Editorial: A Course on Life Skills Should Be Required

Going through general education for 12-13 years, individuals begin the transition from students to young adults.

Whether continuing their education or not, there are several life skills that people will need to be proficient in order to provide for themselves in the adult world.

However, there are some adults who do not learn throughout their lives how to undertake some basic life skills for themselves. This can sometimes lead to some feeling less prepared when they are about to become adults. 

While this college requires a course to prepare students for college (Gateway), there is not a required course to help prepare students for life once they complete their education.

“Practical life skills aren’t only important for living a productive, efficient, and successful life, but also for simply existing in the world around us,” according to Brillanto in 2022. 

Most life skill courses are offered through elective classes and are not requirements, making these life skills not available for some students. Some students may also have parents who do most of this work/do not have time to teach some skills to their children, which does not allow them to be as independent.

“Amazingly, the average American says they learned nearly half of their current job skills on the job as opposed to in a classroom,” according to New York Post.

Some life skill courses are taught in high school but are only offered as electives, including Home Economics, Culinary Science, Electrical Wiring, and Building Trades. These are only a few of the many life skills that people need to know as young adults.

Since some students are not able to be taught certain life skills, and we believe there should be a required course offered in college before students graduate.  This way, they will have learned life skills in order to have better preparation before they enter adult life and have a better understanding of what to do in their adult life in many situations.

This course can teach basic life skills everyone may need while becoming independent adults. Different topics/units can range from culinary, basic mechanics, finance, etc. Students can learn how to sew a button on a shirt, do laundry, reconcile a bank account, fill out a check, find a doctor/make an appointment, get insurance, and do taxes (just to name a few).

As students learn these life skills, the course would teach them how to be more independent.

“Life skills can include the ability to manage emotions, health, finances, relationships, and school performance, to name a few. An ability to master these things has a direct impact on a person’s self-worth, emotional balance, physical health, and independence,” according to the Jed Foundation

The transition from a student to an adult can be scary for some students, especially if they do not know how to do certain things. We propose that having a required course on basic life skills would be beneficial for students so they feel more prepared for the adult world and to teach them how to be more independent.