5 Essential Life Lessons Not Taught in Schools

It is a typical family scenario in any country and race that the moment a child is born, his/her fate is being sealed by the family; The elders seem to know already who that baby can be or the career when he/she grows up the future. It’s as if they have a vision of the future and from then on, they would intentionally mold the baby to its career path calling him or her “future doctor”, “future lawyer, “future teacher”, and the list would go on. By the time the child can already answer few questions, one of the most common question people anyone would throw to him/her is, “who do you want to be when you grow up?” The answer we would be expecting from this question is a profession or a job title and not exactly a name who they idolize growing into.

If you were born in the generation before the millennials, then the scenario is totally familiar and you might have been a victim by it. However, since the time has already changed and the generation is getting more and more assertive, not to mention progressive, than the ones before, the family stigma can now be evaded unlike years back. While it is true that the majority of the countries and races already have let loose on this practice, some Asians and wealthy families still practice this with a leeway. Clearly, our families just want the best for us and they associate it with career success and probably the cash flow it would entail and secure a good job in the future starts with a great educational foundation. While it is true that acquiring formal education would give you higher chances of good employment, it is also true that you can still be unemployed even if you have a formal education. Top Tycoon-players in the world market today are all school drop-outs yet, they run huge corporations and even invent our current technologies. So, what made them different? It is the social stigma and norm that they conquered and had beaten against the odds that made them where they are right now – all because they found valuable lessons that are not taught in formal education.

1.    Intelligence does not only reflect in Exam Results

Contrary to society’s norming, getting good grades do not measure the person’s intellect. There are 7 types of intelligence that a person can possess yet the society to seem to only check the mathematical and linguistic intelligence in the exams. A person can be not proficient in math and linguistic yet a genius in music, spatial ability, kinesthetics, and interpersonal intelligence. Even having a green thumb now is intelligence we need to measure. Top tycoons in this generation are school dropouts and even despise the school system because they were just placed in a box and there’s not enough space to think outside of it.IQ Tests are standardized and accurate, however, not everyone can ace those standardized exams. That is why, when you go for employment, you’ll get introduced to different kind of tests like personality tests, leadership tests, trade tests, and even integrity test. One test is not enough to measure a person’s complex intelligence and schools do not introduce them to you unless you are taking up Psychology and the like.

2.    Competition isn’t always Healthy and Failing isn’t always bad

School is all about competition and even though others do not like it, we do not have a choice. Weare constantly being ranked among our peers and sometimes among the whole school. This could be good for some as it boosts up the learner’s morale yet this can also sink them 6 feet under. School is all about healthy competition yet they do not control the person’s perception towards himself and personal performance. He or she may not realize it at first but this competition may greatly affect his or her social skills in the future. Being in a competition means there’s a winner and there’s a loser. Losing has 100% connotation of failure in school and it triggers parent conferences and even a red flag on your class card, however, in real life, we have to accept failures as rudimentary in one’s learning milestone. Every failure and setbacks may be a stepping stone for a comeback.

3.    Money doesn’t equate to Happiness

It is a known fact that we are expected to do well in school so that we could land a job in the future however, not just any job, our parents seem to expect us to land a good-paying job. A job’s salary is being measured through the person’s educational background vis a vis to his or her work experience. Our family tends to seek a well-compensating job from us because they equate it to happiness but this has been put into question when rich people get depressed and take their own life. Studies nowadays prove that money doesn’t equate to happiness and contentment will always be subjective towards a person’s life preference.

4.    Non-Conformity is Okay

Schools are where we are taught how to follow rules and regulations. This is a place where progressive disciplinary actions are introduced and it also depends on the gravity of the situation. Rules and Regulations are there to set an equilibrium and balance the good and the bad. This helps the student learn that he or she is free to do anything, however, there will always be consequences. Conformity is healthy in our society however sometimes; non-conformity is also okay. This allows students to think outside the box and freely experiment on how far he or she could go. If there are no non-conformers, then we shouldn’t have scientists, artists, visionaries, and researchers. They are all essentials in innovation and how we could evolve from one phase to another.

5.    Job Titles doesn’t make you Valuable

Since we are to expect to do well in school, we are to being taught how to achieve high positions in the future. There is no school in history, yet, that teaches how to be a beggar and how to be the lowest of low. But thanks to the demand for learning and advancement, there are now schools that offer courses when you start being an assistant, and so on and so forth. Job titles don’t make you valuable, but your contribution will.

These are just 5 life lessons that are not taught in schools and these are reminders not to students ability and intellect based on his or her educational background. We should always factor in the intellect, skills, attitude, personality, values, and character into the equation in order to fully say that a person is well-educated or not.

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