Practical knowledge for HS students
 

I am a HS teacher at a urban, low-income, ethnically-diverse school (Farewell poker 'til next summer!). While I usually teach freshman English, this year I've been assigned a class called Future Focus - a class every 9th grader must take to fulfill state career-related standards.

In the past, this class has focused solely on career and job crap, but I'd like to expand the curriculum since most of our students have no idea how to be organized, disciplined, or proactive in a school or work environment. They are going to learn these skills in my class.

I would also like to include "practical knowledge". I always hear people complain about how school didn't address practical issues such as how to rent an apartment, how to check a bank statement, change your oil every 3000 miles, etc.

What do you think is a topic/skill that is usually neglected that I definitely should address in my curriculum?

(While humorous/retarded answers are always appreciated, I really would like some good, serious replies - thanks!)

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

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I always hear people complain about how school didn't address practical issues such as how to rent an apartment, how to check a bank statement, change your oil every 3000 miles, etc.

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Isn't this what parents/guardians are supposed to do? Why is it the public schools' job to do this?

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

FINANCES - checkbooks, credit cards, budgeting, rent, utilities...

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

One thing that drives me crazy is people with absolutely no sense of urgency at all. Timliness is something you can teach. Instill some kind of punishement that actually matters to them for people that can't show up on time or get things done on time.

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

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Isn't this what parents/guardians are supposed to do? Why is it the public schools' job to do this?

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Well, it's technically not if you look at our state standards (the content/skills we MUST teach). Unfortunately, there are no such standards for parents. A shocking number of kids at our school have no responsible adult parent figure at home and some students are homeless. Teachers are their only link to upward mobility.

I'd just like to add skills/content that are easy to teach and will make their life more manageable.

(edit to include context)

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

As others said, absolutely finances. Any of those kids who get a higher education are going to get school debt. Any of those kids who don't are going to get credit card debt (as of course, will many who do go to college). How loans work. How debt works. How really basic things like tax responsibility works. These are the things I am always trying to teach to otherwise intelligent, but far-too-coddled "adults."

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

[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]

That said, I agree with lessons in financial responsibility, work ethic (if this is even possible), and punctuality.

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

I noticed at my inner city high school that had a mix of kids - i.e. lots of AP classes and lots of remedial stuff - that the teachers who tended to work well with the more "at risk" kids were ones who had some simple standards and rules and enforced them with some respect. You can teach a lot about the value of showing up and doing work by setting the example and insisting on the kids doing it. I would do anything I could think of to teach the kids how to learn on their own. Teach them how to use the internet to get a job or learn some practical skills, etc... Any actual skills you teach are a bonus. One idea is some budgeting/bill paying stuff.

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

When I was in 6th grade, my math class did a semester long project on personal finances. First, we were all required to go out and talk to a manager of some local business and find out about working for him in a job we might be qualified for when we were just out of high school. This gave us a taste of the interview process (albeit much lower key). We then "took" a job we liked, and we kept track of the wages as if we were actually working there. Every two weeks we recorded in our register a new paycheck, and we had to keep up with recording everything. We also had to write our teacher "checks" to pay for rent, utilities, and some "unplanned" expenses and maybe a gift from a rich uncle that she threw out every now and then. At the end of it all, we were to plan ourselves a vacation with all the money we had left. It was a good project, and it instilled a lot of good habits early. I don't think we payed taxes on our fictitious wages, but that might be something to think about adding. I'm sure you could structure something similar, but it would be a lot of work as a teacher. More power to you if you pull this off. I'm sure a lot of students would benefit.

Re: Practical knowledge for HS students
 

how to interact and be polite socially under different circumtances. romantic, casual, formal and business environments could be covered as well as proper conduct on internet message boards teeming with twentysomething nerds.

fim