Living Rhetorically in the Real World

Three Things Missing from University

I loved university while I was there, but I also felt like there were a few things lacking. Now that I've been in the working world a couple years, I know there were a few things missing. These could also be applied to high school, actually, but since an undergraduate degree is the new high school diploma, I'm going to say that these are the things that ought to be taught at university:

1) Everyday budgeting. Paying off bills and a mortgage, while trying to put money away into RRSPs and TFSAs (what the heck are those, anyway?), and trying to manage all other expenses, can be really tough if it doesn't come naturally to you. Numbers aren't my strong suit, but I have a keen interest in budgeting, so I make lists of all of my expenses and income, and I put money away into savings and all of that. Even so, I have a really tough time understanding how various savings systems work and how I can put money against the principal of my mortgage and that sort of thing. If you have parents who understand this stuff and a nice person at the bank to help you out, listen to their advice and ask questions because it's one of the best things you can do. But you know what would be even better? If there was at least one mandatory course in university which teaches you how to budget and save money. This would be great for the economy and it would be so useful for people in general. Getting into debt and never paying off credit cards has become the norm these days, and it's primarily because people don't know how to manage their money.

2) How to write. I'm so sick and tired of the number of news releases and professional documents I receive with tons of typos, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. It's unacceptable when the document is a professional one. I wish they'd spend more time at university teaching people how to learn the difference between "to, too, and two" and how to use proper sentence structure. It's a shame how many people write poorly. Inconsistency is a big part of that, too - when the font suddenly changes midway through a sentence, or the type of bullet changes from an arrow to a circle halfway down the line, or the spelling changes from the British version to the American version and back again within the same paragraph, it really drives me crazy because it shows that the writer didn't re-read their piece before sending it out as a professional document.

3) Organization 101. We can be much more productive people if we just learn how to prioritize a little better and how to organize our lives. This is a basic life skill that many people lack! It might seem like a tedious subject, but there are a lot of little techniques and tricks that one can employ to make themselves more efficient, and it would be worth learning in the classroom. One Year to an Organized Life by Regina Leeds could be the course textbook!

What do you feel is missing from university? What classes do you think should be mandatory?