Crash Course is a popular educational YouTube channel, used in middle and high school classrooms around the world. A lot of their content is great for adults like me too though, to refresh my knowledge on subjects I've long forgotten.

One part that's always stuck for me though is the introduction to the video series on World History. The host John Greene talks about the usefulness of learning about world history, through a matephor about tests in school.

About the test: The test will measure whether you are an informed, engaged, and productive citizen of the world, and it will take place in schools and bars and hospitals and dorm rooms and in places of worship. You will be tested on first dates, in job interviews, while watching football, and while scrolling through your Twitter feed.

The test will judge your ability to think about things other than celebrity marriages, whether you'll be easily persuaded by empty political rhetoric, and whether you'll be able to place your life and your community in a broader context. The test will last your entire life, and it will be comprised of the millions of decisions that, when taken together, make your life yours. And everything — everything — will be on it.

The test of life isn't graded by teachers or measured by standardized metrics. It's evaluated by the quality of our daily choices, the depth of our conversations, and our willingness to see beyond our immediate circumstances. In a world increasingly fragmented by algorithm-driven content and echo chambers, or partisan politics and hate, the ability to contextualize our lives within larger historical, social, and cultural patterns becomes not just educational, but essential to maintaining our humanity. The test in the classroom almost doesn't matter; the test of life intensifies as we navigate a complex world that demands we show up as thoughtful, informed participants rather than passive consumers.

Perhaps that's the real lesson: education isn't preparation for life. It is life, and we're all taking the test right now.