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Some children were struggling with poverty (“I wish my teacher knew I don’t have pencils at home to do my homework”); an absent parent (“I wish my teacher knew that sometimes my reading log is not signed because my mom isn’t around a lot”); and a parent taken away (“I wish my teacher knew how much I miss my dad because he got deported to Mexico when I was 3 years old and I haven’t seen him in six years”).
since 7th grade, we were taught algebra.. ..til we graduated....
something most will never use again,,.... but not even one hour on how o write a check or open a checking account...... not one hour on how to give a good interview, or write a resume..
not onr hour on how to rent an apartment,, not one hour on self defense....not one hour how to work with others,,,,,,respect in the work force..
i never got one hour,,,,how to go o college even if parents dont help financially...
not one hour.....heres how you can go to a vocation school if not going to college..
our so called guidance counselors told us to go in the military,,,that was it.
not one hour on how to conduct yourself thru adversities and challenges..
yep,,,you can say all this and many more is for the parents......but we know how that works when half of them cant even discipline their kids..
i had a thousand hours of gym,,,how to play kickball....but not one hour on how to change a tire....
how to jumpstart a car....
i had a thousand hours of science/arts/history,,,,but not one hour of how to budget a paycheck...or household budget...
we had 100s of hours of grammar/english/reading books....
not one hour on relationships.....
whats not acceptable....
young adults on new ground.....very aggressive males... have cops come in ...and review what domestic violence is..
yeah, i know you are educators not counselors,,, but at 18...when most graduate from high school,,,they are nowheres near ready for adulthood..
i could do an algebra equation,,,,but had a huge problem with a job interview,,,and i needed to get a ob,,,not everyone goes to college..
since 7th grade, we were taught algebra.. ..til we graduated....
something most will never use again,,.... but not even one hour on how o write a check or open a checking account...... not one hour on how to give a good interview, or write a resume..
not onr hour on how to rent an apartment,, not one hour on self defense....not one hour how to work with others,,,,,,respect in the work force..
i never got one hour,,,,how to go o college even if parents dont help financially...
not one hour.....heres how you can go to a vocation school if not going to college..
our so called guidance counselors told us to go in the military,,,that was it.
not one hour on how to conduct yourself thru adversities and challenges..
yep,,,you can say all this and many more is for the parents......but we know how that works when half of them cant even discipline their kids..
i had a thousand hours of gym,,,how to play kickball....but not one hour on how to change a tire....
how to jumpstart a car....
i had a thousand hours of science/arts/history,,,,but not one hour of how to budget a paycheck...or household budget...
we had 100s of hours of grammar/english/reading books....
not one hour on relationships.....
whats not acceptable....
young adults on new ground.....very aggressive males... have cops come in ...and review what domestic violence is..
yeah, i know you are educators not counselors,,, but at 18...when most graduate from high school,,,they are nowheres near ready for adulthood..
i could do an algebra equation,,,,but had a huge problem with a job interview,,,and i needed to get a ob,,,not everyone goes to college..
I hate to be a jerk.
But my parents, very poor, each with only an 8th grade education taught their children almost all of those things (except for the college related questions- and those they sent us to college educated adults for help). Two of us have multiple college degrees and two of us have Bachelors degrees. Not too bad for children of parents with "only" 8th grade educations.
Write a check. Yes.
Money management skills. Yes.
Family budgeting. Yes.
Even how to do your taxes. Yes. (Little brother started doing our parents taxes when he was about 13, with the help of our parents. He took over the taxes completely a few years later).
Change a tire. Yes.
Jumpstart a car. Yes.
Job hunting skills. Yes.
Relationship skills. Yes.
"Emergency" skills. Yes.
Basic health care for both humans & animals. Yes. Yes.
Cooking, cleaning, sewing, knitting, grocery shopping, growing a garden, child care. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
And, my brothers learned most of those skills, too. By about age 9 my little brother could make a triple layer, sour cream fudge cake that would almost rival a professional baker. And, he did it using a wood stove & oven. He would bake that cake for special occasions and birthdays.
Now, I have to admit that I did not learn how to weld, use a chain saw, and fix cars & machinery like my brother's learned. But, if I wanted to learn those skills my dad and mother would have been happy to teach me.
And, almost all of my friends learned those basic skills, too. Why in the world should the schools have complete responsibility for "daily living skills" that the parents refuse to teach?
Now, I should point out that when my children were in HS in the late 1990s/early 2000s their HS did offer classes, or at least mini-units on almost all of those topics. I bet if you check, you will find that your local schools, do, too.
And, when I was in substitute teacher at the HS level, in multiple districts, the past few years, I often ran across teachers doing a mini-unit on budgeting or balancing a checkbook or writing resumes, in a variety of different classes such as economics, English and math. In one economics class the teacher does a short mini unit on the value of compound interest and starting to save for retirement early every year. He said that was pretty common to teach that in economics classes. But, I doubt if it is listed as a major topic in course outline.
Plus, all the HSs in my area have an optional junior or senior level class that covers everything from buying car insurance, to renting an apartment, to child care, to job hunting skills, to doing income taxes, to planning a budget, and much, much, much more.
I'll step off my soap box.
Last edited by germaine2626; 01-26-2017 at 11:46 AM..
^^A slightly different family situation for me, but agreed. I learned most of that stuff at home.
I do recall learning at some point in Jr. High how to write checks, balance a checkbook, what interest was, etc. I learned other money management skills at home, mainly, don't spend beyond your means. Teaching "money management" would be difficult, IMO. There are many different approaches. Do you borrow money for that new car, even at 0% interest (we do have such a loan, obtained 4 years ago), or pay it in full, like we did for our latest car purchase last week. Both have pros and cons. Use your credit card for everything, or just certain things? Pay it off every month, or not? Whose philosophy gets taught? Do teachers know that much more about money management than the rest of us?
In re: college financing, it sounds like the PP's advisors did fail him. Or, did they have "college nights" and he/his parents didn't go?
I seem to recall something about changing tires being taught in Driver's Ed, as in "learn how to do it".
Relationships? I believe my kids' schools covered some of that stuff in health classes, in fact, I know they did.
My kids' school also had a center for college/career after high school information. You do have to avail yourself of these things, they don't bring materials to you. They had info on resume writing, how to dress for an interview, how to conduct oneself at an interview, etc.
*********************
Now as for the OP, that's an interesting article; I've seen it before. The thing is, I think teachers do know a lot of that stuff. Teachers in low income areas surely know that many kids don't have school supplies at home, that some parents are working two jobs, etc. Teachers in any school, anywhere know that some kids' families have major health problems.
Even if teachers know all these things, what is the expectation for them to do something with that knowledge?
Are poor kids supposed to get a free pass on homework because their family can't afford to buy school supplies? If mom or dad isn't around a lot (or at all) are they given some sort of special bonus points or lowered expectations?
Teachers need to be empathetic but their job is to teach. Their job is to make sure students have mastered the curriculum and are prepared for the next level of school.
^^I think it is fine for teachers to keep some school supplies around for kids who need them, e.g. pencils, tablets, and the like. The teacher should not have to spend his/her own money on these, the PTA/PTO could supply them.
Another adult could sign a reading log to verify it.
I think it helps if teachers know there are some extenuating circumstances in a kid's life, e.g. dad was deported, parent has cancer, etc.
since 7th grade, we were taught algebra.. ..til we graduated....
something most will never use again,,.... but not even one hour on how o write a check or open a checking account...... not one hour on how to give a good interview, or write a resume..
not onr hour on how to rent an apartment,, not one hour on self defense....not one hour how to work with others,,,,,,respect in the work force..
i never got one hour,,,,how to go o college even if parents dont help financially...
not one hour.....heres how you can go to a vocation school if not going to college..
our so called guidance counselors told us to go in the military,,,that was it.
not one hour on how to conduct yourself thru adversities and challenges..
yep,,,you can say all this and many more is for the parents......but we know how that works when half of them cant even discipline their kids..
i had a thousand hours of gym,,,how to play kickball....but not one hour on how to change a tire....
how to jumpstart a car....
i had a thousand hours of science/arts/history,,,,but not one hour of how to budget a paycheck...or household budget...
we had 100s of hours of grammar/english/reading books....
not one hour on relationships.....
whats not acceptable....
young adults on new ground.....very aggressive males... have cops come in ...and review what domestic violence is..
yeah, i know you are educators not counselors,,, but at 18...when most graduate from high school,,,they are nowheres near ready for adulthood..
i could do an algebra equation,,,,but had a huge problem with a job interview,,,and i needed to get a ob,,,not everyone goes to college..
As an educator I hate to admit that this is a wonderful post.
As an educator I hate to admit that this is a wonderful post.
Seriously? As several of us have said, schools do address some of those issues, and many of these "life skills" are parental-influenced. If the parents believe in living beyond their means by credit cards that are never paid off, that is what the kids are learning, despite what "budgeting" class teaches. Don't know how to conduct oneself at a job interview and this isn't covered at school, ask a parent, counselor, even a pastor or youth director! Need to learn how to change a tire? Try the driver's ed teacher, or ask a friend!
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