Discussions

They say high school is to prepare your kids for the real world, however there seems to be a lack of knowledge and basic life skills in today's young adults. Everyone is so busy and there may be a lack of a time parents have with being able to teach their kids skills such as cooking, how to change a tire, understand taxes etc.  
Not to mention everyone these days is so reliant on phones. What happens if your stranded with no service or can't afford WiFi etc.  
 
Do you think people are prepped for the real world once graduating high school?  
 
Should there be some kind of life skill courses offered in school?  
 
Would it be something you would consider taking for example a course to teach you things like cooking, tax prep, changing a tire etc.?

pinkflamingos said "I felt adequately prepared for the real world after high school but I will acknowledge that high school itself had little to do with it. I learned practical life skills such as budgeting, cooking, basic auto maintenance and household fixes from my parents. The basic, bare bones curriculum does not include practical stuff at all.     I actually believe that our school system needs an overhaul. There is a lot of time spent on skills that the vast majority of us simply will not use. Those should be electives in my opinion. For example, no one ever teaches you what the laws are for the country that we live in, but we are all expected to abide by them. What about human rights. Or basic first aide. I think 'how to be a law abiding citizen' should be more compulsory than say advanced math or science. Like, what good is it that I am aware that mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell? Did they think the majority of us were going into molecular biology?     Life skills should not only be offered, but put into the core education system. "

Very smart!

I'm in my mid 30s and still don't feel like I have the skills to be a qualified adult!!

Very good pinkflamingos. Many people will say that life skills should be taught by parents. The problem is who teaches the parents? We had a very vague class on cooking. The extent was to bake a cake and a few other things. I could never have done a roast, pie, etc. Basic auto I learnt from my dad who is a mechanic. Budgeting and stuff I learnt on my own. My parents were willing to help me but it wasn't something they were open and free about.  
 
With Canadians at all time high debt we should be teaching it in school. Budgeting for secondary school via RRSP/RESP. Lease vs buy. Rent vs buy, etc.

are so busy working two jobs, texting, facebooking, running kids here and there, or letting the kids just run the streets, no one is teaching the life skills.  
 
The one's having these children are probably at the age, where they really weren't taught life skills either.  
 
I left home at 17 with a grade 12 diploma and all the skills I needed, thanks to my parents work ethic and there parenting skills.  
 
(when we were in school though, grade 7 - 12, we had classes in our school division, so we were bused to a different school every 6th day for either cooking, sewing, woodworking, graphic arts. I guess that has long gone by the wayside)

parent of 1 kid that just graduated and 1 in grade 4 I will say it is very tough to teach everything they need. The whole mentality of things in the school system has changed is not totally accurate either. I went to schools with between 400-1000 students growing up and not once did I ever get taught budgets or how to change a tire (in regular curriculum). "Home Ec" was very basic cooking/baking (cookies) and sewing consisted of making a gym bag. "Shop" was tearing a small engine apart and putting it back together with a step by step book, woodwork, we made a cutting board, and metal work we did a screw driver/shiv (depending on who you hung out with). But these were all basic quick courses. If you liked them then you would do the advance shops/home ec classes and drop something else that was important to life.  
I excelled in the classes like shop, but neglected the maths. My Senior high we had actual career prep classes like autobody/mechanics/drafting/machine shop/carpentry (ex.) but this is in a major city in a school of 1000+. But once again, no budgeting and by taking the career prep courses I still had no idea how to save money or make supper.....but I could put a completely destroyed car back on the road with a beautiful paint job.  
My mother taught me how to budget....and that's why I was in debt within the first year of being on my own (18y/o).  
Now I have tried to teach my kids life skills, but working between 8hr-20hr days 7 days a week I have had to rely heavily on phone calls and pointing the oldest to youtube. Their mother has tried to teach basic life skills, but there again, at 42 she's still learning and things have changed from when we were 18 or 9! I just hope and pray my boys learn more from my stupidity than what I can "teach" them, cause I'm still screwing up my life on a daily basis and making corrections/changes to flow with the times.  
I guess at the end of the day, my kids are going to learn what they want to learn, no matter how much I try to teach them. My oldest is amazingly smart (like his mother), but sucks at common sense, decision making and day to day life skills....but you want to know how cells reproduce and the which train will make it to the train station first from opposite ends of Canada travelling at different speeds, he's the one to go to. My youngest will have your tire removed, while figuring out how to jump his bike over the house before you've even got a cup of coffee poured....but ask him which train will arrive at the station and he will pretend he's sleeping. Point is, parents and teachers can only teach what the kids will take in.

while i agree the schools could focus on different things i was never under the impression that schools were to prepare you for life, they are their to teach the 3 Rs  
 
I do realize if the parents dont have the skills themselves then they obviously cant teach them but where do we draw the line on who is teaching our kids what?  
 
With a kid in school i have found that honestly some teacher are not equipt to teach every subject and are feeding my child contradictory information, everything from bad math to enforcing cooking "rules" that i have taught to my child differently, shops is a joke ect. so do we really want teachers being in charge of every aspect of our childrens teaching? I say NO! But what i would like to see is schools focusing on critical thinking and how to teach yourself (with the internet thats way easier) that will prepare kids to try learn if they dont know, which I believe was the greasiest skill my parents taught me  
 
Plus, lets face it, i look at kids now and think man they are morons but you know what, so was I at 20 and im still making mistakes that in 20 years i will say the same thing about so lets not forget how we really were when we were their age lol

Being now at the age of 30 and looking back, the school system really did leave much to be desired. Most of my teachers were great, and I believe cared about what they were doing (it was more than a job). But you can only go so far with the curriculum that you are given. Which frankly, was of little use in the outside school world. Practical experience in the workplace improved my math skills and knowledge of retail more than really, either class did in the school setting. Not to mention that life was crowded by other things at the time.  
 
Stuff happens.  
 
Anyway, this was the status of the system back in 2003 to 2006, when I was still apart of it. Long before social media and mobile devices shifted the hangouts of pretty much everyone into the cloud. If this technology is being dealt with in the same way it always has, then many children are likely even LESS prepared than they were before!  
 
Let me explain.  
It''s easy to learn how to use, anything we have now and anything that will be the new THING of the future. What we are not so good at is educating on the ramifications of any of the MANY ways in which thoughtless misuse of this technology (like posting/sending the wrong picture) can have far-reaching repercussions in the real world. I know we haven''t dealt with this, because whole countries are figuring out how to come to terms with this stuff intermingling with their real-world political situations.  
 
And then there is the often deliberately addictive nature of the platforms themselves. People often chastise or look down on "the young ones, always texting and on their phones!".  
These things are increasingly designed to harness our attention because attention is money (the attention economy). There is a reason why seemingly every app makes your phone ring, tweet, beep, and every other sound.  
Snapchat and Facebook are 2 of the worst, which is why I don''t use them on mobile devices anymore.  
 
Being a part of the workforce for a fairly long time, I have noticed a change in many of the new staff coming in. But I have to wonder if all of this (and more) is a big part of the role. Many are not up to snuff because we as a society are not properly preparing them. That sets most of the blame squarely on us.  
 
I heard fairly recently that the BSD, despite everything I read on this site or in local opinion sections about our education taxes being ridiculous, is one of the most underfunded (if not THE most underfunded) in the province.  
 
Is there a connection here?  
 
Edited by Simonwalcal, 2018-09-15 12:14:40

Unprepared youth, in my opinion, is a result if parenting more than education system. Too many parents spend their time protecting their children from life issues rather than sharing and informing and preparing. I am not saying it is all the parents' responsibility or fault. I am just saying that, in my opinion, parents do a lot of damage by good intentions.  
Don't let children (pre-teens or teens) take the bus because "sketchy people". Yes, sketchy people exist. But most people are good decent people. As for sketchy people...deal with it. It is a fact of life.  
Don't discuss budget or financial strain with kids. Because parents don't want children to worry. Why not? A little worry or concern (a.k.a. awareness) is better than oblivion on how wage/budget/bills work.  
Don't talk to strangers; don't get involved; other people's problems are not your business; you could get hurt; etc. Should we not be encouraging our children to be the heroes of their own lives? Should we not be encouraging our children to develop adulting skills in managable increments?  
Should we not be encouraging decision making and self-responsibilities in limited, guided amounts? Should we not be ever widening those freedoms, rights and responsibilities every year as our children slowly learn to adult?  
Many parents think there is time to teach their children how to adult, but I believe it is taught over the course of a lifetime. If you cannot let your child even make a decision of what they are taking in their luch, how do you expect then to know how to decide adulting decisions...like when to stick out a tough patch in their life and when to walk away from a bad situation?  
The ability to make decisions and the confidence in making decisions is something developed over a lifetime. And it starts even in infancy. Guided and very limited, but it starts even at that age. Even if it is only "what outfit do you want to wear today? Green or blue?" and waiting for the infant to stare at their choice.  
By young teen years (13-14), a youth is capable of riding the bus, budgeting and managing their money, holding down a job and still doing school full time, going to doctor's appointments (and making their own appointments). Young teens are capable of ordering their own food at a restaurant and paying for it. They are capable of taking the bus to work or an appointment. They are capable of getting themselves up in the mornings and off to school with everything they need. Our youth and our children (of all ages) are more capable than we give them credit for.  
Certainly, they are not capable and ready for everything...and not all at once. But they are capable of at least one "big" lifeskill and severals tiny ones each year.  
By "big" I mean some aspect of their lives they take over resonsibility for 100%. Like packing their own lunches one year. Setting bed time one year. Managing money another year (even if it is only $20/month for their own wants). Getting up on their own another year. Taking the bus another year. Etc.  
Mind you, what those skills learned each year would vary individually and based on what skills that child/teen is ready to take on.  
Because contrary to urban myth, nobody finishes high school or turns some magic age and suddenly everything makes sense and just clicks.

I think you have a good point, kids need practice making decisions and dealing with the consequences and sheltering our kids (as much as we think we are protecting them) does not help them learn how to deal with anything, thats a big reason why youth are becoming functional adults latter and latter in life  
 
if parents fostered independence you would get a lot more independent young adults but society has pressured parents not to allow kids to even try so it makes it hard for parents to let their kids ride the bus ect

wait till the bubble-wrapped children of helicopter parents become adults. They won't know how to deal with many things in the world. And this is because of parenting and society from prior generations. Society also dictates what teachers teach in schools.  
 
It's not the children's fault that they are brought up the way they are since they follow the lead of parents and society of the time. And this has been on going for decades with each generation of parents and children.

Have lots of thoughts on this, but do agree with the idea that a changing world has altered learning "skills". I don't believe that blame should be placed on the education system or even parents.  
Simply put, my idea is some things cannot be taught, but must be learned, and with a very high percentage of Canadians living well beyond their means, and borrowing ridiculous amounts of money, maybe there is muched to be learned by everone.  
Some of the greatest lessons are learned as adults, I remember one time I was chewing out on of my sons, I said that I would not of done this, or I would not of done that, and explained how I would have done things. This conversation led to a comment that was duly noted, the comment was "but dad, I'm not you".  
Don't worry about things, time, life and the real world are the best schooling a person can get.

My dad has taught me the following:  
 
- how to cook  
- basically how to change a tire  
- basics of an income tax return  
- how to clean properly  
- laundry  
- the value of money  
- how to study/ importance of education  
- how to problem solve  
- coping skills  
- never to give up  
- how to manage my time properly (school, extra-curricular, family, etc.)  
 
Overall, he taught me how to live in the real world.  
By the way I''m only in gr. 8  
 
 
My dad also works two jobs, and a single parent  
 
Edited by , 2018-09-16 15:12:54

I think you will find there are many youths with life skills  
 
There is also many older adults with out them as well.  
 
Just look at the percentages posted out there in regard to credit card debt and no savings.

I am somewhat perplexed by this discussion if the OP is implying that students cannot take courses in high school that teach them to cook, change tires, do taxes. There are tons of options accessible to all students in Brandon to take Culinary Arts, AutoTech, Essential Math, Accounting, etc. They can take and learn whatever they want. There is lots of room in a kids four years of high school to take the mandatory courses, science courses, and 'lifeskill/vocational' type courses. They have so much choice but choose to not take them and parents just let their kids have spares instead.