Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

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[RANT] This is truely a sad state of affairs that such basic skills children should learn from a responible authority figure at home needs to be taught using my tax dollars. [/RANT]

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And i'd argue that you're paying more to bail them out of bankruptcy than you are to pay to teach a single HS class.

-d

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

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Oh, I agree totally with you. I'm commenting more on the sad state of parenting rather than the educational system.

I guess they could call this class "How not to suck at life 101"?

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The kids parents suck because their parents sucked, most likely. You have to break the cycle somewhere, yes?

-d

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

I know that you'll never be able to teach this but you need to teach kids to develop a thick skin. When I came out of high school, I got my ass kicked by life. Just life in general kicked my ass because I was way too sensitive. Problem with this is I have no idea how to teach someone this and it wouldn't be allowed in school anyway since it would involve name calling etc since that is what happens in the real world/job.

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

Did you miss the part where I said I agreed with you? [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

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Did you miss the part where I said I agreed with you? [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

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I'm sure he was distracted by your avatar. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

Boobs pwn, EOT.

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

I teach a Life Skills curriculum to youth in foster or juvenile placements at my current job. Here's the rundown:

Week 1. Introduction
Week 2. Money Management
Week 3. Employment, Part I
Week 4. Employment, Part II
Week 5. Housing: Finding a Place to Live
Week 6. Household Management
Week 7. Personal Care & Health Issues
Week 8. Food and Nutrition
Week 9. Community Resources
Week 10. Problem Solving & Decision Making
Week 11. Personal Goal Planning
Week 12. Wrap-up

Note that the group starts with the bare minimum skills - making a budget, holding a job, getting a place to live. Then moves on to the more abstract stuff. As some have suggested, the Money Management is incorporated into each subsequent group; they establish an income and stick with it as they make other decisions.

It's extremely difficult to teach this stuff to kids, especially kids who aren't interested and have other issues going on. You've really got to come up with some good ways to get and keep their attention.

NT

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

We had a class in my high school called "Contemporary Affairs" where we learned how to create a line of credit, how to do our taxes, how to select proper insurance coverage, the benefits of leasing vs. buying a car, how to write a resume, and countless other little useful life lessons. We even had a project where we had to mock-buy a real house on the market, finding the best way to finance it and such. Best elective I ever took in high school - it should be mandatory.

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

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Did you miss the part where I said I agreed with you? [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

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Yes, I replied before reading the entire thread, as I often do.

-d

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

- How to change a tire, properly use jumper cables
- righty tighty/lefty loosey (usually)
- simple electrical work (change a fuse, splice a wire)
- laundry (a lot of kids have no clue)
- lottery tickets are for suckers
- only use plastic utensils on non-stick cookwear
- how to read a road map
- condoms are a really, really good idea (and don't keep em in your wallet)
- when you write a check, make note in your check register.
- your actions DO have consequences
- how to sew a button
- life moves a lot faster once you hit your mid 20's
- broken light bulb? unplug the lamp BEFORE you try to remove it. try using a potato.
- nobody respects a limp handshake.
- how to get and keep a good credit rating and why it's so important.
- "your" isn't the same as "you're".
- you don't learn anything when you're talking
- how to cook a steak (well, medium, and medium rare).
- how to file your taxes (or at least to keep your stuff together and get to H&R Block).
- how to calculate your gas milage.
- always know the age of consent in your state.