[malandrew]

It boils down to a common mistake: knowledge != habits

You can teach people things, but if they don't actually apply them and make them habits, then no benefit is gained from that knowledge.

What's worse is we now have a body positivity movement now de-emphasizing classes like physical education that helps form those habits and is part of having a balanced life. Besides physical education, we have de-emphasized home economics as well, which is also a class where one learns how to prepare meals at home, which is another key component of being able to make healthy affordable meals.

Coursework needs to move on from theory and into the realm of practice. Maybe we should require students to maintain a budget as part of passing each grade. What did you earn? How did you spend it? What did you do to increase the amount you earn and what did you do to increase the amount you spend. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have students maintain bank accounts and finances as part of their basic education. It's not that you can't spend it or make unwise investments, but doing so should require thoughtful reflection put down into words on paper and the idea that you need to demonstrate that you've learned something when you make a mistake of spending money on something you shouldn't have or when you make an unwise investment that doesn't produce returns.