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I know a lot more about education than you give me credit for. I know a lot of teachers. They have the same types of spending habits as everyone else I know. In other words, some are frugal, some are not. You seem to have a chip on your shoulder..
No chip, just forming and voicing my argument like others on this board. Mine may seem a little jaded towards teachers, as many on here are jaded against them. I am learning about the other side of the argument in this thread, and I don't perceive those who disagree with me to have a "chip", just a different opinion. I apologize if you perceived my statements as a "chip".
My last statement may have a been a little strong in response to Boompa's comment
Take a good look at the teachers and then tell me how they would be teaching anyone Life Skills.
I should have been more clear on who I was responding to. Certainly wish Boompa would have the intestinal fortitude to be more specific in his "dis."
Parents are my partners in their kids' education, not my enemy....even those parents who may not be as involved as others.
In the personal finance course I teach, the "values" I teach are to spend less than you make....it's called budgeting. I teach students to categorize between needs and wants, and to budget their money accordingly. That allows for a difference in values....if you have your needs paid for, you can buy your wants if you have money left over.
I guess it does get into a values thing when I recommend that they save 7-10% of their income from the time they get their very first job. I don't teach that to have credit you have to get credit....I teach them what credit is, how much it really costs them, how they can easily get into trouble with credit, about mortgages, etc.
Perhaps you don't think us teachers are qualified with life experience for this. I am married with kids, in my middle 40's, have zero mortgage (yes $0) on my home valued at more than $300K (I paid it off in 10 years using the methods I know and teach my students), have zero (yes $0) credit card debt and save more than 10% of my salary per month. It probably never dawned on you that as teachers, we don't live life in a bubble removed from the "real world", that we continue to experience life just like you do and might be qualified to teach others what we know.
If that were the case with all teachers I wouldn't have any problems with them teaching those subjects
No chip, just forming and voicing my argument like others on this board. Mine may seem a little jaded towards teachers, as many on here are jaded against them. I am learning about the other side of the argument in this thread, and I don't perceive those who disagree with me to have a "chip", just a different opinion. I apologize if you perceived my statements as a "chip".
My last statement may have a been a little strong in response to Boompa's comment
Take a good look at the teachers and then tell me how they would be teaching anyone Life Skills.
I should have been more clear on who I was responding to. Certainly wish Boompa would have the intestinal fortitude to be more specific in his "dis."
Parents are my partners in their kids' education, not my enemy....even those parents who may not be as involved as others.
Apology acceted. Your financial philosophy sounds a lot like mine.
I'm glad to see the bold. I truly think that's the only way.
Because I don't believe that. That doesn't describe any of my friends and acquaintances. You are falsely assuming that MANY (your word) parents don't teach their kids "life skills". I'm sick of parents getting dumped on.
Better that teachers get dumped on for having to fabricate the time to do parents' jobs, doubtless.
As noted (numerous times) I work with a majority of awesome parents (good thing, given my kids' extreme needs). I have also dealt with a large number of terrible ones, both in education and in social services. The awesome ones aren't blaming educators/society/etc. for their own failures. But, because you and your friends do your jobs as parents, that obviously means all parents do so, as well?
Sometimes, parents of kids with special needs, don't even realize the basic things that their kids don't know. I worked with one young man, very bright, he was visually impaired, and we were at a strip mall, finding different stores. He never realized that the stores were connected to one another, he thought they were like separate houses, because when he went out with his parents, they went in one store, out the door, went into another store. When he had the opportunity to find the stores himself, he realized that they were all in a line, and connected, and that he could find things himself...without a sighted person helping him. Huge.
Better that teachers get dumped on for having to fabricate the time to do parents' jobs, doubtless.
As noted (numerous times) I work with a majority of awesome parents (good thing, given my kids' extreme needs). I have also dealt with a large number of terrible ones, both in education and in social services. The awesome ones aren't blaming educators/society/etc. for their own failures. But, because you and your friends do your jobs as parents, that obviously means all parents do so, as well?
I have not dumped on teachers. Why accuse me of that?
As to your second paragraph, I am a pediatric nurse in a large practice. I have also been a public health nurse. I daresay I have more experience with parents than you do. I have seen VERY FEW who do not have the best interests of their kids at heart. I've seen VERY FEW who want their kids to grow up ignorant. Roll your eyes all you want.
Because I don't believe that. That doesn't describe any of my friends and acquaintances. You are falsely assuming that MANY (your word) parents don't teach their kids "life skills". I'm sick of parents getting dumped on. It seems to be an occupational hazard with teachers. You see it on this forum over and over. You nor anyone else with this belief has ever provided any data to back that up.
Many parents are doing a good job. The ones that aren't have a disproportionate effect though, because they are also the ones that have about six kids.
You're assuming that every kid HAS two parents who they can learn from. Not so. Many grow up in a single-parent household, or are raised by an aunt, uncle, grandparent, whoever. How's a boy who's raised by his grandma supposed to learn basic car maintenance?
I'm happy to learn that some schools are already teaching a class similar to a "life skills" class. Those schools/districts are thinking outside the box.
Sometimes, I think kids learn "basic" skills by assimilation, observing. I never taught my sons how to do a lot of things, yet they are hard workers, always had jobs, had clean, organized rooms. They don't over spend, and carefully budget. Contrast this, with these teen age kids of this welfare,"disabled" woman I know, her sons don't work, the house is a wreck, they all look sloppy. Maybe those kids need those classes, because they are not learning any skills except how too mooch!
Sometimes, I think kids learn "basic" skills by assimilation, observing. I never taught my sons how to do a lot of things, yet they are hard workers, always had jobs, had clean, organized rooms. They don't over spend, and carefully budget. Contrast this, with these teen age kids of this welfare,"disabled" woman I know, her sons don't work, the house is a wreck, they all look sloppy. Maybe those kids need those classes, because they are not learning any skills except how too mooch!
If your kids grew up to have those skills you say, Jasper12, they definitely learned it from you....and not just by assimilation. You probably talked aloud when you made money and life decisions in their presence (in education we call these "think-alouds"), you may have talked to your wife about issues in the news that relate to those skills, etc. Simly observing others doesn't teach these skills, but if kids have a "model" who practices these skills, talks about them (even casually in conversation) and has high expectations (did you require your kids have a clean, organized room when they lived in your house?), then yes, kids will learn by assimilation.
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