Can We Lesson The Load?

Why is school so bad at equipping us for adult life? Experts pick the subjects that need to be in classrooms of the future

- Urvee Modwel

Trigonometry, yes. But what about learning how to mediate as two loved ones fight? Dissection yes. But what about the art of introspection? Conjugating French verbs, yes. But what about investing, insurance and planification financière? School years can seem endless. But perhaps they'd have felt more interesting if these life lessons were added to the syllabus.

Around the world, young people are grappling with anxiety, self-loathing, depression and the pressure to excel as near-perfect lives play out on Reels and posts. Yet, few schools in India even acknowledge that mental health is essential to a person's well-being.

"People don't take mental health seriously, so they don't feel the need to teach students about it," says Divija Bhasin, a psychologist who goes by @awkwardgoat3 on social media. "The definition of mental health for many schools is 'Do yoga and wake up on time'. We trivialise young people's problems and say 'They're just children. What could they be stressed about? There is no government-level mandate for teaching mental health-related topics."