with capitalism, where if you're not being productive, you have no use.
A well-rounded education should equip students with skills they can apply independently no matter what they do. Learning history provides context for the world we live in, why it is the way it is, and can inform us on how to move forward. Learning to play an instrument builds new connections in the brain, strengthens fine motor skills, and (in the case of reading music) how to move information between abstract concepts and a tangible form.
These skills provide benefits to people that can be built upon in the future. They may not have immediate usage to a student, but they create a foundation upon which a student can reach higher as they progress in life. Not every lesson is practical in the moment, but that doesn't mean it can't have value to a growing mind.