Education Essay

The Missing Piece of Education

Education should be completely relevant to the real world outside of school. I feel as though Americans sometimes view being educated only as being able to read difficult books, crunch numbers, write stories, and do science experiments. To me, being fully educated is so much more than that. It’s knowing how to relate to people and make them feel comfortable around you so you can have friends. It’s knowing how to interact with people and win their favor and liking so they will side with you in any argument, stand up for you, and support your ideas. Such concepts should be incorporated in schools. Sure, it might seem strange to take a class on “Empathy” or “Accepting Your Strengths and Weaknesses”, but acquiring such knowledge could really improve students’ lives outside the classroom.

Some children naturally possess these people and personal skills. Some learn them from their parents or other authority figures. A number of unfortunate children, however, do not possess the innate ability to be confident and socially pleasant, and also have socially unskilled parents. Thus, education systems should teach such concepts in school. If children learned about these topics, they would experience fewer petty conflicts amongst friend groups, have more self-esteem, and meet more success in achieving their goals.

The reason I am so passionate about this idea mostly stems from my interaction with one particular girl in high school. A member of my cheerleading squad, this girl was terribly unpleasant to be around. She gossiped about our teammates and intentionally spread rumors amongst us. She always wore a scowl. She made everything a competition, from who owned the nicest clothes to who possessed the most tumbling ability (thus her animosity was apparent not just at practice, but also every time I saw her at school). To make things worse, her mother, an even more disagreeable person than the girl, was our squad’s coach for a year. The two fought in front of the squad at practice, making every girl just itch to leave the room. Though they did not appear to even like each other, our coach did all she could to put her daughter front and center in every line up or formation.

I had to spend a great deal of time around this girl and, for a while, her mom. Quite frankly, I hated it. I honestly used to wish she would learn some social skills. Instead of constantly being jealous of and competing with me, why did she not take pride in her own abilities? Despite her disposition, she was technically an excellent cheerleader. Her mother obviously could not teach her personal confidence and social tact, so where could she learn it, for her own sake and for the sakes of those in contact with her? Why, school of course. This whole experience originally sparked my idea that schools should incorporate “practical life” classes: classes that transcend reading or math courses. They could instead teach students how to better understand their own nature and the nature of their relationships with others. If so, people like this teammate of mine could learn to be happier with themselves and cause less hurt to others.

Without the ability to manage one’s emotions and personally connect with other people, a person can never be effective in any position of authority. For example, I had a technically brilliant cheerleading coach in high school (a different one from the woman previously mentioned); she knew all the proper methods and latest, most popular techniques for every aspect of the sport. However, my coach was unable to enforce rules, showed favoritism to specific team members, and sometimes took out her emotional distress on the squad. As a result of this turmoil, my team never placed very well at state competition. Therefore, our coach gained little respect and was never recognized for the talent and knowledge I know she possessed. In this situation, each of our accomplishments and pride suffered because of my coach’s impracticality.

Thus, people need to learn how to believe in themselves and cooperate with co-workers or classmates. These concepts constitute subjects, just like biology or algebra. How better to learn practical life subjects than by putting them in schools? How else will people definitely ascertain this subject matter? Simply through life experiences? Perhaps, but maybe not. If students were taught these life subjects while still in school, they would possess the valuable knowledge forever. Education systems should first of all incorporate classes about making oneself presentable to others (through building one’s self-esteem, being positive, or resisting jealousy) and secondly on how to deal and interact with others (by showing empathy or by avoiding abrasive confrontations). In doing so, schools would better ensure students’ success in the future and would actually become relevant to real life in every way. In regard to schoolwork, students have been known to say, “When will I ever I use this?” Well, personal and communication skills will always be useful, regardless of one’s career path or life choices. Isn’t relevant information what education should be about?

The first type of practical life classes school systems should offer ought to be focused on helping students better manage their personalities and feelings. By becoming content with themselves, people can tackle obstacles in life more easily. For example, schools might provide courses about building self-esteem and recognizing personal strengths. Learning these concepts could help students handle “bullies” or unwarranted criticism from peers without becoming dejected. Another practical life class might be about learning how to stay positive. Others are drawn to people with positive dispositions, for no one enjoys the company of a constant complainer. Thus, such a class could potentially help students maintain more friendships, which is something all children truly yearn to do.

In my high school theater class, for example, my friends and I gave each other peer criticism. We would watch each other’s audition pieces, then give “hot” and “cold” feedback to the performer. In a lively drama class, generally no one was afraid to be outspoken and honest. I certainly received harsh criticism many times and was even told I should just leave the stage once. Though such feedback stung and startled me, I knew that overall I was a great actress. I was confident in the fact that I possessed a talent for acting and that I could improve any weaknesses. I felt chills and excitement inside when I performed well, so I remembered those good moments during the negative feedback in order to not become discouraged. By maintaining self-esteem and focusing on my acting strengths, I never resented my friends’ comments, but rather learned from them. Thus, we remained friends with no tension existing amongst us.
Learning how to keep emotions in check is another important personal life topic. A friend of mine in high school was an outstanding basketball player. However, she became very jealous whenever another teammate received recognition or was “in the spotlight.” Thus, this girl always experienced problems on her team; many players did not like her because she was unkind and bitter towards those who got attention. Her life was often unhappy, despite the fact that she possessed amazing talent. This example shows that being discontented with oneself and unable to control emotions—jealousy, in this case—can lead to unnecessary conflict. Perhaps if my friend had been taught this subtle knowledge in school (what better place to learn?) she could have avoided the turmoil.

The second type of practical life classes that schools should implement should teach students how to effectively interact with others. Healthy interpersonal relationships constitute an integral part of success and getting what you want in life. A course on empathizing, for example, would teach students to make the people around them feel more accepted and comfortable, thus allowing them to gain respect and trust from others. Schools might also offer courses on avoiding poor methods of confrontation; aggressively confronting people sometimes incites anger and disdain. By winning the favor of others, one may, for example, gain more support in his or her proposals at work, or just experience better cooperation in a group project at school.

My high school’s wrestling coach is very skilled at interacting and connecting with people. School administrators frequently grant all his requests because he is so agreeable and personable. When interacting with his team, he genuinely listens to and cares about their comments and concerns. This coach does all he can to make the team feel like a family, and he never attacks them with unreasonably harsh criticism, but rather points out their mistakes constructively. What is the result of all this positive interaction? This wrestling team has won state competition for the past three years, with individual state champions in several weight classes. The team members listen to their coach and take his criticism because he does not present his instructions offensively. Yes, he is a firm coach and of course yells at times, but he respects the thoughts and feelings of others and thus meets success in his job. By learning in classes at school these same methods of communicating and dealing with others, perhaps students would accomplish goals of great magnitude as this wrestling coach did.

Thus, if implemented in America’s education system, I believe practical life classes involving dealing with oneself and interacting with others would be highly beneficial to students. Some may ask, “Would students actually enroll in such classes?” If these life courses were offered regularly for an extended period of time, they would become commonplace, and I believe students would grow accustomed to them. In other words, students would no longer be embarrassed to enroll or think they shouldn’t since no one else is taking them – I know I like having my friends’ support when trying something new. Perhaps requiring enrollment in one or two of the courses would ensure students’ exposure to the valuable subject matter. This would help them decide whether or not they would like to further pursue these topics.

I sincerely believe that putting such practical life classes in schools would help students learn at an early age how to think more positively of themselves and consider the circumstances of others. This results in less distress and greater contentment in life. Teachers are capable of instructing students how to be excellent doctors, astronauts, and engineers, and students possess the abilities to execute these jobs skillfully. However, if these students cannot communicate with or relate to the people they work with outside the classroom, all the book knowledge in the world will not render them successful. How will people learn satisfaction in relationships and with themselves if no one teaches them? Learning these practical life subjects in school can help children avoid some of the hardships of life beyond projects, homework, and tests. Practical life classes could complete the American education system, enabling it to prepare students for every facet of the real world, not just the reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic that normally defines education.

Bio:

Melody Bailey is a freshman Industrial Engineering major from Ellijay, GA. She is very involved with her sorority and several other activities on campus.

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