20 Things That Aren't Taught In Schools But Probably Should Be

Redditor u/athena_in_lust recently asked the people of Reddit, "What should be taught in US public schools that is not taught currently?" Watch (or, rather, read) and learn:

1. "Media literacy, which also dovetails with critical thinking skills."

—u/mWade7

2. "There are just too many adults that don't know how to do basic adult skills: Cooking, cleaning, basic repairs, child care. It does not take a specific set of genitals to master any of the above either. By 18 years old, you should be able to clean a house and make a basic meal of a main course, a starch (rice, pasta, potatoes/yams or bread), and a vegetable on your own!"

—u/Danivelle

3. "Financial literacy — budgeting, loans, credit cards, how interest is calculated, retirement planning, and saving."

—u/mWade7

4. "Adequate sex ed. It’s still abstinence-only in half the country."

—u/wizardgobrrr

5. "Japanese internment is treated as a side note in American World War II politics, but if it happened in any other country it would be considered a crime against humanity."

—u/marks31

6. "How to handle conflict, how to gently say no, how to communicate. Some people really don't get social skills or role models, and that's a real hindrance."

—u/funyesgina

7. "Sign language."

—u/chizzle91

8. "Critical thinking. Public schools teach kids to memorize and recite, but they don’t teach much about how to analyze and think about what you are taught."

—u/Ranos131

9. "Can we provide a course on how to protect yourself from scammers, crooks, and other clowns, as well as how to do ACTUAL research on a topic to get more information instead of reading random shit on the internet and assuming it's accurate? The amount of misinformation being pumped across everybody's phones, computers, and tablets is scary!"

—u/mvincent12

10. "Do they still teach typing? My zillennial friends and coworkers were amazed by how fast I typed and wished they were as quick. I asked, 'Didn’t you do Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing?' They looked at me blankly. I only graduated high school 13 years ago! But apparently computer classes don’t really teach it."

—u/ncmnlgd

11. "Empathy. Countries like Denmark and France have empathy classes for their kids. Adults here in America could use an empathy class, let alone our kids."

—u/Global_Box_7935

12. "How to find credible sources. I didn't learn about peer-reviewed research and journal databases until university. Now, I don't even buy shampoo without checking if the ingredients actually do what they claim to do. It's not surprising that people who didn't go to university don't get vaccines and don't believe in global warming — they literally don't understand how scientific knowledge production works."

—u/GrammarIsDeceptive

13. "Music and art. Music education helps kids master 'the fundamentals' such as math and literacy, and it also gives many kids who are struggling a kind of home that they don't have elsewhere. Cutting art, music, and theater programming has been an unmitigated disaster for America's kids."

—u/Kooky_Improvement_38

14. "Cursive. My kid can't read my handwriting."

—u/demonmonkeybex

15. "The English Civil Wars from 1640-1660. It's the basis of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It shows why America is not a Christian nation and it explains why Christian Nationalism is directly against the Founding Fathers' beliefs."

—u/Constant-Low6312

16. "Comparative religion. For most of our existence, we humans have sought guidance from the divine, but now people see it as a barrier that divides us despite all evidence pointing to society needing religion in some capacity just to stay together time and time again. Why? Because it unifies communities and provides ideals to aspire to, and while there are those who can and do abuse it for their own diabolical ends, it still serves its principle function. What better way to unify modern society than to study why our ancestors believed what they believed, how their belief systems really worked, and what common grounds they can come to now?"

—u/stinky_cheese33

17. "The economics of class warfare, and how those with wealth seek to keep you divided on cultural issues so you ignore the real problems in our society caused by obscene hoarding of wealth."

—u/Yearofthehoneybadger

18. "How to pick a health insurance plan."

—u/Maurakutney

19. "The nature, meaning, and ongoing significance of treaty relations between the US and Indigenous nations. The existence and potential legitimacy of the U.S. completely relies upon those treaty relationships."

—u/clarence_wms

And finally...

20. "American history — the actual kind. The next generation would be much different if they knew about Blair Mountain and the Homestead strike. Imagine if curriculums focused on events that shaped the present, like segregation and Jim Crow, the bombing of Black Wall Street. We need to teach about internment camps and the loss of generationally held lands with the same force we teach about concurrent events. The only way to prevent the reoccurrence of past injustice is to face it head-on and learn from it. The whitewashing of American history is a tragedy waiting to happen."

—u/VVetSpecimen

Got your own suggestions? See you in the comments!

These entries were edited for length and clarity.