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You're calling for a HUGE tax hike for that plan. Military personnel have to be paid, given uniforms, housing, health care, etc.
I'm not exactly opposed to increasing taxes for things i like... if people want "training" from free college tuition, this is just another form minus the college to me. And while they are learning, they can put their actions to work on aiding the country in some form
What would it take to make k-12 schools teach basic life skills? Things like how to cook, do laundry, hygiene, basic courtesy, personal finance (retirement, house owning vs rent, budgeting), how to vote, basic maintenance of car/house/health, what to do if xyz event happens, working a job vs starting a business, etc. Basically, everything a Martian would need to know if he suddenly found himself an 18 year old American.
Right now it seems like these things are expected to be taught by parents, which is great for the kids who have parents who already know these skills and actually teach them to their kids, but that leaves many kids who graduate into adulthood in various degrees of cluelessness. Shouldn't public school be a place where kids can learn how to function in their society? Or at the very least provide a handbook on how to be a functioning citizen? Or at least teach them how to find out this information for themselves (and also tell them what information they should be looking for, since they may not even know what they don't know)..
I feel like we can't blame people for wasting their money on fancy cars while neglecting their retirement, being disrespectful towards each other, neglecting their cars, buying throw away junk instead of quality, getting stupid higher education degrees while signing up for killer student loans, if none of these things are being explained and demonstrated to them beforehand. If it was taught freely, to all, k-12, then they would have no excuse, and we could safely point to someone failing at a life skill, and say 'they should've learned this already'.
What do you think? Would it be possible to get U.S. schools to teach life skills?
That is the job of parents, not teachers. They have enough trouble trying to deal with teaching students the basics.
This is actually the answer I was looking for /thread.
Yes, the kids can google whatever they need these days, but I still think that it is better to have a human teacher - to open their eyes to things they didn't even think to consider because they just don't have the experience.
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Ummm... they do have a 'human teacher'. Their parents.
What do you want to remove from the current curriculum to add these skills that they should learn at home?
How much of a rise in taxes are you willing to take?
I don't think we need the school district to teach our kids life skills. We handle that, thanks.
Last time I checked, the school district cannot help my kids set the table, cook dinner, clean their rooms, care for the dogs, help with butchering...
They already have their own accounts, checkbooks and debit cards (17 and 15 years old). We teach them how to balance their accounts, plan for savings. They also are fully aware of our family budget- they know how much it takes to run a household.
Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth
Schools used to have Home Economics programs, but they were reserved exclusively for girls. Everyone needs to learn that stuff. Everyone needs to learn the basics of caring for cars, too, but the shop classes were reserved for boys. I don't know if schools still have any of those classes. Those were eliminated from some of the California schools.
Home Ec was required for everyone when I went to school in suburban Minneapolis in the 70's. Sewing and Cooking. We also had metal and wood shop in Jr. High, and I took photography as well. Hand-developing film was fun.
Of course it is, because it's the answer you wanted to get. It doesn't matter that several of us who responded telling you that your supposition is largely incorrect are , or in my case retired, teachers. Some of whom are teaching or have taught the subjects you think should be incorporated.
Instead, a couple posters agree with you so you're of course correct.
And it's always nice when these posts are couched in a "What do you think?" context...
...which in reality, should be properly phrased as, "I have a particular answer in my head that I think is right...can any of you guess it?"
Yes, the kids can google whatever they need these days, but I still think that it is better to have a human teacher - to open their eyes to things they didn't even think to consider because they just don't have the experience.
Indeed. This is where parents as teachers come in.
The bulk of your "life skills" take place first in the home, not school. It's the ideal environment in which to learn them.
The whole point of schools is to get an education, i.e. to learn things beyond life skills, things that their parents can't teach them.
I do think, however, that it might be a good idea to offer elective courses in life skills. However, given the state of current school budgets, it isn't realistic.
Yet I can't help thinking that this is a really great idea for a small business or, even better, charitable organization (or a combo of the two): a place that offers to teach children life skills (sewing, cooking, cleaning, etc.) after school while parents are at work.
What would it take to make k-12 schools teach basic life skills? Things like how to cook, do laundry, hygiene, basic courtesy, personal finance (retirement, house owning vs rent, budgeting), how to vote, basic maintenance of car/house/health, what to do if xyz event happens, working a job vs starting a business, etc. Basically, everything a Martian would need to know if he suddenly found himself an 18 year old American.
Right now it seems like these things are expected to be taught by parents, which is great for the kids who have parents who already know these skills and actually teach them to their kids, but that leaves many kids who graduate into adulthood in various degrees of cluelessness. Shouldn't public school be a place where kids can learn how to function in their society? Or at the very least provide a handbook on how to be a functioning citizen? Or at least teach them how to find out this information for themselves (and also tell them what information they should be looking for, since they may not even know what they don't know)..
I feel like we can't blame people for wasting their money on fancy cars while neglecting their retirement, being disrespectful towards each other, neglecting their cars, buying throw away junk instead of quality, getting stupid higher education degrees while signing up for killer student loans, if none of these things are being explained and demonstrated to them beforehand. If it was taught freely, to all, k-12, then they would have no excuse, and we could safely point to someone failing at a life skill, and say 'they should've learned this already'.
What do you think? Would it be possible to get U.S. schools to teach life skills?
It should be the job of the parents to do this, schools already have to teach the subjects that they need to, and now you want to put more on them?
Parents need to get off their butt and teach their kids. Its their responsibility and not anyone elses.
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/thread. 
