Hey, this has been a topic of debate for a long time now and all I am doing is giving my own personal views on why this idea is true, so no hurt feelings.

Firstly, what exactly do we learn in school? The main core subjects in most English curriculum schools are Math, English, Science, Social Studies and some other classes which differ depending on which school you attend. Obviously, if you don’t know the language people around you use most of the time, you will have a hard life, so English is definitely an important class but after about middle school level it becomes mostly useless information you will never need to know in your life, e.g. poetry, types of imagery and stuff like that. Now we go to math, elementary school teaches you most of the things you’ll ever actually use in life, e.g. simple calculations. The rest is just for your knowledge and to get a grade in school. Next on the list, we have Science and Social Studies. Both classes are just for your everyday knowledge but not things you will have to know to get around in life. For example, not knowing how to measure the velocity of a moving car will not have a huge impact in your life, actually you may never even use it after your school life unless you have a profession that requires you to know it. Social Studies, same thing, just for your knowledge. Then you’ve got all those other what I like to call ‘extra’ classes which are mostly for fun or because you have to do them.

Now I am not trying to diss school and say everyone should drop out and that school is a whole bunch of nonsense, so don’t get me wrong here. I think school is a great way to enlighten your mind and it lets you learn many things that you might find interesting. What I am saying is that school does not really prepare you for the ‘real world’, the world where people work for their money and freedom. Now, by work, I mean not being an employee for a company but working as in using your skills to achieve your goals. School is also a great place for your social life. Students usually have many friends in school and it provides them with fun both in and out of school.

Very important things are left out of the school curriculum. The main one is definitely a class about how to manage your money wisely, kind of like a Finance class. Almost every school in the world does not have this class in their curriculum, there are the elite few schools that do have this class (kudos to them). I will stress the importance of this class. If people had this class, we would not have many people in debt and not knowing what to do about it, we would not have people having 50 credit cards and not paying for any of their expenses, we will not have people thinking that a newly bought automobile is an asset, and we would have people knowing how to use their money wisely.

I believe that if this class was added to the school curriculum, we would have much smarter people in the real world and maybe have the United States national debt average much lower than it currently is. I am not blaming people for not knowing this, I mean nobody ever taught them about money in school and that it doesn’t fall from the sky. But in our current world, money is everywhere and it is important in your lives. Don’t even start with the whole ‘money is not the key to happiness’ because in our current lives, IT IS. If you didn’t have money, you wouldn’t be here reading this, because well, you wouldn’t have a computer. So don’t even start. And one of my favorite quotes is: Lack of money is the root of all evil.

So, anybody out there reading this article, think about how school is preparing you for the rest of your life and just somehow you may find out that it’s not. You can argue with me all you want, I am open-minded. And again, I am not dissing schools, schools are great, but I am angry with the fact that schools don’t teach you what you need to know about how the ‘real world’ works.

Note: All teachers and students of above subjects mentioned: I have nothing against any of you so don’t get angry with me. And remember, this is my personal view on the matter.

Below I am quoting an opinion article from Hong Kong’s premier English newspaper, The South China Morning Post. I agree with everything this person has written and I think it is quite a good article for Hong Kong people to relate to.

The recent campaign and threats to withdraw investment by the entertainment and restaurant sectors is tantamount and blackmail. In a society that promotes equal rights, smokers and restaurateurs fail to acknowledge that other people have the right not to be victims of secondhand smoke, and that smoking in an enclosed environment is an infringement of non-smokers rights.

Smokers can still smoke in places other than restaurants and the price they have to pay is merely inconvenience. The price others have to pay for smokers’ enjoyment is their health, or even their life.

The entertainment and restaurant sectors are concerned about their profits and that is why they shy away from defending their “cause” from a moral point of view. While profits are understandably their main concern, in this case the issue is not that simple. Other considerations, such as civic responsibility, are involved.

The moral point of view, rather than expediency, should form the basis for considering any legal issue that affects people’s wellbeing in society. From this perspective, those who oppose a smoking ban have no case to make.

Hong Kong purports to be a progressive city. It should learn from truly progressive international cities that have already made substantial inroads in banning smoking in enclosed public areas such as restaurants.

The government should not shy away from banning smoking in the face of threats and blackmail from profit-focused organizations and self-serving groups of individuals. For once, it should stand firm.