Important life lessons to learn in school

What are the most important lessons to learning in school? When I started researching this topic, to see what others have said, the responses varied but they all had a common theme: life lessons. Lessons which we carry with us every day, to keep learning and live our daily lives. Lessons that will help us in every area of our lives. Some of the most important lessons to learn in school aren’t facts or formulas. These lessons are: to try and not be afraid of failure, someone will be smarter than you, and everyone is special in different ways.

First, Say I will try. My daughter learned this the first day of kindergarten. Instead of saying “I can’t,” she learned to say “I will try.” She may fail but it doesn’t mean she will always fail when she tries. Failure is the greatest teacher. When we are afraid to fail, we fail to try, we fail to attempt and miss the opportunity to learn and accomplish great things. When we attempt and fail, we learn what not to do and try again. Try and fail until we learn what works. Unfortunately, many children are taught to fear failure because the expectation to get it right the first time is pressed upon. Parents are the greatest instigators of this fear. When your child learns to use the toilet, how many parents got angry when the child had an accident? When the child is learning how to speak, how many parents and grandparents, harshly correct their speech? Teachers can be a factor as well. Strict or harsh teachers can be a benefit or detrimental depending on the student. Some would thrive with a teacher who was strict while others would give up rather than fail again. Parents and teachers need to learn how to correct failures without harming the child’s self-image. If they become so afraid to fail, they will never reach their potential. Failure is a part of life. The sooner we learn that lesson, the sooner we can move past the fear and try until we succeed.

Second, someone will be smarter than you or better at something; however, it does not mean you should not work hard. You can still be great at what you know or do. Learning some subjects came easy for me. I’ve been good at remembering facts and dates in history. I remember plot points of stories and books were easy for me. However, I struggled in math in high school. It wasn’t until college did I learn that I could be good at math. Kids need to learn that they are learning for them, to better their lives. Sometimes they will have the highest score and sometimes it will be someone else, that doesn’t mean they should stop trying, to stop learning because ultimately we live life based on what we know then what our grade was. Also being able to recall facts doesn’t always mean the person is smart. For instance, someone claims to have a photographic memory is simply recalling an image of something they saw. Does this mean they are smarter? Or someone who is just good at taking test and eliminating answers to pick the best possible one. Are they smarter? How about someone who sees a problem and comes up with an ingenious situation? Are they smarter? I think we’d all answer they are all smarter but is one way better than the other? No. therefore, every child should find a method of learning that works for them and keep at it. They will find their stride and the sky’s the limit. You only competition is yourself. 

Third, everyone is special; however, not in the same way. Some people are super smart who learn things fast while others need extra help. Some will be amazing athletes while others will never be first string. Some people will be amazing musician while others cannot carry a tune. Some are better dancers and others should never be on the dance floor. Some are born leaders and others work better as part of a group. However, we are not meant to be all things. We all have one or more talents that we do better than someone else. For instance, I am a better writer and reader in my family. But my husband is the better artist. He can see a picture and draw it free hand. I can only draw stick figures. My daughter has shown interest in art and music. So I want to encourage both so she can find what she likes and wants to pursue. The important thing is to find what you are good at, what you enjoy and practice, practice, practice. Don’t focus on what others are doing better and you cannot do. Focus on what you enjoy and pursue it.

In conclusion, ultimately these lessons help an individual to try and learn how to succeed in the process as well as learning to stop comparing yourself to others and being the best you that you can be. These are lessons that we need to learn repeatedly throughout our lives as the learning process never ends. I know that I struggle with the fear of failure. However, I have past examples of where I overcame my fear and succeeded more than I failed again. When you continue to try despite the possibility of failures, when you accept that someone will be smarter than you and we are have different but special abilities and talents, we can erase a great deal of anxiety and stress from our lives. What would you consider to be the most important lessons to learn in school?