‘Schools prepare us for exams, not adulthood’: Singaporeans share what they wish they had learned

SINGAPORE: It is without a doubt that what students learn from their years spent in their respective schools can be beneficial and helpful as they build and grow their professional careers. However, there are some skills that can actually shape adult life, which go beyond math computations or essay techniques. 

On Reddit, a netizen curiously asked: “What’s something you wished you had been taught before leaving school?” The netizen also admitted in the post that education systems focus on grades and results, but they barely teach students how to actually live life.

“We spend years learning how to score well for exams but not necessarily how to manage money, handle workplace stress, build healthy relationships, deal with failure, negotiate a salary, understand CPF/taxes or even figure out what actually makes us happy… Obviously, schools can't teach everything and academic results do matter. But I sometimes wonder if we put too much emphasis on preparing people to pass exams and not enough on preparing them for adulthood,” the post further declared. 

This has sparked interesting discussion among other netizens.

One commented that he/she wished the Singaporean education system taught how to build healthy relationships and how to properly address and express their emotions, primarily because he/she believes that Singaporean parents are bad at teaching this. 

Another netizen claimed that young people should be taught how to contemplate the nature of each problem, rather than simply find a solution. 

“Most problems that persist in real life are complex and the solutions for them are hardly ever straightforward. Most people go about trying to get their life in order and/or effect change in their environment by spending time and effort on the wrong (relative) things,” the netizen added. 

Others remarked that accepting failure and embracing the opportunity to try again should be understood by many, and that many should be able to cultivate critical thinking. Furthermore, having financial literacy is also one of the things that people wished schools would give importance to. 

“I wish they taught us financial literacy; this is definitely more useful than your chemistry and advanced mathematics. Let's be honest, the only math you do in the workforce is mostly counting your monthly salary or annual leave,” a netizen stated. 

“Schools have limited time and are also trying to teach everything else and then families have different values and resources. No institution can completely prepare somebody for adulthood,” a comment concluded. 

The comments may not have produced one definitive answer, but they showed just how many things people end up learning only after leaving school.

For some, that means figuring out money and CPF. For others, it is learning how to handle failure, relationships, emotions and the messy problems that rarely come with a clear answer.