Are you one of those people who say they never learned anything in high school?

Me neither.

I learned a lot in high school, but there were some critical topics that the teachers never mentioned.

1) Parenting

Carrying an egg around for a week isn’t parenting. The sad thing is just doing that class assignment would have already put you “in the know” compared to most other high school graduates.

Looking at how you were raised by your parents will rarely prepare you for the real thing, which is why so many people agonize before having kids and then get stressed out when they do. Or worse, they become bad parents.

2) Financial Literacy

Can you read a company’s financial statement? Could you read one when you finished school?

Let’s try another example- do you know what the difference is between an asset and a liability?

Most people aspire to buying their own house for when they decide to settle down. Seems like a good asset to have, right?

Think again.

As long as you’re paying off the mortgage on that house, it’s a liability, a debt to pay off, not something bringing you any immediate returns. And because you’re covering a mortgage, you’re actually paying much more than the house cost the bank to buy it for you in the first place.

3) Job Search

People should love job hunting. It’s a chance to do something better, to raise your standard of living, to move up in the world and improve life not just for you, but your dependents as well.

So then why does everyone hate looking work? Because they were never taught how to do it. As a result, they lack self-confidence and steel themselves for potentially months of the resume-interview-rejection cycle and should hardly be surprised when they meet those low expectations.

What you can do now

If the educational system won’t educate you, you need to educate yourself:

Read – there are many terrific blogs (such as these job search blogs), self-help books and guides that can teach you but do yourself a favor and start reading BEFORE you need to make life-changing decisions on these topics.

Learn – consider enrolling in an online course, local seminar or workshops with experts who have a proven track record for what they teach.

Network – join support groups, discussion forums and social media sites whose members have similar experience or better. Try to find a mentor you can follow to success.

Question of the article

How have you been able to overcome your lack of education in one of the above subjects? Tell us in the comments.

A version of this article originally appeared on the Fresh Perspectives blog.

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