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I think they are a good idea. There are some basic things I would have loved to have learned.
Here are just a few suggestions of what I think would be helpful.
Filling out the EZ tax form
how to sew on a button and hem
hanging a picture and curtains
Simple recipes for when you don't have much money to spend and how to cook them... beans and rice, soup, eggs, etc.
Growing basic food plants like tomatoes
Basic cleaning and laundry
Time budgeting
How to set a table
Personal hygiene
These are things kids should learn from their parents. They’re everyday life skills. No need to involve the schools or taxpayers.
This is what happens when high schools try to push useless things like Algebra 2 or chemistry in order to graduate because everyone needs to be "college-ready".
Huh. Chemistry is useless. I’ll be sure to pass that on to my daughter the chemist. Part of HS (and college) is exposing kids to a variety of disciplines to see what they enjoy and may want to pursue. I’m glad she took Chemistry in HS. Her career in it pays a lot better than sewing on buttons or cooking dinner both of which she was able to learn easily without taking a class.
Huh. Chemistry is useless. I’ll be sure to pass that on to my daughter the chemist. Part of HS (and college) is exposing kids to a variety of disciplines to see what they enjoy and may want to pursue. I’m glad she took Chemistry in HS. Her career in it pays a lot better than sewing on buttons or cooking dinner both of which she was able to learn easily without taking a class.
Its great if your going to be a chemist.
How many projects were there between middle school and high school where you had to learn the periodic table and cell structure. How often do you use that on a daily basis?
How often do you drive, eat, wear clothes, etc.
Its great if your going to be a chemist.
How many projects were there between middle school and high school where you had to learn the periodic table and cell structure. How often do you use that on a daily basis?
How often do you drive, eat, wear clothes, etc.
If we want to raise a generation of Uber drivers, cooks and tailors I would agree. IMO school should expose you to things that are not just learned by living life day to day. Since we don’t know which kids will like and excel at things like Chemistry, Math, History, Theater, Music etc., it’s vital they’re all exposed to these things.
I do think that requiring more than 1 Chemistry class at the HS level is unnecessary. Those who like it can go on to higher level and those that don’t can take other classes where they’ll hopefully find something they do enjoy.
If we want to raise a generation of Uber drivers, cooks and tailors I would agree. IMO school should expose you to things that are not just learned by living life day to day. Since we don’t know which kids will like and excel at things like Chemistry, Math, History, Theater, Music etc., it’s vital they’re all exposed to these things.
I do think that requiring more than 1 Chemistry class at the HS level is unnecessary. Those who like it can go on to higher level and those that don’t can take other classes where they’ll hopefully find something they do enjoy.
Most high schools have preset courses for particular fields of study students are interested in. Thing is the majority of those kids arent going on to be chemist, mathematicians, physicians, curators, Historians, etc. Yes, kids need a well rounded education but that should also include general business:
(taxes, finance, loans, bank accounts, budgets, interviewing), a home economics of sorts: basic sewing, cooking, shopping, general home maintenance, basic car maintenance).
Whether or not kids should learn basic living skills at home is irrelevant. Many kids wont because of a variety of factors. Many kids have crap home lives with little adult guidance or parents who dont know these things themselves. We could say kids should be provided meals from home also but we feed them 3 meals a day at school, or parents should teach their kids about the birds and bee but we have sex ed, or they can exercise on their own time, but we have physical ed.
I dont understand the resistance to also providing a class on basic living skills.
Huh. Chemistry is useless. I’ll be sure to pass that on to my daughter the chemist. Part of HS (and college) is exposing kids to a variety of disciplines to see what they enjoy and may want to pursue. I’m glad she took Chemistry in HS. Her career in it pays a lot better than sewing on buttons or cooking dinner both of which she was able to learn easily without taking a class.
"Experts showed students how to check their oil, hang pictures on a wall, wash and dry clothes and cook food in a microwave."
If a kid needs a class to learn how to do laundry or hang a picture then he really IS a moron. And whoever his parents/guardian is, is pretty much a waste of space.
It occurs to me why we have so many doctors, engineers, scientists, etc. from places like India, China, South Korea, Europe, and such. They learned how to push "Start" on a washing machine at an early age.
I'm not sure what constitutes a "microwave and picture hanging expert", but it sounds interesting. At what point do you get to the Doctorate level stuff like cooking breakfast, walking the dog, or washing the car?
"Experts showed students how to check their oil, hang pictures on a wall, wash and dry clothes and cook food in a microwave."
If a kid needs a class to learn how to do laundry or hang a picture then he really IS a moron. And whoever his parents/guardian is, is pretty much a waste of space.
It occurs to me why we have so many doctors, engineers, scientists, etc. from places like India, China, South Korea, Europe, and such. They learned how to push "Start" on a washing machine at an early age.
Well see there is more to laundry than pushing the start button.
Between 2mares and UNC4me, I see both perspectives. On the one hand, at some point students would benefit immensely from having classes in those basic skills that many of us adults take for granted. Personally, I wish I had taken some basic home skills classes when I was younger, to learn some things about working on my own home instead of having contractors do it for me.
On the other hand, courses like chemistry and other sciences are not useless at all, no matter the path the student takes later. Even if the student doesn't retain much in the way of facts, there is a great deal of value in the problem-solving and critical thinking skills that are learned in these classes. Truth be told, I'd say there is a deficit of critical thinking and problem-solving skills evident in many areas today that demonstrate a greater need for those types of classes, not a lesser.
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