High school should teach students how to get what they want from life and give them the rudimentary foundation they need to attain it. In retrospect my education was greatly lacking in certain aspects. High school should involve at least one course on directing your life - studying the benefits and downsides of trade school, college, university, proprietorship, basic business operations, political action, personal finance... give them a taste of the options at least. Seems like home economics was an attempt at this but grew outdated and became an elective. This education should be mandatory for all students regardless of what they want to do with their lives. They are the basics of earning a living in the US and even if the skills do not become necessary for an individual, they should know where to start looking when they need money. Without these skills people resort to shitty options like payday loans, student debt, etc...