Naperville Central should implement life skills education within class curriculum. Whether that be by implementing it in all classrooms like SEL learning or even having short life skills lessons during the extra time after Hawk TV on extended late arrival days.

Now, you might be wonder, what exactly does life skill education entails. To help you understand what type of skills I’m referring to, here are some examples.

In a 2013 article, The Washington Post broke down some life skills into categories like this:

• Financial literacy (money and budget)
• Handling Emergencies
• Running a Household
• People and professional skills
• Home and car (buying, selling, repair, management, maintenance)

By not teaching us life skills like this, high schools are inadequately preparing their students for the future. Think about this:

Many Adults are calling our generation the new leaders of our country. And they’re not wrong. Look at what high schoolers have done about the gun control issue. However, how can we become leaders if we can’t even fill up a gas tank or even use a plunger?

And how can we be expected to do amazing things when we lack the skills to get into college or get a job? How many of you could write a resume and cover letter right now? Do you know how to conduct yourself at a professional lunch meeting with an employer? According to a 2011 study from the College Board, only 49% of the 1507 2010 high school graduates that were surveyed said that they felt high school prepared them for college and the working world.

Living in Naperville, many of us know how to swipe our credit cards when splurging on a clothes or buying starbucks. We all know how to use money, but we don’t even understand basic financial knowledge.

This past school year, I worked on a project where I created a five lesson program about financial literacy and taught the lessons to a 3rd grade class. While creating these lessons for the 3rd graders, I realized that I didn’t even know what financial literacy meant or what a budget was, so I had to teach myself along the way.

Does it seem like a big issue yet? it gets worse. Some skills we lack could potentially put us in danger. What do you do if your car breaks down in the middle of a highway? Or even what health insurance you have and what to do if you need to take a trip to the emergency room.