Is it Time to Revisit High School Course Requirements?

When we speak to educators and administrators at various conferences around the country, one of the questions we invariably ask is:
 

“How many of your schools have defined a well prepared graduate for life?”
 
Sadly, we’ve yet to see more than 10 percent of audience members respond affirmatively. Of those, comparatively few admit that their school has a specific pathway to build these required skills.
 
At the same time, out in the “real world," we find that:

1. Employers are lamenting the lack of soft skills among younger workers (and applicants), thereby necessitating additional training.
2. The US ranked 19^th out of 28 countries in college completion in 2012, according to an OECD study¹.  (It ranked first as recently as 1995.)
3. Colleges are reporting significant increases in student visits to their counseling centers, citing factors such as depression and anxiety.

 
It is apparent from multiple perspectives that we are falling short in preparing our children for independent life. While this is a complex challenge with many contributors, I’d like to share what I consider to be a primary source of the problems: the course requirements for high school graduation.
 
The US economy has changed dramatically in the past few decades, requiring different skills than before. Also, post-secondary education has become much more popular, which argues for greater advance preparation.  And, jobs for students during high school are more difficult to come by, limiting opportunities for valuable workplace skill development. In light of these factors, the question is whether our education requirements have appropriately adapted. Many believe they have not—and we agree.
 
At LifeSmart, we believe students need greater applied learning and skill development and practical preparation for independent living. This would significantly enhance both career- and life-readiness for our nation’s high school graduates.
 
While people may disagree on which courses deserve the status of a requirement (versus an elective), we believe the following would help address the skill gap:

• College and Career Readiness: this would prepare students for their next education steps, as well as the four career mastery stages: exploring, qualifying, marketing, and excelling. Valuable perspectives from employers would be included.
• Independent Living: this would offer students a clear glimpse into “life on their own,” including leadership, soft skills, relationship building, budgeting, and everyday living skills.  
• 21^st Century Skills: this would help students build the analytical, problem solving, collaborative, and communication skills needed to succeed.
• Personal Finance: this would include the basics of budgeting, banking, investing, credit, identity protection, insurance, car buying, and loan applications. (It would also improve our nation’s financial literacy!)
• Entrepreneurship: this course would expose students to all aspects of creating and managing a business (and learning about capitalism in the process!). Knowing that most students will work in a business or organization, this would offer valuable insights into how the “real world” operates.
• Communications: this course would include both verbal and written personal and professional communications. In today’s highly collaborative workforce, communication skills are a must. The casualness of contemporary communication has become a major impediment to many young people adapting to college and professional environments.

 
For some schools, this would involve converting existing electives into requirements, and others would involve new course offerings. Of course, it would be helpful to incorporate these practical skills in other classes where possible.
 
These are our ideas. We’d love to hear yours!