11 Subjects They Should Teach In School That We Could Actually Use In The Real World
WHAT IS A 401K AND WHY DO I NEED IT? Because honestly, why wouldn't I rather have more money in my paycheck every two weeks? HELP ME UNDERSTAND.
By 
Ali Arnone
I remember being back in school and taking some oddly specific class and thinking to myself, “I am NEVER going to use this.”
Of course, if this situation ever came up in front of your teacher, they’d try to explain how, say, calculus could end up being used at some point in our adult lives.
Bless their heart.
I’m here to tell you kids now: you won’t use it. In fact, you won’t use most of the stuff you learned in school unless you go into a very specific profession that requires it or of course. Unless you become a teacher and then need to know the stuff in order to teach it.
The Pythagorean theorem? a2+b2=c2? NOPE. Never used that. Couldn’t even tell you a scenario in which I ever would.
Here’s the thing: I’m not anti-education and I do think so much of what we learn in school sticks with us, and that we need it in order to survive as adults. But what about the stuff they don’t teach you in school? The stuff you find yourself having to do for the first time as an adult and realizing that you’re just totally stumped? The kind of stuff you still need to call your parents and ask for help with because you never learned it, have no clue how to do it, and wish somebody taught a damn class on it instead of chemistry, which has proven itself to be completely useless in your life.
So this got me thinking. Here are 11 subjects we actually could use later in the real world:
1. FOLDING A FITTED SHEET 101: Literally, this is the entire course.
2. SPLITTING THE CHECK AT A RESTAURANT MATH: How to split the bill 14 ways, especially when 3 people didn’t drink, 1 only got an appetizer, and 2 came late and only got entrees.
3. HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU TIP THIS PERSON: Different scenarios, locations, and check amounts will help you determine if and when you should be leaving a tip, and how much.
4. PROPER COFFEE MAKING: No, I don’t mean in a stupid Keurig. I’m talking about how to make or brew coffee in an actual pot using filters, coffee grinds, the whole nine yards.
5. THE ART OF DOING LAUNDRY: I never learned about not mixing darks and lights, and the first time I did laundry in college, all my white shit came out pink.
6. FILING YOUR TAXES: Otherwise I’ll have no choice but to keep having my parents do it for me.
7. VEHICLE MAINTENANCE 101: How to fill your gas tank, how to change a flat tire, how to safely jump start your car, and what to do when your ‘check engine’ light comes on would all be part of the curriculum.
8. PUTTING TOGETHER IKEA FURNITURE WITHOUT WANTING TO MURDER SOMEONE: Including deciphering those damn directions.
9. SETTING A TABLE WHEN HAVING GUESTS: What side does the fork go on again?
10. COOKING FOR DUMMIES: This was probably taught in Home Economics, but I wasn’t paying attention. My bad. Not all of us have Home Economics anyway.
11. WHAT IS A 401K AND WHY DO I NEED IT?: Because honestly, why wouldn’t I rather have more money in my paycheck every two weeks? HELP ME UNDERSTAND. 
