Adulting class in high school

[PoplarGrove]

One more thing the schools have to do since parents don't want to parent. My parents taught me how to do all of that. It's sad that we want to pop out kids left and right but not actually raise them any more.

Or they can't do it because they were never taught it themselves. You can't break a cycle without education. Count your blessings that you were born into a family able to teach you these things. Not all children are.

If you are not capable of teaching your children how to be an adult then you shouldn't have kids. That is what being a parent is. But so many people think it's just dressing up kids, feeding them then sending them off to let other people teach them to be human. Yes, I guess I'm lucky to actually have parents and grandparents who wanted to produce competent adults. We should all want that for our kids.

You know that thing they call the cycle of poverty? That's what courses like this are designed to stop. It would also be a great idea for schools to teach empathy because there seem to be a vast amount of people who don't possess it.

[SunshineDaydream]

That class has always been Home Economics and has been taught in every high school around here well, since I was in school and Im 43 yrs old now.

I never learned any of that in Home Ec! I can sew and cook though I'm 35.

[PoplarGrove]

If you are not capable of teaching your children how to be an adult then you shouldn't have kids. That is what being a parent is. But so many people think it's just dressing up kids, feeding them then sending them off to let other people teach them to be human. Yes, I guess I'm lucky to actually have parents and grandparents who wanted to produce competent adults. We should all want that for our kids.

Valid point and I agree completely. However, this group of parents are the ones that got caught in the mortgage meltdown. There's obviously something missing in their financial literacy training and critical thinking, so they might not be as effective as they should be teaching their children adequately. Having a supplement to fill in the missing pieces is not a bad thing.

There is no excuse for a parent not being a parent. Maybe it should be an elective and if the parent chooses not to or is incapable of doing their job they should have to pay someone else to be the parent for them. I feel badly for these kids who's parents just wanted another accessory instead of the responsibility, but it should not be mandatory. My kids should not be forced to sit through a useless class when they already know this stuff.

My 10 year old reads, writes and comprehends at a University level. Because my kid already knows this stuff we should stop teaching English and spelling to all kids whose parents aren't capable of teaching their children to read and write competently. Learning to balance a cheque book is no different than learning to read.

[SunshineDaydream]

I feel like a lot of this stuff should be incorporated into other classes. Creating a budget and sticking to it can be done in math. English can take care of how to do an interview and build a resume. Science can take on some of the other stuff. Health can take on some cooking.

But then the kids would only get a quick crash-course in it because they have to cover so much other material in the class. I was just thinking about this the other day. A whole "Adulting" class could break down each phase of adult life and teach kids what to be thinking about and how to manage it all. 1st quarter: getting through college on a budget, 2nd quarter: first apartment/real job/starting to Dave and build credit, 3rd quarter: Buying a home, expanding the budget for kids, setting up college funds, retirement accounts, investments (this quarter will be the hardest and most material covered lol) 4th quarter: budgeting in retirement, finalizing Wills.

[Poietes]

Valid point and I agree completely. However, this group of parents are the ones that got caught in the mortgage meltdown. There's obviously something missing in their financial literacy training and critical thinking, so they might not be as effective as they should be teaching their children adequately. Having a supplement to fill in the missing pieces is not a bad thing.

There is no excuse for a parent not being a parent. Maybe it should be an elective and if the parent chooses not to or is incapable of doing their job they should have to pay someone else to be the parent for them. I feel badly for these kids who's parents just wanted another accessory instead of the responsibility, but it should not be mandatory. My kids should not be forced to sit through a useless class when they already know this stuff.

My 10 year old reads, writes and comprehends at a University level. Because my kid already knows this stuff we should stop teaching English and spelling to all kids whose parents aren't capable of teaching their children to read and write competently. Learning to balance a cheque book is no different than learning to read.

Is your child forced to sit through an English class that he doesn't need? This class does not need to be mandatory because some parents actually parent their children.

[hotspice58]

So true. In my high school, there is a course covering some of these: budgeting, apartment/house hunting, how to run a household. I didn't have that in high school.

My DD13 is in 8th grade,and the time has come for her to apply for high school. She wants to attend a very fast paced, high academic early college high school here in town. We were going over the course catalog(this thing is 63 pages long!) and one of the courses offered to seniors is "How to be an adult". It teaches budgeting, grocery shopping, balancing a checkbook, caring for a home(including basic maintenance), child development, how to do your taxes, among other things. I am really pleased about this. Too many kids are sent out into the world with very little concept on how to actually survive independently as adults.

[hotspice58]

Same here. Just baked and sewed. and it was just girls although when I was in 7th grade, a female student started a petition for girls to take shop and boys to take home ec.

That class has always been Home Economics and has been taught in every high school around here well, since I was in school and Im 43 yrs old now.

I never learned any of that in Home Ec! I can sew and cook though I'm 35.

[SunshineDaydream]

Same here. Just baked and sewed. and it was just girls although when I was in 7th grade, a female student started a petition for girls to take shop and boys to take home ec.

That class has always been Home Economics and has been taught in every high school around here well, since I was in school and Im 43 yrs old now.

I never learned any of that in Home Ec! I can sew and cook though I'm 35.

We had boys. And everyone had to take the class in middle school. All 3 years I think, but maybe only 2. We all had to take wood shop, metal working, graphic arts,and fine arts too

[Vegaswife2011]

Sounds like a home economics class. I loved that class in HS!

[cellomom26]

Sounds like a great class!