By Larry Ma
I’m currently a senior that is about to graduate. Looking back on the last 4 years of my life, I feel a little frustrated at what I see as my education. I feel like the school could’ve done more for us students, like giving us a broader variety of classes everyone would have enjoyed.
During my 4 years at Galileo, my classes have varied from the few I’ve enjoyed to mainly all the others that I haven’t enjoyed. In the classes that I’m bored in (which is most of them), I usually daydream about what I could’ve been doing at that moment if I weren’t in that class. One of many things I think about is what classes I could’ve taken or altered that would have made my education much more fulfilling.
The first class I wished that could’ve been a little altered would be Economics. The class is only one semester long and it wasn’t enough time to cover as much as I would have liked to learn. Over the course of the semester, the class covered the ideologies of Capitalism, Communism, and Socialism, stocks and personal investing, a brief history of money, and a basic walkthrough of how taxes are filed.
Having only one semester of a financial-related course doesn’t prepare students to be financially literate at all. If the class was an entire year, it could go more in depth on personal finance and banking and introduce more topics like Accounting, Quantitative Finance, and Risk Management. I feel like I would be better prepared in managing my money on my own.
Another class I wish Galileo had is Architecture. Architecture is not only about designing buildings, but also about students utilizing their problem solving skills and creativity. Introducing design skills to students could better prepare them for many different majors in college or for jobs; like an engineer, carpenter, and obviously enough, in construction.
During the class, students could also learn how to work with others, learn leadership skills, and even learn time management skills, which is a skill I’m currently developing, as I would have had an easier time developing something that is actually interesting for me.
In a worst case scenario, students who take this class could use what they learned from the class to make a makeshift shelter in case they were to somehow get stranded in the middle of a forest.
One last class I wish Galileo had is an Earth Skills Education class. I thought up this class idea one day while I was bored in class, thinking back to my 4th grade camping trip in the Presidio. While I thought about it, I also thought about what I’d have to do to survive out in the middle of nowhere without any modern technology.
I then did some research, and found out that there are some school districts that actually offer this type of class. An Earth Skills class would educate students about the natural world, basic wilderness survival skills, bushcraft, living off the land, primitive skills, indigenous skills, farming, how to identify potential dangerous plants, and many other skills. This course would help students to think on their feets and a better understanding of how humans survived over thousands of years ago. It would be especially useful for people who would like to live in the wilderness with nothing at all or when World War 3 actually happens and we have to rely on these skills to survive.
This would be a class that I would like to take because depending on how the curriculum is set up, the likelihood of leaving the classroom at least once a week is something that I would like since sitting down in the same position all day, with only a couple minutes to stand up, is exhausting. Camping in the middle of the wilderness is also an activity that I would like to do, so taking this class would be helpful for me when I eventually get the chance.
Overall with the high school education that I will graduate with, I don’t exactly feel confident on how I could manage my money, what I should do at an “end of the world” situation, or if the house I’m living in is stable or not. Although the classes that are offered here are as useful in certain areas, Galileo should have more classes that would help students cover every aspect of life.
