Integrals, rhetoric, and circuitry are at the front of teenagers’ minds all throughout high school, but little sticks with them for the long run. If students are lucky enough to pursue a career in which these topics are used on a daily basis, then these classes will seem useful and applicable.

However, for those moving toward a future without environmental science, calculus, and such subjects, they might not concern themselves with the specifics of carbon dating and how sedimentary rocks form.

Yet, all of these topics are embedded so deeply into the curriculum that they leave no space for other topics such as personal safety or communication skills.

“I think being involved in sports and activities and school in general is life skills,” principal Dan Serrano said.

Leaving students to pick up on such skills on their own is a dangerous form of thinking, because school should be preparing students for their futures in every way. Some students do not have the free time to spend on extracurriculars that teach such skills, so inserting it into the curriculum would be a way to support those with the inability to participate in sports or clubs.

Some disagree with the idea that life skills should be taught in schools, hinging on the thought that parents should be teaching their children such things. However, the reality is that some parents are simply not able to teach such things, whether it be due to a lack of time or simply a lack of expertise themselves. So shouldn’t school systems be providing the necessary supplements to fill in the blanks?

One of the few mandatory classes that includes basic life lessons is the semester-long Economics course. It provides valuable information on budgeting, filing taxes, and planning for the future. This is considered by many students to be the most comprehensive and helpful class taken during high school; it prepares them for things they will have to consider and experience during adulthood.

While many students see the economics course as extremely effective in teaching such skills, it is a semester long class often paired with the mandatory semester of government – five months of packed terminology and involves more memorization than the alphabet in kindergarten.

A health class was also made mandatory for students, usually to be taken during their sophomore year. While this teaches the vocabulary behind some diseases, mental health issues, and other related ailments, it does not include much on the prevention or treatment. It is often limited to memorizing definitions and the technicalities behind it all instead of focusing on how to deal with these issues when they come up in real life.

This is not to say that literature, mathematics, and the sciences are unimportant in a curriculum – they should still be taught. However, providing mandatory classes to teach students life lessons would be invaluable for improving their overall knowledge and future.