Over the past few years, students have been complaining that they don’t have enough “real world” skills when they graduate from school. While they learn things like math and proper grammar, they might not know how to do laundry, cook dinner, or any of the basic skills that we really need to get through life.

Though parents can teach kids these skills at home, the education system can sometimes do a better job at this. That’s why many are calling for schools to bring back home economics classes so that children can learn these skills.

Even college students sometimes have a complete lack of knowledge of basic life skills. One math professor recently noticed this in her math lab when she found that many students don’t realize that once they own property, they will be responsible for paying property taxes for the rest of their life. She then decided to add a component to classes in order to help her students be better prepared for life.

Many students are able to compose a Shakespearian sonnet, yet they do not know anything about taxes, credit cards or finances. This has exposed a gaping hole in our education system that desperately needs to be filled. Some schools have responded to this by reintroducing home economics classes and calling them “Skills for Life.” These schools have made the classes mandatory, and in them, students learn about things that will make them better prepared for life in the real world. We can only hope that more schools jump onboard with this, because when it comes to basic life skills, the younger generation needs all the help they can get!