What's something you wish you learned more about in school? — Assembly

In Assembly’s “Around the world” series, girls sound off on the topics that matter to them, from the companies they’re dreaming up to the issues they wished more leaders talked about.

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“Financial education, definitely. I believe that with learning how to take better care of money, people become more independent and it would be amazing if the school could provide more knowledge that will be useful in daily life.”

— Lívia, 16, Brazil

“It is okay to have emotions. Experiencing an emotional response from an assigned reading text, news article or class discussion is completely okay. These are cues our brain gives us that indicate our activism is in alignment with our passions or past experiences. For far too long, emotion has been weaponized against girls. School should have taught us to use our emotions as empowerment, to embolden us and inspire impactful change.”

— Alba, 23, U.S.

“I’m in my last year of school right now and disappointed in the lack of education I received on climate change. For the most part, my knowledge on this topic came from reading books and various media outlets online. I wish I had been surrounded by knowledge of what is happening to our planet but most importantly, what needs to change globally and also what I could do personally as a teenager to make small but simple changes that made me feel more secure in my actions.”

— Rachel, 19, Ireland

“We used to watch documentaries during some of our classes but I have realised now that the emphasis was made on solely the individual. We have been made to believe that we are the biggest causes of climate change and that we can stop it by doing small changes. I believe that we can help, but I wish that our schools taught us that the real blame lies on the corporations who destroy our world for financial gain. There is no meaning of me reducing my already low plastic usage if big companies and factories keep polluting the earth.”

— Öykü, 19, Turkey