Prepare students for adult life

THE EDITOR: Schools are failing to prepare students for their adult life. The modern education syllabus appears to be academia-centric, preferring to grow students towards university and specific job fields. However, it should be noted that this is not the path of every student. Meanwhile, what every student does have in common is the inevitability of having to navigate everyday adult life. Then why is there is little to no focus on this aspect in a student’s education?

According to a Red Cross survey, put forth by Alison McNulty, 59 per cent of deaths from injuries could have been preventable had first aid been given before primary responders arrived. With this staggering discovery, one must then ask why is it that first aid is not mandatorily taught in schools?

Another example is the lack of attention by the education syllabus on the financial aspects of adult life. Taxes are a major source of revenue for the Government. It is especially so in our post-closure of the oil refinery environment. Most working people are entitled to pay them.

With this in mind, it is shocking to also note that the majority of students aren’t enlightened about this process within the current education system. Many students do not know how to pay taxes or even if they are expected to pay them based on their possible career options. One must then begin to wonder if this ignorance is the reason why so many people avoid paying taxes altogether.

Children can only be our future if we train them to be. That is something our education syllabus utterly neglects. What may be suitable is the formation of a new subject geared towards explaining and teaching student what would become necessary knowledge in everyday adult life. It can only be effective, however, if made a compulsory subject alongside mathematics and English A.

STEVON JAGGASAR

student