Education / Society
5 Subjects That Should Immediately Be Introduced in School
From the perspective of a fresh graduate
Despite 13 years at school, I still have to learn a lot of stuff. In the summer of 2020, I finally graduated and completed the highest school in Germany.
After all these years, one thing has struck me: There is a lack of some essential subjects.
In many areas of life, graduates are entirely on their own afterward. Of course, you always have to learn on your own , but society becomes an unequal place by missing some subjects. I am an excellent example of this.
I only became interested in entrepreneurship and investing through my father — in school, these are not subjects. Children who don’t have the same luck as I suffer severe disadvantages in their perspective.
Also, some essential basics for living together in our society are not taught. In the spirit of enlightenment, mature and critically thinking citizens should leave the schools — but this is not happening.
The current state of the school determines the future of society. Therefore, we need to talk about it.
Here are five subjects I hope my children will have in school one day. The list is not a ranking.
1. Personal Finance
I had economics as a subject. While I can handle a balance sheet and calculate ideal product prices, this is just not relevant to the 95% of students who will never start a business.
The focus should not be so much on business but personal finance and societal economics.
I didn’t even learn how to pay taxes in school.
Nor did I learn anything about investing money, what banks even are, or how credit works.
Many graduates will never learn about private retirement provisions after school and will not have a healthy relationship with money. That needs to change.
How do I get a loan? How do I pay taxes? What is the stock market, and should I invest my money there? Which insurances are essential? What rights do I have when buying and selling goods?
These are all questions that graduates should know the answer to.
2. Psychology
Many of my teachers were not trained educators at all.
Although they were good at conveying content, they often had little knowledge of human nature — a major problem when dealing with people who are in the most formative period of their lives. They could hardly teach us, students, anything about people either. I don’t want to blame them because, unfortunately, there is not even a subject in school for talking about what moves people.
Our psyche is the linchpin of our existence. Our soul is not only responsible for our behavior but also for how we feel physically.
When more and more people are suffering from depression, we should focus more on our mental existence.¹
We must enable young people to recognize problems. They need to be able to help each other and help themselves. They need to understand backgrounds and contribute meaningfully to the discussion about life.
At the moment, people who can explain their personality by their zodiac sign rather than by external and biological influences are leaving schools. This is a huge problem.
3. Spirituality And Ethics
My cousin said something interesting to me the other day.
If every child learned meditation in school, there would be no more wars in a few years.
While that may be a bit too hopeful, it’s basically a good idea. Meditation can do wonders, and it’s far from the only thing I associate with spirituality.
When you talk to young people between 14 and 18, you notice something sad. They think more about school grades than about the meaning of their existence and worthwhile values.
Young people pour out of schools with only the urge to immediately integrate themselves into our economic system. Family expectations, perceived strengths, and weaknesses play a big role — but what about the idea that you do what you find truly meaningful, not what you’re good at?
We live in a consumer society, with the increasing quantity and dwindling quality of things. A little mindfulness, self-reflection, and a sense of meaning would do us good.
What are the values that I should pursue? What is the impact of my consumer behavior and my interaction with other people? How can I deal with inner and outer conflicts?
These are also questions that I think a graduate should be able to answer.
4. Journalism for Non-Journalists
Out of school come people with impressive degrees. Yet, they still share fake news on Twitter. I don’t exclude myself from this (except for the one with a good degree). Digital media are a huge opportunity, but only if the majority of people can use them responsibly.
I myself have fallen for fake news time and time again. I have believed arguments based on ridiculous correlations. I have argued with studies that have long been considered unscientific.
Journalists do important work. But we shouldn’t put young people in the world who believe everything they say without questioning anything.
Sometimes there are mistakes in reporting. This does not have to be intentional at all, but it can still have glorifying effects. In 2018, it came out that a journalist of a major German magazine had completely invented many of his stories². As a result, trust in the media was severely shaken — a found food for extreme political parties².
How do I recognize false reports? What factors make statistics and data collection really relevant? Where can I find sources of knowledge that support my views? How does opinion formation work in our heads?
These are also questions that should be answered in school.
5. Digital Life & Security
While computers are getting more and more powerful, and everything is becoming digital, we left many people behind.
Yes, our generation is good at using smartphones, tablets, and computers — but that doesn’t mean we understand them fully.
In school, we were taught very little about technology. While most students are familiar with Einstein’s theory of relativity, they don’t know how chat apps, encryption, and cloud storage work.
This is not just a shame; it’s dangerous.
The more digital the world becomes, the more vulnerable it becomes — but only if we don’t know how to handle it properly.
How and when is my data encrypted? How do recommendation algorithms influence my behavior? How do you choose a good password? What are the ways hackers try to get my data?
We can not allow the younger generation not understanding the technology they are growing up with.
Thank you for reading!
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Sources
[1]: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/millennial-depression-on-the-rise#Signs-and-symptoms
