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I think they shoudl teach a class in how to manage a household - making a budget, basic maintainance and repairs for houses and cars, how you get electricty, phone service, internet and gas. How to cook some basic meals. Meal planning. How to open and maintain a bank account. What credit cards are and why the lead to disaster. Medicine basics. How to apply for welfare and what kinds of welfare are available. Cleannig a house, applying for a loan, reading a contract like a lease or furniture rental agreement.
Useful things. Kids graduate today and they have no idea how to live. No wonder they end up in Mom and Dad's basement until they are 40.
Why aren't parents teaching their kids to do this.
You teach a kid to make a budget by showing them how you budget, and then they practice with their allowance. You teach them how to open and maintain a bank account at this time as well, and share the values and evils of credit cards at this time. Many banks will let you open a child checking account to help them learn.
You teach your kids basic repairs by having them help you repair your house and car. You teach a kid how to maintain a clean house through chores and making sure they clean their rooms as well as the kitchen, bathroom, etc.
You teach a kid how to plan meals by having them shop with you and then help you fix dinner with you during the week.
You teach a kid about medicine when he/she is sick.
When kids live in their parents' basement until they are 40, it is a failure of parenting, not schooling.
Why aren't parents teaching their kids to do this.
You teach a kid to make a budget by showing them how you budget, and then they practice with their allowance. You teach them how to open and maintain a bank account at this time as well, and share the values and evils of credit cards at this time. Many banks will let you open a child checking account to help them learn.
You teach your kids basic repairs by having them help you repair your house and car. You teach a kid how to maintain a clean house through chores and making sure they clean their rooms as well as the kitchen, bathroom, etc.
You teach a kid how to plan meals by having them shop with you and then help you fix dinner with you during the week.
You teach a kid about medicine when he/she is sick.
When kids live in their parents' basement until they are 40, it is a failure of parenting, not schooling.
So wouldn't it be nice for those kids who have failing parents, or none at all, to be able to learn these things at school, rather than nowhere?
So wouldn't it be nice for those kids who have failing parents, or none at all, to be able to learn these things at school, rather than nowhere?
Schools cannot replace the parents of a student.
In addition to reading, writing, math, science, history, geography, foreign language, physical education and the arts, schools already are teaching students about health, sexual reproduction, study skills, organization skills, teamwork, etc.
Schools are being castigated because they don't have the time and money to teach the academics, but people insist that we pile on even more "life skills" education for kids. Besides, I've got news for you, you can teach it to them, but the majority will never learn it until they have to.
While great teachers can help with the life skills within their academic curriculum, the simple fact is that the government has decided to evaluate teachers on the academics, not the life skills. Throw in budget cuts, in which class sizes balloon, and the teacher has less individual time for each student, and you have to realize that maybe it is the parents that need to change, not the schools.
I remember when I went to school it was a jr high class for boys. I think Coldjensens' idea is a good one although I like bird houses, too.
Thanks to those who responded.
I like what you suggested....
looking back,,, I took high school shop....learned alot,,,
if I were a shop teacher today, id teach the kids, how to change a tire on a car,,, change your own oil.. how to check and fill fluids in a car,,,
Id also teach survival skills if lost in the woods,,i know it isnt shop class,,,more of "life skills"
and to teach about opening a checking account,,how to build credit,,,,,, touch on many real life subjects...
how to budget.... is really important...
I wished i learned many more life skills,,,such as cpr,,,,how to use a fire extinguisher, how to use a generator..
I wished we could have had field trips to different businesses,,,,or have the business owners come talk to us kids..
when I use to hire 18-22 yr olds,,,I had some basic questions,,, I remember a few of them say they were math majors, on the math team,,
one of my simple questions was this.... what's the difference between mark-up and margin?
and if a widget cost 3.50 what would be the retail (selling price) if i wanted a 30% margin)
these kids could divide algebraic equations,,no problem, but an applied margin question,,they were lost,,,most of the private sector is buying and selling goods or services, and to figure margins, as a percentage of profits,,,,should be very basic..
how and why to take a physical inventory??? (of products)
customer service skills,,,corporate culture, , interviewing skills, etc, ALL should be taught somehow in high school..
also, more emphasis on "consequences to actions" meaning speakers such as police, speaking of underage drinking/drugs.
we had an inmate as a "guest" in high school,,that was a bad -ass he drank, smoked pot in jr high and high school,,,,started dealing, stole cars,,now he's in prison,,and wasting his life,, telling all of us,,how he lost his freedom, lost his opportunity for a job and family,,because he was "too cool",,, this guy scared the hell out of me,,,I use to think of what happened to him,,,,when i was tempted,,it works,
one kid asked him "what would you do differently" his reply sent a chill thru most of us,,
he said "I was trying so hard, not to be my comformist , conservative parents, I rebelled, and when i got in trouble, in school,,other kids thought it was "cool"
now i wished i had the life of my parents, id play by the rules,,,,I gave up my chance to meet a girl, get married, work, have kids,
this inmate,,,got up walked over to a couple kids- looked at them and said, i'm looking in the mirror when looking at you,,, look at me,,,you will be looking in the mirror too, if you screw up like i did,,,
that was powerful..
My school district only had shop classes at a specialized half-day school focusing on both AP and CTE classes. Students from all the other high schools chould choose to take classes not normally offered because it would be too expensive or the classes would be too small. They have carpentry classes that actually built a Habitat house every year, and also an Auto Tech class. There's evidence of shop classes at the other high schools (the theatre program's scene shop at my school was the old shop classroom), but now it's all focused in one location.
I was in a "Fundamentals of Alternative Energies" class that was about 50% class time and 50% shop time, which came as a huge surprise to me but I enjoyed it. We built functioning wind turbines out of wood and PVC pipe, solar cookers, and scale models of a zero-energy home, to name a few things, and we also distilled bio-diesel that was used in a go-kart.
Unfortunately opportunities like that can't be available at every high school, it comes down to a cost thing, however I'm glad it's available in some fashion to kids in that school district. Our teacher once went off on a rant (as he's often prone to do) about how the school got rid of the masonry program despite the fact that it's a very high paying job.
Location: where you sip the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens
They make birdhouses. It is important to know how to make birdhouses and wooden boxes. Becasue well. . . it is important. .....
Some things never change ...... I can still clearly picture the birdhouse I made 40 years ago in wood shop, and other things from metal shop or whatever they called part 2.
I think they shoudl teach a class in how to manage a household - making a budget, basic maintainance and repairs for houses and cars, how you get electricty, phone service, internet and gas. How to cook some basic meals. Meal planning. How to open and maintain a bank account. What credit cards are and why the lead to disaster. Medicine basics. How to apply for welfare and what kinds of welfare are available. Cleannig a house, applying for a loan, reading a contract like a lease or furniture rental agreement.
Useful things. Kids graduate today and they have no idea how to live. No wonder they end up in Mom and Dad's basement until they are 40.
It was called Home Economics (Home ec) when I was in HS.
One high school here has a well known auto shop program. But those in the college track don't usually take it.
Since Tennessee recently had the highest bankruptcy rate in the US, the legislature enacted a law that all public high schools teach personal finance. So each student graduates with a half-credit in personal finance, which includes budgeting etc.
There are lots of other electives, but shop is not one of them.
They make birdhouses. It is important to know how to make birdhouses and wooden boxes. Becasue well. . . it is important.
Computer repair is useless. No one repairs broken computers. It costs more than the computer is worth. IT (softwater issues and computer system building might be useful.
I think they shoudl teach a class in how to manage a household - making a budget, basic maintainance and repairs for houses and cars, how you get electricty, phone service, internet and gas. How to cook some basic meals. Meal planning. How to open and maintain a bank account. What credit cards are and why the lead to disaster. Medicine basics. How to apply for welfare and what kinds of welfare are available. Cleannig a house, applying for a loan, reading a contract like a lease or furniture rental agreement.
Useful things. Kids graduate today and they have no idea how to live. No wonder they end up in Mom and Dad's basement until they are 40.
"Basic maintainance and repairs for houses and cars," that is what building a birdhouse is all about, learning how to use basic tools and assemble an object. You have to start with the basics and then move on to the more complicated and difficult maintenance and repairs and more complicated tools.
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