What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

Anyone feel like there's should be mandatory courses in high school and college? I would gladly give up Art History 101 or Calculus to take one of the courses below!

Cooking 101
Sewing 101
Personal Finance/Budgetting 101
Parenting 101
Handyman Work 101
Home Maintenance 101
Computers 101
Survival Skills 101

Maybe not sewing, but home economics is just too broad and we should be given options to learn things that are more essential in daily life!

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

A lot of those look like they could be electives but no way would I say to take time away from math/sciences for

Cooking 101
Sewing 101
Parenting 101
Handyman Work 101
Home Maintenance 101
Survival Skills 101

Learn that from your parents/family or on your own time.

As for
Personal Finance/Budgetting 101
Computers 101

Computer classes should be mandatory because they are part of just about every line of work.
The finance should be taught as a larger Business class.

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

when i was in hs, it was required that you take intro to occupations....which taught things like resumes, job interviews, personal finance, etc....

given the current economic conditions, i think they should bring back a requirement like that. kids need to be knowledgeable about credit cards, loans, debt, how to act/dress on an interview, how to make a resume.

i remember going to college and they have sooo many credit card reps all over and give you all those 'free' things for opening accounts with them....but so many 18 year olds dont understand credit card debt!!!

eta....they should also be taught how to BUDGET and pay bills. so many of them will not be taught by their parents so they NEED someone to teach them.

Message edited 10/27/2011 10:23:22 AM.

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

I'd take some of those classes TODAY.

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

i feel like those courses were taught in my home economics class.
I remember learning to cook, sew, balance a check book.
We also had to take technology and that was basic shop.
I took computers as an elective.

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

Civic education since people will be voting!

I also think some sort of basic law class to understand what is and isn't legal and the consequences as well as your rights.

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

Finance/Budgeting/Money Management/Investing - pretty much the basics of money

I think everyone boys and girls, should learn the basics of cooking. My sister can make hummus and cereal and she's 22!

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

DH teaches Economics and makes his own curriculum because there is no state test for it. He teaches the important topics associated with it (supply and demand, etc) and skips a good amount of the boring useless stuff associated with the course that most people could give a rats hiney about. He teaches them how to balance a checkbook, how to write a resume, interview skills, etc. All kinds of life skills which are beneficial to seniors who are about to enter the "real world."

I went to Sachem and took a class in 8th grade called Intro to Occupations, which was useless because I was 14 when I took it and I really didn't have any interest or concern about what was taught.

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

I would love ..

Organization 101


I'm terrible at organizing... There should be like different units that cover organizing small spaces like drawers.. large spaces.. then also how to stay organized with school papers.. etc.

I could have used that desperately. I'm all over the place with my things, constantly losing things that I need.

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

Umm none of the above?


I loved Cal and I feel it taught me more than math but how to look at problems and how to deal with complex scenarios.

Cooking, cleaning, balancing a check book? Um no. Those are taught at home or the hard way.

I tell the story often.. my brother accidently OD on antibiotics (idiot) and was dehydrated and fainted at a fb game. Half his pills were missing (My dad didnt trust him losing them) but even tho we could prove we had them, they assumed he was doing drugs. As a result his LITTLE sister (me) was tagged for 'red flag'.

I was told I'll never amount to much when I asked why the HELL I was being taught how to fill out food stamp forms. My step mom worked at a food stamp office. I knew the forms better than they did! but they said "just in case" .. wow.. thanks

No. I think schools should teach fundamentals. Cooking/cleaning and home ec are for middle school. HS is preparation for college. I would rather stress arts that these things.

Being I was in Choir, UIL Math/Science and Volleyball/Basketball/Track all while keeping a full time job at McDonald's I can that taught me time management big time! organization skill came from math and science (procedures etc), math gave me checkbook balancing etc. Cooking and cleaning came from chores.

Choir and art appreciation taught me to experience new things, culture appreciate history more to how and who was musically important and their lives at the times they were famous.

JMHO

ETA: we took TYPING in 7th intro to computers in 8th (on TANDYs) and I actually semi taught computers in HS because my teacher felt I knew more than she did and we were both bored. LOL I had to teach Lotus 1-2-3

but Im old. LOL
All you needed to graduate in my year was Algebra II. I had Pre-algebra/Algebra/Geometry/Pre-Calculus/Calculus AP (5maths in 4yrs) plus Biology/EarthScience/Chemistry/MarineBiology-Oceanography (4scienes in 4yrs) with elective in Physics as well as part time study period in Physiology-Anatomy .. so I'm all geeky and stuff.

Message edited 10/27/2011 4:49:22 PM.

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

Just to answer part of the question

NYSED mandates 4 years of Social Studies in high school.

Students must take Economics and Participation in Gov't.

Most basic Econ courses cover Consumer Ed. (car loans, basic investments, etc.) and Participation and Gov't covers the civics component. Students are often required to attend a Board of Ed meeting, town meeting, etc. as required projects in the course.

Both have been REQUIRED by every high school graduate since the class of 1990... so many of you should have taken them

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

Hmm, those look like classes I'd expect parents to teach their children at home

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

I actually took most of those classes in regular public jr high & hs in some form or another. Most were electives though.

Cooking 101=Home & Careers (req. 7th, basic cooking elective 12th)
Sewing 101=Home & Careers II req.-8th
Personal Finance/Budgetting 101-basic accounting- elective 12th ( yes, I took this in place of AP calc.:) we learned to do a bsic tax form & balacnce a check book.)
Parenting 101- not eveyone wants to be a parent. we had an optional childcare elective.
Handyman Work 101-Technologies req 7 th & 8th
Home Maintenance 101
Computers 101-typing, required in 8th, (some sort of computer elective in HS- it has expanded now to become its own department)
Survival Skills 101-I was a girl scout!

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

I did take most of those courses in either highschool or college.

My highschool had a parenting class that I think everyone took.... we all carried around 5lb bags of flour for a week. I can't say that really prepared me for carrying around my 30lb DS but I'm grateful for the experience.

I took cooking and sewing in junior high, and I took elective Fashion classes in highschool so I really am capable of making a dress from a pattern, except that I haven't attempted it in 15 years or so.

I was in JHS when it was okay to be sexist so the boys took 'metal' which was essentially a shop class and the girls had sewing or cooking. Although there were some boys in both..

And I took a basic computer course my first semester of college that taught excel and some other nonsense that is totally antiquated today. The excel came in handy though.

Re: What courses must be taught in H.S or college?

adult relationships 101

personal checking 101

homeownership/maintainence 101