Useful Information for People

Why do people go to school?  I do not mean college, instead I mean high school.  The idea is that you will be given knowledge that you need to survive in the real world, correct?  Who decides what is important?  How are there people out there without certain information that is absolutely vital to living in this country?

What sort of things am I talking about?

1.  W-4 Form
When you get a job, your employer will ask you to fill out a W-4.  You need to know how to fill this form out.  There is nothing more frustrating than someone coming to me after a few months of getting paychecks and wanting to know why they are being taxed so much or at the end of the year, why they owe money to the IRS.  This is something that should be taught in school.  It would take like one class to get this squared away.

2.  Job Application
Before you even fill out the W-4, you need to know how to apply for a job.  Some of the same rules from the Donation Post apply here.  Also, know how to fill the damn thing out.  Just stapling a resume to the application will not work.  Sorry, but if we do hire you, we will still make you fill out the application.  HR loves paperwork completed properly.

Also, do not call every day to check on the status of your application.  It does not show that you are interested, it shows desperation.  Plus, whoever is doing the hiring is probably busy and who knows what their time table is to hire you.  Hell, pay attention to the person when you have the interview/turn in the application.  They will tell you what to expect “we will call you in XXX days” or “we will make our decision by the end of the week.”  If it is the second one and they pass on you, then they are not hiring you.  Do not call to ask them if you got the job.  They did not hire you and then forget to tell you.

3.  Fax Machine
This is obsolete technology at this point.  Yet for some reason, government agencies love to still use fax machines.  You need to know how to operate this crazy space machine.  You will most likely see this symbol

Do not panic!  This tells you which way to put the paper so that you do not fax someone a blank sheet of paper.  You should know how to read these symbols.

4.  Car Maintenance
I am not saying that people should need to become mechanics, but there has to be a way to teach people how to describe problems with a car.  Going into a garage and saying “it makes a clunking sound” is pretty embarrassing.  Or when the mechanic says that you need a new muffler bearing, you will at least know what he is talking about…

5.  House Maintenance 
While we are on the subject of fixing stuff, it would probably be a good thing if people know how to do the little odds and ends around the house.  Cutting the grass, repairing a window, fixing drywall, all things that are fairly easy, but everyone should know.  Maybe these should be left for parents.

6.  Tipping

I hear people bitching about the Common Core Math stuff and I think to myself “yeah, teaching math the same way for the last fifty years or so has really worked out for most people.”  Most people can not figure out what tip to leave a server.

This is simple math and it is something that has a practical use.  Also, while we are on the subject of tipping, it would probably help if they taught what the appropriate tip percentage is for different jobs.  A server at a restaurant should be 18% (not 15% like many people think), but what do you tip the person who cuts your hair or the parking valet or the bellhop?

These little things should help people get through life a bit easier.  What stuff am I forgetting?

Author: Ngewo