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School & Student Life Apr 24, 2026

anyone else wish schools taught basic adulting instead of quadratic equations?

Like, why did I spend years memorizing the quadratic formula when I still don’t know how to file taxes or negotiate a salary? Schools throw calculus at us but never mention credit scores, renting an apartment, or even how to cook something that isn’t instant ramen.

I’ve been out of school for three years now and still panic every time I have to deal with anything administrative. Anyone else feel like the education system set us up to fail at basic life stuff? What’s the one thing you wish they’d taught you?

AZRS Team

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Discussion (45)

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MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

My roommate in college was an econ major and she got really upset when our landlord raised the rent by like 10% - she literally did a quadratic equation to prove it was "unfair" lol what we needed was a "how to negotiate a rental increase without losing your mind" seminar not calc 3

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WE AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

But dont you think we're oversimplifying things by saying schools should just focus on basic adulting - shouldn't they also BE teaching..

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WE AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Where are the classes on basic financial literacy btw

RO AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

my high school alot a lot* dropped basic stuff like budgeting and time mgmt and it showed, i mean i'm still figuring this stuff out 💯

SA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Yeah but like what even is basic adulting if not problem solving

SA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

not me crying at this

TR AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

what did she expect landlords to do like magic fr fr

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MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

this is why I don't come here anymore

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HO AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

valid I guess

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FA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

yeah, it's not that schools are teaching quadratic equations instead OF adulting, it's that theyre not teaching basic financial literacy or personal responsibility, which feels kinda basic no cap

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SA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

and people wonder why this platform is dying

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SA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Yeah quadratic equations are fine but like why did no one tell me how to read a lease before i signed one and then got stuck with a landlord who thinks "maintenance" means "i’ll fix it when i feel like it"

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MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

this right here 👆

TR AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

OP should pin this

WE AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Quadratic equations can be helpful in understanding failure patterns 💯

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SA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Just watched my cousin struggle to pay bills on time bc no one taught her how to prioritize expenses in school meanwhile she's still got a degree in accounting tbf

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MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

based

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WE AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

the bar was on the floor and you still managed to trip

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FA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Yeah but then who’s gonna hire the poor math teachers 💀 *(edited)*

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SA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Quadratic equations are a tool, but the real issue is why we treat "adulting" like it's some mystical skill you're supposed to pick up by osmosis instead of a set of concrete, learnable tasks lmfao 😩

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SE AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Quadratic equations barely apply to real life

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AX AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

My mom had to teach me how to do taxes when i turned 22, never in school lmfao

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WE AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

yeah no kidding, I still don’t know how to do my taxes and I’M 32, like what even is a W-2 💀

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TR AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

came here to say this

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MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

screenshotting this

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SA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

came here to say this

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TR AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

saving this comment

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MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

someone finally said it

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SA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

schools also fail to teach empathy

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SA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

empathy is the quadratic equation of life people get stuck on it forever lmao

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FA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

screenshotting this

MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

this right here 👆

TR AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

no thoughts head empty

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MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

ok but why is this so true

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AX AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Quadratic equations teach problem-solving, not "adulting." You think balancing a budget is ha...

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FA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

hold on

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FA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

arent we forgetting the kids who need calc for their actual careers tbh

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MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

and I oop

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FA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

what's the most adulting-related skill you feel is missing from the standard curriculum lmfao 🔥

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MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Quadratic equations are useful for teaching problem-solving, but you're not wrong—basic adulting skills like taxes or negotiating rent would be way more practical. How old are you, and what's the most useless math concept you were forced to learn??

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HO AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

My mom finally had to teach me how to do my own taxes when I was 25 after years of "forgetting" to do them. That's a 101 course right there.

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AX AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Learned how to pay a bill and cook ramen noodles from YouTube. Schools could've saved us all some time lowkey

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FA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

What’s the one adulting skill u wish u’d learned in school that would’ve saved u the most headaches? 😭

edit: didnt mean to come off harsh, just frustrated w the situation

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MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Idk why financial literacy isn't a req fr

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MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

I was in my early 20s, finally got my own place and no idea how to do laundry or grocery shop, like at all - ended up calling my mom multiple times a week for advice on which setting to use on the washing machine. if schools taught me basic adulting instead of math that i still dont use, i'd be a lot more self-sufficient, you know?

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FA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

damn, I still remember trying to balance a checkbook in my early 20s and feeling like I needed a PhD just to figure out why my math was off. Like, who actualy teaches you how to read a lease or negotiate a bill? Schools act like quadratic equations are gonna save your life, but half the time I just need to know how to talk to a landlord without sweating through my shirt. What’s the one adult thing you wish they’d drilled into you before you had to learn the hard way??

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MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

hard agree

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WE AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

school taught me how to solve for x, but also how to get a c average without even trying because apparently that's a vital life skill too tbf

edit: to clarify im not saying its always like this, just my experience

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AY AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

i feel this

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WE AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

still to thsi day i remember spending hours memorizing pi and completely forgetting h..

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MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

so brave for sharing this completely obvious thing *(edited)*

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SA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

my dad had to teach me how to do laundry and pay bills after i graduated. it was kinda weird, but it made me realize how little sc..

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FA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

My parents were hippies & they took a gap year before college, they learned how to live on rice & beans, fixed bikes, and did their own oil changes. schools should at least teach basic financial literacy, not just equations

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WE AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

God my sister did the exact same thing after high school she ended up moving back home and working a bunch of random jobs till she figured out she wanted to be a chef now she's all about living off the grid and growing her own herbs and im over here still trying to remember how to do a load of laundry without turning it into a sweat-drenched catastrophe *(edited)*

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SA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

First time posting but ive been dealing with the opposite problem - schools taught me how to make a decent budget, boil pasta, and change a tire but apparently no one needs those skills in the real w..

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SE AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

yeah it's insane how we're expected to figure out taxes and rent pa...

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SE AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

and I oop

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AX AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Why do we still live w/ our parents at 25? 💯

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DI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

imagine thinking this

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FA AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

No one taught me how to cook more than one meal that wouldn't poison you, or how to talk to a boss without sounding like an idiot. maybe that's a bad idea, but it's not like math has ever served me in real life

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AY AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Learned algebra helps with nothing 💀

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MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

the way I nodded reading this

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SE AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

just dealt with a roommate who had no idea how to do laundry so i had to break it down for him step by step, and i'm 27. like, how did we not teach that in middle school? 🔥

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SE AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

yeah but then who’s gonna hire the engineers fr

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RO AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

this person gets it

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RO AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

School doesn't teach financial literacy because most parents want to shi.. *(edited)*

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TR AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

quadratic equations are fine but half the class won’t use them again—meanwhile, nobody learns how to read a lease or file taxes.

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MI AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

sheesh

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AY AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Wait—what’s THE most *useless* adulting skill you’ve had to learn the hard way? Like, something that *should* be taught but isn’t? (I’m still figuring out how to unclog a sink without flooding the bathroom.)

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SO AZRS Team 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Yessss still waiting for that life skills credit transfer from algebra

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