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The only valuable things I learned in K-12 was reading, writing, typing and that people are mean. I have had co-workers younger than myself who have college degrees and can't spell or use proper grammar. My granddaughter, by the time she was 15, could not tell time on a regular clock face, or read and write cursive.
I was raised by my mother and grandmother, who taught me absolutely nothing. When I moved out to live on my own, I couldn't cook, didn't know how to balance a checkbook or do laundry. I can credit my grandmother for my love of words because we played Scrabble almost every day after school.
When I went to college as an adult learner, there were a few classes that at first I thought wouldn't be of any benefit, but these were the ones that taught me more about humans, society, why people are the way they are and how they got there.
adulting? What would the syllabus for that class include?
financial literacy including credit scores, insurance, taxes, budgets, loans, compound interest, specific types of bank accounts, scams, paying bills, savings, reading a paycheck and understanding deductions
How to file a tax return
Food- how to read a nutritional label and basics about healthy eating and food shopping, food storage, vitamins, calories and exercise
Civics- how a bill becomes a law, voting, registering for the draft, citizenship, your rights and lawyers, interacting with law enforcement
Basic technology including password security, social media landmines, excel, PowerPoint, backups, the cloud
Employment- creating a resume, LinkedIn, scrubbing social media, mock interviews, thank you and follow up. Business email formats, the workplace
Health- oral health, cardio vascular health, colds and flus, spreading germs, mental health and recognizing depression, sun exposure, basic anatomy, handling a medical emergency, basic first aid. Common Chronic health conditions (diabetes, high blood pressure, Asthma,migraines)
The above list are things that help to create for a functioning adult. Not sure how much is taught in school now but all of it it important to know.
Most of what has been mentioned was actually taught within my old HS curriculum. Some of the semester courses were mandatory:
Health (9th)
Keyboarding (9th)
Home Economics (10th)
Windows (10th)
Drivers Education (11th)
Accounting (11th)
Job Prep or College Prep (12th)
Civics (12th)
ROTC (the most popular elective on campus)
Work Study (working for credit i.e. Hardees or K-Mart)
Work Internships (interning for credit i.e. H&R Block or Dr. X)
Wood Shop
Auto Shop
Psychology
Agriculture
Health - Sex Ed (sex edu specific class)
Criminal Justice
Just a quick browse of the school site, those courses are still there although renamed and rebranded and includes a lot of tech related courses.
When I was in HS community service hours were required. Not just the hours but a presentation based on what you did, how you did it, why you did it. It was a pretty big deal and you had to present these during Civics or English class. The 3-5 presentations that were considered a Bigger Impact were done in front of the entire school and the Biggest Impact presentation was done at graduation before the final speeches. Most students took their hours pretty seriously and lots of hours turn into projects that have stood the test of time, so far.
I read the requirement for the community service projects and they completely changed the structure. It looks like group projects are accepted now. I also don't see the Big, Bigger, Biggest Impact theme used in any of the language.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phetaroi
Here's what I wish you folks would do. Step back and -- for a few minutes -- forget about your pet content area and look at the overall suggestions made. For the most part, little agreement about what should be added to the curriculum. And that's the problem.
rep point!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Marcinkiewicz
You and your 'peers' are the outliers of all outliers regarding parenthood.
rep point!
Quote:
Originally Posted by otowi
As someone who works in schools, I can tell you the emphasis is there, but when you're 16 you just don't get it no matter how much people tell you - you just don't have the maturity and/or life experience to understand. OR, you just get an anxiety disorder.
rep point!
Quote:
Originally Posted by LauraC
Find me a teacher who hasn't screwed up something in their own life.
I actually don't know any perfect people regardless of profession.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phetaroi
I think all students should receive an education which gives them the opportunity to go to college now or later. Whether they take advantage of that opportunity or not is their choice.
Are there any HS with diploma requirements that do not meet the standards of their local community college?
Self-insight, self-discovery. Self-insight builds upon self-mastery of talents, which will then appropriately help students to gain perspective of what matters to them early on in life. Self-honesty is important as it effects every trajectory of decision making the teenager chooses.
Relationships- healthy boundaries, ways to recognize what constitutes healthy relationships (friends, s.o.). And not your typical carry a hard-boiled egg around or bag of rice (pretending that it is a child- pre parental co-op parenting- that's ridiculous and is lame, maybe not the rice bag- carrying heavy rice bags demonstrating teen parenting is actually beneficial).
One thing I always hated about college and the working world is the HUGE disconnect. One sitting in a classroom all day and being graded, the other working with co-workers, having a boss, and being judged on your skills. Night/day difference.
How WORKING at a job feels like. I wish colleges required the entire last year as working at a paid job related to your major.
financial literacy including credit scores, insurance, taxes, budgets, loans, compound interest, specific types of bank accounts, scams, paying bills, savings, reading a paycheck and understanding deductions
How to file a tax return
Food- how to read a nutritional label and basics about healthy eating and food shopping, food storage, vitamins, calories and exercise
Civics- how a bill becomes a law, voting, registering for the draft, citizenship, your rights and lawyers, interacting with law enforcement
Basic technology including password security, social media landmines, excel, PowerPoint, backups, the cloud
Employment- creating a resume, LinkedIn, scrubbing social media, mock interviews, thank you and follow up. Business email formats, the workplace
Health- oral health, cardio vascular health, colds and flus, spreading germs, mental health and recognizing depression, sun exposure, basic anatomy, handling a medical emergency, basic first aid. Common Chronic health conditions (diabetes, high blood pressure, Asthma,migraines)
The above list are things that help to create for a functioning adult. Not sure how much is taught in school now but all of it it important to know.
Aren't schools already teaching these things? I find it hard to imagine that a young adult that was reasonably competent at learning, and went to reasonably decent schools does not already know these things. How to read a nutritional label? Really?
These are things that the adult members of the family ( not necessarily parents) should be teaching the kids. Formal education wasn't meant to replace informal education. Ergo..Schools teach biology(Formal) so when parents teach their kids to sneeze into their elbows ( informal) they understand why that makes sense. If you understand math, you should understand the basics of financial literacy for the most part. Can you run a hedge fund? Maybe not, but if you can add and subtract....
If most people just made better use of schools and took education more seriously, and parents took a more active role in , well, parenting... this thread would largely not be necessary.
One thing I always hated about college and the working world is the HUGE disconnect. One sitting in a classroom all day and being graded, the other working with co-workers, having a boss, and being judged on your skills. Night/day difference.
How WORKING at a job feels like. I wish colleges required the entire last year as working at a paid job related to your major.
Colleges can't teach you everything. Some things you learn at the school of life. Hence the word EXPERIENCE.
(The fix for that is maybe don't wait till college is over to start working.)
How WORKING at a job feels like. I wish colleges required the entire last year as working at a paid job related to your major.
Actually, that might make more sense for your first year of college, so that you can see whether or not your job will lead to a tolerable lifestyle, before you invest 4 years of education into a degree that basically locks you into a career for life.
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