Prepping For Adulthood
Students and staff gathered at the College and Career Center, room 11207.
February 28, 2023
Life after high school can seem intimidating, and nothing is worse than feeling unprepared. Whether it’s understanding college life, career building, or money management, schools should better equip students for the real world.
“[Schools] very much stress the importance of applying to colleges and getting into college, but then after that you’re left on your own,” says Crislynn Duncan, a SEGA senior. “I just had to ask a teacher what a W-4 form was, and I had to fill one out when I applied to work… I didn’t know anything. I had to ask my mom to help me with it, and my mom was even struggling.”
Students planning to live independently after school face unknown responsibilities. Students, particularly seniors, receive college pamphlets and career encouragement, but no one seems to understand the mundane responsibilities of adult reality. It’s unproductive to plan your future when you don’t know what it entails.
“It is a very different experience when you are living on your own,” says Ms. Aguirre, College and Career Specialist at Millikan. “A lot of students are going to have that shell shock of, ‘Wow, I didn’t know I had to do my own laundry, wash my own dishes, and learn to live with a roommate.’”
While not everyone has the same plans, courses that teach life skills like handling taxes or even cooking a meal benefit everyone. Whether someone plans to go away for college or stay local, Millikan’s College and Career Center can help, but there still seems to be a lack of resources available.
“You can also rely on the internet, but it’d definitely be nice if that was just something that was taught, something that’s like ‘I don’t have to worry about this because I have the resources,’” stated Katie Cliborn, a COMPASS junior.
Another resource some students turn to is their family.
“I don’t depend on school to do those things,” stated Madison Condon, a COMPASS junior. “I depend on my mom and my family to teach me those things.”
PEACE senior Mauricio Montzies believes that schools should teach things like English and math, but life skills such as laundry is a “parent thing.”
Parents may be there to teach some students, but not everyone can rely on family to impart life skills.
“Your family can only do so much for you, and at that rate some people don’t have families like that, where they’re willing to care for them,” stated Liamkrajang, a SEGA senior. “So I feel like the school should be able to do both since school is a place where you’re supposed to get an education and learn. What’s the point of school if they’re not going to teach you everything like they’re supposed to?”
Millikan has some opportunities for learning life skills, but can still do better. Students can turn to the internet or family members, but the College and Career Center is the perfect place to start implementing accessible life skills resources.
Sam Gunawardena • Mar 7, 2023 at 12:37 pm
The article “Prepping For Adulthood,” written by Allyson Richter, on February 28, entails the resources available to students at the College and Career Center. Richter takes a very mature yet relatable stance on approaching adulthood. In my experience, the CCC offered immense help and taught me a lot about the workforce. When I stopped by to inquire about writing a resume, they sat me down and worked me through the entire process. Additionally, my friend worked with them to get an internship at the port, an opportunity that’ll give him a significant boost in college applications, and valuable life experience. While all of these skills and jobs are available online, it doesn’t compare to talking to someone face-to-face. However, I don’t know if the CCC is the most effective way to prepare students for their future. It’s located in the 1100 building, a very isolated part of campus and students only gain access to their services if they stop by willingly. Some may not even be aware that they lack practical life skills or are just too apprehensive to ask for help. In the past, high schools offered classes like driving, home economics, and money management for students that wanted to hone or develop new skills. I think it’d be very beneficial if the CCC offered a mandatory class that encompassed a brief understanding of some basic necessities of becoming a functional adult along with a brief understanding of the services that they’ll continue to offer. As of right now, their help is very appreciated and I will continue to take advantage of their resources.
Isabela Menes • Mar 1, 2023 at 2:05 pm
On February 28, Allyson Richter wrote an article called “Prepping for Adulthood”. I want to start off by saying thank you to Richter who brought this topic to many’s attention. By writing this article it not only brings emphasis to the topic but it also helps others counter being uninformed of valuable life lessons/information for life after school. I believe it truly is a problem that school doesn’t help much with life afterwards. Schools may pave a pathway to future careers although the basic curriculum doesn’t prepare students for things like taxes, insurance information, cooking etc. Important things to learn and consume shouldn’t just be information regarding careers but it should also involve life skills. A good way of inputting this in a school like setting or system could be offering a home-ec class. Everyone gains life lessons and social skills through basic human interaction through school during lunch or nutrition. But there aren’t enough resources in school that show you how to complete a load of laundry or properly clean your own car. Some responsibilities that stand in the way of learning these things are student/athlete duties such as homework, studying and extracurriculars in order to get many to a collegiate level. In order to achieve an informative class of life lessons, Millikan should remain organized and possibly consider starting a club or class. This will help many better prepare for the future when they are independently living alone or responsible for themselves.
Justin Kawamoto • Mar 1, 2023 at 11:47 am
On February 28, 2023, Allyson Richter wrote the article ¨Prepping For Adulthood¨. This article talks about how students face an entirely different world when they finally live on their own. She makes mention that in Millikan the resources that are available to prepare people for life are very limited. While there is the internet and family, sometimes these resources are not effective enough. The College and Career Center and the College Pathways class are the biggest resources for learning about adulthood inside of Millikan but even though the school has the mission to teach younger generations, there is constantly a deficit when teaching about being an adult. I agree that while the College and Career Center is an amazing place to gain this information, the school should do more in order to teach the students how to live as proper adults, who know how to live by themselves or handle simple tax forms. This could possibly be done in a club or even in a newly created class where students can learn about these topics. Schools should focus on the education of everything which includes normal school topics like math and range to other topics like tax or job W-4 forms. By educating these skills to students Millikan can aid in moving students’ education to a better level than before.
Karma Phang • Mar 1, 2023 at 11:39 am
On February 28, 2023, Allyson Richter wrote an article titled “Prepping for Adulthood”. In this article she speaks about the problems that students face after high school. They face things such as college life, career building, and money management. Due to this she believes that high schools should work harder to prepare these students for their life after high school. She interviewed multiple people who have all come to the same conclusion. Their conclusion was that they felt that they would like for the school to help prepare them for adulthood. Through gaining the opinions of a variety of people she is able to provide more support for her argument. This article stood out to me because as a junior in high school, I am nearing the end of high school. I agree with the students in this article because there are many factors of adulthood that we aren’t taught. In school we don’t learn about things such as taxes even though it is extremely important. Bringing up a counterargument of there being many resources online that can help and then providing a rebuttal to it, helps strengthen her argument. This also brings up the problem of kids who don’t have people around them that have been to college and so there is no one that they can go to for help. Overall, this article did a great job at addressing this issue and hopefully we will get to see this problem being solved.
Isabella Torres • Mar 1, 2023 at 9:50 am
This article talks about the new and different responsibilities students must face after high school and when entering adulthood. Richter mentions how students in high school are not prepared for these responsibilities such as taxes, bills, college life, and independence. I have to agree with this because I believe that it is definitely difficult to adjust to that life after high school because it is so much different. Students who move out have to deal with responsibilities such as getting a job to get money for food and necessities, buying a place to live in, school, taxes, and just as the article says, washing their own clothes, washing their own dishes, etc. Richter mentions how high schools do not prepare us enough for this new life and independence. I do agree with Richter that parents should teach their kids about these life skills, however, some people aren’t as fortunate to have parents like that, and I really like how Richter mentions this because it is a problem that kids face. Therefore it would be very helpful if high schools not only taught English and math and other academic subjects, but they should also taught students life skills that will prepare them for life after high school and adulthood in general. It is very important that students are prepared for this because adulthood is very different from high school since there are so many responsibilities.
Amelia Haberland • Mar 1, 2023 at 9:48 am
Just yesterday, on February 28th, staff reporter Allyson Richton wrote a report titled “Prepping for Adulthood” about the immense difficulties that children face after high school, as many of them have not yet learned about the responsibilities that adults actually have. She says that we prepare and prepare for college, write college essays, forced to choose a major…meanwhile, a large portion of us have no idea how to file taxes or even uphold a healthy homemade diet. I resonate with this report and with all the teachers who spoke throughout this article. I have absolutely no idea what being an adult entails. I don’t know how to file taxes, how to buy a house, how to obtain a lifelong job, how to do anything that my parents magically figured out as children. But, the school expects me to sign up for college and choose a career path that will undoubtedly impact the rest of my life. One thing I’m concerned about is what college and career center actually helps with. I have friends in those classes but all I hear about is their college path. “They helped me figure out that I’m going to Harvard.” “I really want to go to [names of random college].” What about after college? What about those kids that don’t even want to go to college – they just want to get a job and make a living? In my opinion, along with Allyson Richton and the teachers or students in her article, we need more support from high schools to help us determine our future.
Amelia Haberland • Mar 1, 2023 at 9:43 am
Just yesterday, on February 28th, staff reporter Allyson Richton wrote a report titled “Prepping for Adulthood” about the immense difficulties that children face after high school, as many of them have not yet learned about the responsibilities that adults actually have. She says that we prepare and prepare for college, write college essays, forced to choose a major…meanwhile, a large portion of us have no idea how to file taxes or even uphold a healthy homemade diet. I resonate with this report and with all the teachers who spoke throughout this article. I have absolutely no idea what being an adult entails. I don’t know how to file taxes, how to buy a house, how to obtain a lifelong job, how to do anything that my parents magically figured out as children. But, the school expects me to sign up for college and choose a career path that will undoubtedly impact the rest of my life. One thing I’m concerned about is what college and career center actually helps with. I have friends in those classes but all I hear about is their college path. “They helped me figure out that I’m going to Harvard.” “I really want to go to [names of random college].” What about after college? What about those kids that don’t even want to go to college – they just want to get a job and make a living? In my opinion, along with Allyson Richton and the teachers or students in her article, we need more support from high schools to help us determine our future.
Christine g Walter • Feb 28, 2023 at 5:49 pm
I just read Allyson Richter’s article and thought it brought out some very real concerns for young people today. I certainly see the need for educational institutions to provide instruction on life skills such as caring for your home, budgeting your money, managing everything from laundry to how to open a bank account.
Danielle Nabong • Feb 28, 2023 at 1:18 pm
This detailed article expresses the need for schools to teach students about everyday life skills. It touches on how entry to college is something greatly stressed to students in order for them to have a successful future. Yet, these institutions fall short of actually teaching students about independent living. Things such as laundry, cooking, and even taxes, are left for family members to teach. The problem is that not everyone has the familial support they need to learn these life skills. I agree with the author in her claim that schools should implement curriculums that encourage independence. As a current high school student myself, I share the sentiment that schools are not doing enough to teach me about adulthood. Instead of expecting me to be able to just figure it out, I wish for them to provide me with the resources needed to acquire new life skills. I have first-hand experience with the shortcomings of school education when I was required to submit my resume for an internship. I came to the realization that I was actually clueless about how to write one. I believe that if only my school gave the guidance I needed, it would have made the application process much less stressful.
Valeria Mora • Feb 28, 2023 at 1:02 pm
I agree with the fact that schools can implement more life learning skills into their curriculum, but there’s only so much you can do. Some families are willing to help their children, but some questionable parents want to kick out their children right as they turn 18. Because of this, schools can teach students a bit about the future of their lives. I am grateful for the college and career center here at Millikan, but not all schools have this. It’s very important to at least figure out what you’re going to do as you enter college. As said in Erik Erikson’s stages of development, adolescents are still learning about their lives and their future and emerging into adulthood can be difficult for many. Having assemblies centering around this can be helpful, especially in the beginning of school years when seniors are applying for colleges and getting ready to enter college. If schools can have assemblies for other important topics, having a college readiness assembly for seniors can be beneficial for a lot of students who might be questioning their future. This is just a suggestion, but Millikan students always have resources available to them because of our college and career center. In the future, I do hope we can incorporate the learning of life skills so students aren’t left behind in a mid-life crisis when they’re so young.
Devlyn Mahan • Feb 28, 2023 at 12:58 pm
On Feb 28, 2023, Allyson Richter wrote an article titled, “Prepping For Adulthood”. The article makes a bunch of solid points from a very mature perspective about quickly approaching adult life, something that I personally have a slight bit of anxiety towards. I trust that the firsthand quotes from people who have had to deal with this know about the shock from living in a household and moving to an adult life, and that helps my anxiety slightly. I agree with the fact that everyone earns maturity differently in life, and that life skills such as doing laundry, managing money, and grocery shopping for example, are mature steps in life that must be earned and learned, not taught through school. These resources provided in the article are interesting to learn about, and the first hand perspectives of students and teachers leave me feeling like I can do better to prepare myself for adulthood. I almost feel ahead of the curve because I have learned to do these simple tasks such as maintaining a cleanly household, doing laundry, cooking and cleaning, and grocery shopping. Thank you for expressing all of these points for such a unique and special experience we will all soon go through!
Alexis Hooper • Feb 28, 2023 at 12:55 pm
On February 28, Allyson Richter wrote an article titled “Prepping for Adulthood.” The article talks about the idea that after many students graduate high school, the future can seem a little scary. This is because some students don’t know exactly what to do, since so many people live with their parents for nearly two decades. Something that stood out to me was the fact that many people receive the “shell shock” once they start the next step of their lives. This hits a lot of people hard, especially if they go out of state to live on their college’s campus. They realize that they have to start doing lots of things themselves, including doing their own laundry and washing dishes. Because many people used to have their parents take care of so many things when they were younger, their lack of self-sufficiency skills catches up to them. Another fact that I liked was that even though we have the internet to look up how to deal with certain things, it is better to gain knowledge through people who actually went through these kinds of situations. It is noted that the College and Career Center is a great place to gain resources. As I’m going into my senior year next year, I will definitely plan visits to the College and Career Center to seek help because who knows what the college application process will bring to me. Thank you so much for bringing attention to the idea of entering adulthood because not a lot of people out there are aware of the positive and negative effects the future might have on them. Many people have to face harsh realities in the world and it is better to be prepared now then later when it’s too late.
Olivia Lopez • Feb 28, 2023 at 12:53 pm
On February 28, Allyson Richter wrote an article for The Corydon titled “Prepping For Adulthood.” This article mainly focused on the struggles of preparing for growing up and what comes after graduating from high school as well as what resources Millikan offers, or should offer. I found this article to be incredibly informative and well put together. It took an objective look at the situation many teens today face and the difficulties that come with that, such as family not being able to help or provide support or simply not knowing what it is they need to prepare for. All of this helped to give a better overview of why this is an important issue as well as why additional support is needed for those who are preparing for adulthood. The article also does well by highlighting some of the resources and help that Millikan does offer, such as the College and Career Center, or other options such as the internet. Highlighting these resources could help to guide those who might otherwise be unaware of where to begin when trying to prepare for adulthood and high school graduation. Overall this article was extremely helpful and beneficial and offered great insight to a situation many teens struggle with today.
Emily Temblador • Feb 28, 2023 at 11:36 am
On February 28, Allyson Richter wrote an article titled ¨Prepping For Adulthood”. First off, I want to thank Allyson for bringing attention to this issue. As a current junior, I am already stressing about adulthood. If you ask other kids around the school what their outlook on the future is, most are also terrified about what comes with adulthood. I personally believe that the pandemic stunted many of us, and although we may be older, we are still trying to catch up with the rest of the world. Everyone around you is mentioning how you are about to become an adult, and how you need to get ready for college or entering the workforce. I truly believe that all schools should introduce a class that teaches basic life skills to students. People would be benefited more if they knew how to file their own taxes or even set up a bank account than having to learn something they most likely will forget by the time they are working and have a life. By providing these resources to students, it can help students deal with less stress. The only issue that comes with this is funding for the classes. I recall being told how years ago you were able to learn how to drive at school; your own school could offer courses to help you learn how to drive, but now we don’t have that. School feels more like work than somewhere where you are able to learn in this day and age. Hopefully with enough bringing attention to these issues and overly just talking about how young kids feel about adulthood, can all benefit us.
Joaquin Shin • Feb 28, 2023 at 11:14 am
On February 28, Allyson Richter wrote “Prepping For Adulthood”, which detailed the struggles some Millikan students face as they approach adulthood, the end of high school, and the responsibilities that come with both. She explains possible problems students might have separate from just homework from classes or practice from sports. More every day issues, such as laundry, business forms, washing dishes, and learning to live with another person. She also presents different viewpoints, one being the idea of a course to take to teach these important daily life skills, using the Internet, or simply relying on a parent to teach these skills. She also highlights issues with some, not all students may have the best relationships with their parents or guardians, making it difficult to learn these skills from a parent, and justifying the need for a course or the use of the Internet. Not only that, but she also gives a possible solution of having the College and Career Center as a base to branch off of to create these kinds of programs and courses at Millikan. I think that this would be a great idea for students that may be struggling with these skills and are not sure where to start with them. With proper advertisement and management, I think it could be a great success at Millikan.