“I don’t know how you guys are going to survive in the outside world.” That is an actual quote from one of my professors after a couple classmates and I started freaking out about an assignment that seemed too daunting to complete.
Granted, it was an Interviewing and Networking class and the assignment was created to prepare us for the outside world, but it boils down to one thing: I am not ready to be an adult.
Legally you’re an adult when you turn 18, but anyone between the ages of 18 and 23 will assure you otherwise. I have no idea how to do taxes, I can’t balance a checkbook to save my life and please don’t ask me about credit because I will run in the other direction.
How could I have knowledge of these topics when I was never taught about them?
I find it unfair that I could explain that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell but can’t tell you how a mortgage works. Frequently, older people talk about the life skills class they took in high school or college. In this class they learned how to change a tire, balance their checkbooks and other basics of adulting. But don’t worry everyone, I can tell you the three different types of rocks and where to find them. This is clearly the most useful information that I need on a daily basis.
I’m not asking for much, just a course on how to exist after I graduate college. Make it a general education requirement and I can almost promise it would fill up the quickest.
I’m a communication studies major. Unfortunately, I don’t think geology is going to be helpful in my future career. I don’t need three science classes to repeat what I learned from fourth to 12th grade. I need a class that is going to help me transition into the real world post-graduation.
Having some sort of life skill development class is just logical. How do people expect things to get done if we don’t know how to do it? I’m just saying that you can’t solely blame millennials when the stock market crashes because we were never taught how stocks and investing work.
Maybe the class scheduling gods at West Chester should spend a little less time worrying about which art and music classes I take and more about what subjects are going to help me become an adult.
I mean, if you think about it this way, once we graduate we are a direct reflection on this institution. If I’m stranded on the side of the highway with a flat tire, you best bet that everyone passing me is also now looking at my “West Chester University” bumper sticker and making judgements. Rammy didn’t get a makeover just so we could get a decline in applications.
I know I technically can learn all of this on my own time, but I really don’t think I can sit through an entire hour of Siri talking me through it. Also, I’m just a lazy millennial so what can you expect?
Katie Ryan is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at KR822409@wcupa.edu.