Inept Millennials Turn to 'Grown Up School' to Survive Modern Life
Young adults in Generation Z embrace learning practical life skills through specialized courses, due to perceived deficits in real-life competencies.
Are you clueless about how to tackle everyday adult tasks? You're not alone! The young generation, known as Gen Z, is hopping onto the "adulting" classes bandwagon to learn life skills that older generations took for granted.
Struggling to balance their checkbooks, change a tire, or even cook a simple meal, Gen Z is leaving no stone unturned in their quest to pick up the basics. In a world where so-called common sense knowledge seems to have evaporated, Gen Z feels obliged to brush up on these essential skills.
The New York Post highlighted this emerging trend, in which some youngsters are desperate to soak up valuable wisdom previously passed down through generations. Institutions like Canada's University of Waterloo have recognized this need and introduced "Adulting 101" courses to help students transition smoothly into college. This course covers areas such as self-care, new responsibilities, and personal growth, with an emphasis on healthy eating and campus resources for success.
Other American universities and organizations like Michigan State and UC Riverside have followed suit, adding "adulting" classes to their curricula to enable Gen Z to catch up with the realities of adult life. A recent survey by dating app FindingTheOne found that 42% of Gen Z couldn't make a basic stir-fry, while 27% had trouble with a soup - indicating that culinary skills are indeed a weak spot for the generation.
Critics argue that Gen Z is less independent than older generations due to the shortcomings of the education system. The West Virginia House of Delegates' Elias Coop-Gonzalez stated that education should be more holistic, incorporating practical skills such as basic car maintenance, budgeting, and tax filling. After all, Gen Zers will soon be facing the harsh realities of adulthood, and acquiring basic life skills is an essential part of that preparation.
Even conservative influencer Christian Hodges concurred that Gen Z is trailing behind their predecessors in terms of self-sufficiency. He attributes this phenomenon to a broken system, where Gen Zs, despite going to college in greater numbers, lack the foundation in practical life skills. For instance, instead of learning how to cook, young adults can now easily resort to food delivery services like Uber Eats and DoorDash or on-campus dining halls, eliminating the need to acquire cooking skills.
Hodges also raised concerns about the overly politicized curriculum in high schools and colleges. Instead of focusing on building well-rounded adults, institutions are grooming Gen Z students to become left-wing activists. This misalignment is a primary reason for the lack of independent, practical life skills among today's youth.
In a world where convenience has become the norm, the value of self-sufficiency and the mastery of basic life skills cannot be overstated. Unfortunately, many in Gen Z are proving to be helpless in this regard. The solution, critics argue, lies in a more holistic approach to education that focuses not just on academics, but on equipping young adults with practical skills that will help them function successfully in adult life.
Struggling with budgeting and taxes alongside other essential life skills, the generation known as Gen Z is advocating for a more comprehensive education, incorporating topics like personal growth and practical life skills, to better prepare for adult life. Their increasing reliance on services like food delivery and dormitory dining halls has left them with a gap in learning basic, self-reliant skills such as cooking and car maintenance.
