Some things I learned in school and have forgotten, and some things I never learned at all.

I believe that the most important thing that you do in your life is finding some one special to share your time with. Second to that is starting a family. I learned about neither of these things in all of my schooling. I learned calculus and forgot it. I learned chemistry and forgot it. I learned physics, all the kings and queens of England, German, ancient history, and I have forgotten most of them. None of these things were useful in my life. None of these things helped me get a job. So why do we learn all of this stuff? I don’t know.

Some things that I would have liked to have learned are: how do I find a good wife, how could I be a good husband, how do I raise a child, how do I balance a work life and family life? None of these were even addressed in school. There was the one class where people carried around bags of flour as if they were children. I didn’t take that class (neither did most of the students), because it wasn’t required and wouldn’t help me get into college. I’d be willing to bet that raising a child is not the same as lugging a bag of flour.

What I did learn in school was that sex was bad. You will get AIDS and die. Smoking weed is the same as snorting coke or injecting heroine. All drugs will fry your brain like an egg in a frying pan. I grew up respecting teachers, but they in turn lied to me.

I don’t know what is worse under educating or mis-educating. Either way schools are not doing what they need to do. Originally they were set up to train people to work in factories, hence the bells, memorization, and strict obedience. Those skills are becoming less and less useful as time goes on.

Maybe if we were taught how to better raise our kids, we wouldn’t be so willing to let them go on learning the old ways at the old schools. We would demand more. We would demand that they would learn how to become creative thinkers, good people, and involved citizens. I know a lot of learning needs to come from the home, but the reality is that kids spend more time in school that they do with their parents. It is a shame that they don’t come out better prepared for LIFE.