What they dont but should teach in school

[leeshalulu]

Being a substitute teacher, I am at a different school almost every day. I can not even begin to count the number of kids who have $300 cell phones, $200 ipods, etc etc etc. Now, I am sure that some of these kids have jobs but I know that most of them do not. What I am getting at is- I used to be one of those kids! Now granted, when I was a kid there were no cell phones and the newest things out were portable CD players and nintendos but I wish that there had been a class in school dealing with money management. The state of our finances in this country is horrid-Congress needs a money management class themselves We are so busy trying to get our kids to pass the test ( Standardized tests )! that we are ignoring one of the most important and basic things that they need to know to survive in the real world! I can not believe the number of kids who have never set foot in a bank much less have ever dealt with a checking or savings account. These are all high school kids mind you! We need home economics back in the classroom! Wouldn't it be great if there was an elective class on frugality Anyway, had to get that off my chest. Hind sight is 20/20 but if I knew then what I know now, I would have done many many many things differently. This next generation has a load that is being placed on their shoulders by our Congress. They need to be armed with good money management skills. My hope for my children is that they learn from my mistakes and that DH and I will arm them with the knowledge and skills that they need to make good money decisions. Of course it does not mean that they will-but at least the seed will be planted!

[Debbie-cat]

I agree! A few years ago in my Grade 10 business class, I taught the students a whole lesson on how to write a check and balance a chequebook. This lesson ran for three weeks because they could just not grasp the concept. It was horrible! I even had a huge cheque and a chequebook on the whiteboard everyday and they would take turns filling it out. They always forgot something or their final totals would be wrong. I was just dumbfounded.

Mind you, this was the worst class in the school. They were all behavior-challenged students who were addicted to some type of drug or alcohol. They also came from un-supportive families whose parents were usually either drunk or high on meth. Actually my best lesson was one were they had to figure out (and total...math again) the amount they spent on drugs each month. It was an eye-opener not only for them but for me. It is scary what some of the teenagers are doing to themselves nowadays. What concerned me was they were going to be in charge of what happens to us when we are older!

[mauimagic]

Totally agree with you both. Most students do not see the relationship betwen what is being taught in school and life out of school. I found that my students, albeit in elementary school, are always happier to work on a lesson when they know how it relates to their world either now or in the future. My daughter taught me the importance of that issue when she was going through the public school system.

[Thevail]

I agree. When I homeschooled my daughter for a couple of years, one of the things that she learned the most from and had the most fun doing was helping run the household.

I honestly think she learned more in about three months than most 21 year olds understand. It doesn't take much, but having it taught to them BEFORE they get a job, credit card, bank account, and car loan would certainly be useful. At least then they'd have some idea of what they might be getting into.

[frugalfranny]

I agree too and about the testing too. They are supposed to be changing our testing this year so it will be interesting to see how that goes. The teachers might actually have some time to teach, instead of teaching them how to pass the test.

The politics of the school system has also gotten horrible. A couple people I know have quit as they said they weren't able to teach.......they were 'playing politics'.......really sad.

[Jamauk]

frugalfranny ~ that's exactly why we pulled our son out of school and decided to homeschool.

There are so many real life lessons that are no longer being taught in the schools.

[imagine]

Our school does a pretty good job of this.

The math series we use is a math application (real life and experimentation series) Children use math to learn how it works. Not many drills in this book, although some teacher supplement their lessons with some when needed.

Example of a question my third grader did recently: List of things and prices is given. Then they are told they have X amount of dollars

A)what combinations of things can you buy? list as many as you can.
B)Using one of your combination you pay the clerk with X amount what change will you receive?
C)What are some combination the change you might get back?

I remember a question my son had when doing percents a few years back.
One store has a pair of shoes for (amount given) dollars and is on sale for 35%. The second store has the same pair for (a different amount given) but they are on sale for 25% off.

How much will each pair cost?
Which store has the shoes that will cost you the least?
If you pay (This amount)of money for the shoes what will your change be?


This is from my son's 7th grade Social Studies

1st quarter- Economics:In this quarter long unit, students will learn the basics of economics including what factors influence demand and supply. In addition, they will learn how to stay within a budget and write checks and balance a checkbook.

Not present day but then I was in school. The home ec teacher in high school taught us that we could use cans (the kind veggies come in) to bake cake. She said she taught us that because someday we might need to make a cake and not have a cake pan. Thought she was nuts at the time "Why would we not have a pan?" but I'm very glad to know the information. If she hadn't mentioned it, I would not have known that you could make a log shaped cake in a old can.

[klean163]

I'd like them to talk proper english not slang half the words they say now are in awhole different dictionary.and the way they let the kids dress is unbelivable oh i guess times are changing from when we were in school thank you ,klean163

[marjorie]

In sixth grade we were given a class that included advertising. Techniques like bait and switch , the layout of the supermarket, how the most expensive brands in thesupermarket are generally at eye level, etc. were taught. It was very helpful,but the class was later pulled <sigh>

[justpeachy92]

The fact the schools no longer teach cursive handwriting gets me. What good is knowing how to balance a checkbook, if you don't know how to write your signature?


As for the original post, at my daughters high school there is a class that teaches such life skills. I for the life of me can't think of what the school calls it, it is an elective. She had it last year. They did a project that involved picking a college and a major, write up how they were going to pay for their education. Pick an area to live after graduation, find jobs there on the internet to see what they could potentially make for an income. Then show a budget of what the kids figured they would be paying for stuff. The teacher did good by throwing murphy at the kids too, he had some do a joint project like they were married with unexpected pregnancies, some kids got layoffs, cars broke down. The whole thing was really cool. They worked on the project for a couple of months.

[jennordhavn]

The fact the schools no longer teach cursive handwriting gets me. What good is knowing how to balance a checkbook, if you don't know how to write your signature?


As for the original post, at my daughters high school there is a class that teaches such life skills. I for the life of me can't think of what the school calls it, it is an elective. She had it last year. They did a project that involved picking a college and a major, write up how they were going to pay for their education. Pick an area to live after graduation, find jobs there on the internet to see what they could potentially make for an income. Then show a budget of what the kids figured they would be paying for stuff. The teacher did good by throwing murphy at the kids too, he had some do a joint project like they were married with unexpected pregnancies, some kids got layoffs, cars broke down. The whole thing was really cool. They worked on the project for a couple of months.

They don't teach cursive? That's odd. When my DD started at her private Christian school in 3rd grade, she was behind the others because they started cursive in 2nd grade. Now she's in 5th and is fine. Penmanship is still graded, which is good, because she tends to be a bit sloppy! LOL.

[ladykemma2]

they don't teach cursive?

[leeshalulu]

I was in a school district where they had already phased out cursive. The excuse-the kids handwriting was so bad that they decided to go to computers so that the teachers could read the answers. Pretty scary. I would love to stay home and homeschool but unfortunately I have to go back to work-which is why I am in the Masters program here ( The alternative teaching certification program) However, My DH and I are very fortunate to have parents who want to pay for our daughters private school education. We still have a few years before that! While our teachers are snowed under with the TEKS ( Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills ) which teach to the TAKS ( Texas Assessment Knowledge and Skills ) I still see many who try their hardest to relate what they are teaching to the real world. I have also seen first hand how kids eyes light up when they grasp a concept and relate it to their world! I hope to be that kind of teacher as well! And I also agree that the dress code is ridiculous! The clothes that the schools allow the students to wear! ( Gasp ) Ripped clothes, sagging jeans, blouses on girls that leave nothing to the imagination! No wonder the kids can not concentrate.

[ruderring]

I am a teacher in the public school system and just had my daughter graduate from the same school I teach at. I feel that they should require not have a class as an elective on budgeting and saving money. The class should also include such things which come up in the real world like you need to pay your bills on time not go shopping and blow your money on unnecessary things. No matter how I tried to teach my daughter to be frugal and save she still blew everything from the two jobs she had this summer plus all of her graduation money and then expected us to pay for college. We said no way you're on your own for most of it. We did end up paying $400 but she took out a loan for the rest of what she didn't have from scholarships and from us. She should of only needed to take out about $500 for books but much to our surprise she took out $1700 and we don't know what she spent it on. She just doesn't get it that you have to pay this back. Sorry so long but I if you couldn't tell am a very frustrated mom that wants her daughter to not go into heavy debt before she even gets her life started. Oh well I guess she'll learn hopefully.

[imagine]

As for the original post, at my daughters high school there is a class that teaches such life skills. I for the life of me can't think of what the school calls it, it is an elective. She had it last year. They did a project that involved picking a college and a major, write up how they were going to pay for their education. Pick an area to live after graduation, find jobs there on the internet to see what they could potentially make for an income. Then show a budget of what the kids figured they would be paying for stuff. The teacher did good by throwing murphy at the kids too, he had some do a joint project like they were married with unexpected pregnancies, some kids got layoffs, cars broke down. The whole thing was really cool. They worked on the project for a couple of months.

They had a class like this when I was in school it was a required class for seniors.