Laundry 101 class needed in all schools

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support :

Jamman98:

I'm truly sorry for what you have to go though. I see this kind of stuff everyday. What ever happened to good 'ole common sense.

There were six of us kids in my family. Both of my parents were factory workers at the time. Once I was 5 yrs old I was worked into the "cycle" so to speak. We all had to pitch in to keep the house running, both boys and girls. We each got rotated from dishes/meal prep to laundry and yard work. Because of this learning format, I get the same comments from people like those listed above, "why are you clothes always so fresh and new looking?", "How can you just throw a meal together?", "you baked this...from scratch? where did you know where to start?" And all I can this is "geez--it's not rocket science".

I don't want to offend anyone here, but if you want to see a real example of this, just go over to the GardenWeb laundry forum and read through the post that people put up there. It's unbelieveable what people will write about, and have quesitons about with doing laundry.
 
One point that hasn't been made here is that unless a kid today has some kind of motivation, they are doomed to follow in their parents footsteps.

My neighbors are typical examples. A few years ago they had a teen age son graduate from high school. When I asked what colllege he was going to it turned out the parents had never saved up for it. In fact they told me that he doesn't need to play around with school, he needs to get out there and start making money NOW! What do they do for a living? Their whole lives they have started up small businesses and then operated them for a few years until they fail, then they move to a new location and start something else up. So unless somebody instills a sense of accomplishment and pride in their kids, the kids are doomed to repeat their parents mistakes.

This just drives me nuts. My parents always wanted the best for us, but we had to work hard for it. Nothing was just "given" like it is today. Kids today seem to have a very strong sense of entitlement. What will happen to them when they grow up?
 
Parents should teach about laundry, but I was very disappointed to find that the "Family and Consumer Education" of our new HS is only 2 small rooms. Yet the gyms take up nearly 40% of the total space and the plan calls for an Astroturf football field and new baseball fields. They are eliminating tennis courts too. It seems that the biggest emphasis in our high school is team sports and not much else.

Oh, and they will probably do as they did when I was in HS, which is show a lot of movies in class. Easy to lose interest and motivation when that happens too many times.
 
<blockquote>It seems that the biggest emphasis in our high school is team sports and not much else.</blockquote>And this is news to you? Hahaha! 30+ years ago when I was in junior high, I remember the MATH teacher lecturing the class that too many boys weren't playing football who should be.

I aced district, placed at regional, went to state competition in a UIL academic event (tied for 3rd/4th place), which hadn't happened at the school in years, and the local newspaper wouldn't have mentioned it or run a picture if my teacher hadn't pushed. I don't remember anyone on the faculty or student body except the librarian giving me any acknowledgment or congratulations. Thanks, Mrs. Hafernick!
 
Yeah, schools push sports, like football and hockey and track, and then they have fundraisers...why not a bake off where the kids themselves have made the food from "home economics"...or offer raise money from doing laundry for say 5.00 a load...and not just the HOME EC students, but from the football players themselves...the most you may see today is a "CARWASH" usually done by some cheerleaders or towel boys, or little kids standing out front of WAL-MART begging for money into a can....put some actual brain thought effort into fund raising, offer a project, or clean up a community, help an elderly person with a few chores for a few dollars, SHOW YOUR SKILLS...change oil in a car, vacuum carpets, wash a few loads, prepare a meal, mow a lawn....this is what people need and wouldn't mind putting a few dollars out and know its really going, not just a good cause, but a learned investment in todays children, I wish we had that around here, we would all put more effort into encouraging learning basic skills.

We used to go around the neighborhood and offer yard work for cash, it how we learned the value of money that we really had to earn....which actually turned into a cleaning business of homes inside and out, and then more calls from people who have heard of the work we have done and they want us too, many we had to turn down, wasn't enough hours in a weekend, but it was how we got by, and learned along the way...you don't see that today!

many of us still o side jobs we love, I work on washers, my brothers works on cars, my sister does sewing lessons, outside of our regular jobs, homes and families.

My kids are 9 years old and have to pull teeth to get them to do chores, even to clean their own rooms, I encourage them with everything I know and they just don't get it...you need street smarts as well as a good education to make it today...

my mother got her first automatic washer the year I was born (1964)what a joy I must have been (number 7) yeah right!...but I was totally helping my grandmother sort, wash and hang clothes out when I was only 4 years old while my parents worked full time jobs...we all helped out and people who came to visit were suprised that we help out around the house instead of out playing like their kids...my mother would BEAM as she would take in the praise that she had done a good job that her kids would be self sufficient...I have to look around but I have pics from neighbors who took pics of me hanging clothes on the line with a step ladder..too short to reach but wanted to help!...great memories
 
I remember the school bake sales from here. All the kids do is come home from school and tell their mother that they need 4 dozen cookies for school in the morning. Then they go outside to play.

When I was in school we even had a "Mens Cooking" class. While I never took it (opted for auto mechanics instead) I still turned out to be quite an accomplished cook.
 
And that's just it...

nowadays, parents rely on the schools teaching everything. Parents have to get involved like our parents did. By the time I was 12 I had a checking account, and my parents sat me down and taught me how to balance a check book, how to do minor repairs around the house, how to properly do laundry, etc. It's not really up to the school system to get involved in this sort of thing. This responsibility lays with the parents.

I like what yogitunes said about doing stuff to earn money as well. That's exactly what the youthgroup of our church use to do. We were a very active bunch as far as doing things such as camping, weekend retreats, etc. When we needed money, we held a carwash, bake sale, had a food both at estate sales, did "rent a kid" for yard and housework. My Dad now tells me that the kids in the group now do not do anything or go places because they don't have money. The one year we all wanted to go camping on Assteague Island in Maryland. We not only paid for the campsite, but the fuel for the bus to take us there, all the food to eat, plus each of us got $40 for a "night on the town in Ocean city. There were 16 of us total. All money was raised by things mentioned above. Time to get back to basics or as they say "K.I.S.S" Get these kids up from the computer and video games and get active--they just might learn a thing or three.
 
This class is ab-so-lutely needed TODAY

I am astounded watching people do their laundry! No sorting whatsoever! Bleach in with colors! Bedroom shoes in with dish towels! AAAAAAH!

I have had customers ask me "Who does your ironing?"
I DO IT!!! Why do they think men can't operate a complicated thing like a steam iron?

On another topic: Why do children nowadays seem so helpless? My college-age nephews don't know how to write a letter or address an envelope. I get birthday cards addressed to:

Uncle Charlie
My street address
Town, State (no zip code)

One of them wanted to make a phone call from my house once, looked at the dial wall phone in the kitchen and said "I'm not sure how to do this..."

The best is when I have The Weather Channel on, I'll ask one of them to point out Michigan or Texas. Clueless.

I've tried to show them things but it seems a lost cause.

>end of rant<
 
RE563

"Parents get involved".....you ARE kidding !!!

I do odd jobs for people only because most people have no idea how to do things themselves. I mean simple things that I believe you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out.
Example: I do odd jobs for a family here in the town where I live. 2 adults, both work, 1 is a journalist and the other a teacher - they have 2 boys, 1 is 17 and the other is 13.
The older boy broke a window in the younger ones room and now it needs to be fixed - a new piece of glass put in. Since the father is 48 yrs old, I would automatically assume that he'd either repair it and instruct the oldest boy on how to do it (since he's the one that broke it). No ! They called me to come to their house on Saturday morning to instruct the oldest boy on what to do to fix this window. Its an old wooden window frame in an older house. He could easily do a search on the internet to see what to do or go out and buy a "How To" book. Whenever anything goes wrong in their house, its automatic, call Butch. I'm not complaining because they do pay me but they could save so much money by learning to do things around the house themselves. They are the most wasteful people that I know of. And yet they are always complaining that they dont have enough money but they've scheduled a trip (vacation) to Mexico in August !!
Their own kids won't even cut their own lawn !
And they are not the only ones I know like this.
I got an allowance to do stuff around the house...its how I made spending money. My parents just didn't give me money because I wanted it or cried for it.
I agree that it should be the parents job to teach the "life skills" that we all need. But even the parents don't know how.
If its not taught in schools and the parents don't know how then the kids are stuck. I feel sorry for the kids.
Maybe we need to open up schools just for "life skills".
It would give kids a place to go during their summer breaks instead of just setting in front of their computers complaining that they are bored.
 
People are always asking me how I learned to do so many things. Not only can I cook, I can repair most anything around the house including the cars, know how to vacuum, do the laundry, can also do electrical repairs as well as furniture repairs. I must admit thought that I am weak in the area of plumbing, (besides changing washers and installing new faucets) and I have virtually no artistic skills. I can also do simple sewing repairs as well.

I just tell them it's stuff I picked up along the way of life out of necessity. I am amazed at how many guys can't do simple repairs around the house.

Years ago when I got my Private Pilots license, part of the test covers basic engine operation. I couldn't believe how many guys in the class couldn't name each of the strokes in a 4 stroke motor! I thought guys were BORN with this knowledge! (Intake, compression, power, exhaust) For some of these guys this part of the test was the hardest!

For some of these guys, this was the hardest part of the test.
How do these people get by in life? Instead of learning handyman skills what are they doing with themselves?

For me, I find a great deal of personal satisfaction and accomplishment when I fix/repair or build something myself.
 
Some people think they are above doing the laundry!

One coworker I had who was also a piano teacher offered to teach me the instrument - it didn't last long as she turned out to be a first class &$*#(@(. Anyway, she would have discussions with me and she actually bragged that she was so talented and so great that she did not know how to turn on her washing machine and would I show her? I got over to her house and she had cleaning people, none of whom had a smile on their faces. Meanwhile, this coworker had to work, work, work, all the time because she ate out all the time, used a lot of dry cleaning, and bought new clothes all the time because she did not know how to cook a meal or run a washing machine, all because she thought she was "Above" doing things like that because she felt she was "so great". Now, she is in trouble with the IRS, and actually I am glad that karma finally got to her.
 
because she did not know how to cook a meal or run a washin

Wow, if I don't run at least 1 load through the Maytag within a 3 day period, I start going through the Maytag DT's, lol.
 
Late coming back into this discussion...

Quote:

"I also learned the value of the thrift store :)"

A lesson that recently paid off, in the form of a KitchenAid dishwasher!

Unquote

(laughs) Yes j2400 - that's very true :)

I also scored a model 12 Mixmaster for $5 the other day. The flea market seller told me the motor would hum, but the beaters didn't turn. That was a good enough gamble for me! A few hours of elbow grease, about a tablespoon of white lithium grease, and a few drops of oil later and I have the best-running 12 I have come across yet! I'm with you, whirlcool - there's nothing like the sense of accomplishment of doing it yourself :)

Now, to be fair, my husband and I were both raised by single moms - neither one of us had a father figure to show us how to fix things. There has been a very steep learning curve in being homeowners - talk about trial by fire :) As an artist I learned how to manipulate a variety of materials and how to use a vast range of tools. Fortunately my hubby is also fairly creative and likes to work with his hands. Between the two of us, we can usually figure things out :) (although we have had our fair share of DIY disasters!)

All of the standardized testing and emphasis on sports is why I teach college. It is apalling how the younger students in my classes have no idea how to take notes, how to write research papers....

I almost hate to share this story, because it might make you completely lose your faith in the future of humanity. But here goes:

I was talking with one of the other adjunct professors the other day. She was writing a "learning community" class with another instructor. What that is, is it's a multidisciplinary class between two different fields of study - here English and Art. She asked my opinion on what would be a good tie in for literary references and art figures. We went through some of the obvious choices (Girl with a Pearl Earring being the most predominant), and I brought up Shakespeare. I thought about the plays "Julius Caesar" and "Antony and Cleopatra". I was thinking about the link between the art of the Roman Republic and Imperial art and how they were used for political ends - reflective of the political upheaval in these two plays.

I waxed poetic for a while, and then I gave her a moment to respond. I was worried that she would think my idea too remedial - after all, I studied Shakespeare in high school. Her concern? I don't remember her exact reply, but the gist was she didn't want to have something that they (she and the students) would have to think too hard about. She's probably in her mid 30's - not that much younger than me.

Here's another shocker: There are college students (freshmen) who have their mommies bring them to school - and follow them around from class to class to make sure they get around okay! I remember my first day of college - I would have been terribly embarrased if my mother had dropped me off, much less followed me around! I have heard of parents calling up professors to ask about little "Johnny's" progress in class! These kids are being coddled even in college - when are they ever supposed to grow up and take care of themselves?

-Sherri
 
LOL I let my mother take me to high school in Manhattan which was a bus to the subway and three trains away.One train was late so we walked through the park as last part of the trip. Union Sqaure Park. (in the 80's) The nice Rastafarian sked mom if she would like some loose joints. So she pulled my shirt and said. 'OOOOHHH let's go over there, maybe he has some things "that fell off the back of the truck" like a designer handbag'. NO MOM LETS GO! I explained about his place of birth/origin, his religion ("Born to smoke") and what he was actually selling. ("What is this a nickel or a dime of loose joints?")Appalled, she had absolutely ZERO worries about my commute alone each day.

Sheltered here, in NYC? You'd never survive.

I had to laugh when I appraised a buidlng in Greenwich Village that had an adult toy shop on the main level. The little old lady walked right past it probably for 20 year to get upstairs to her apt in the same building and never batted an eyelash!

Ditto an interesting S&M museum in Manhattan that had some thought-proviking window displays. In the office we'd say something like.... ooh did you see "THE" chair? They've added an elecrtic power-srrip to it. Or "New whip; much more ornate than the old one." Nobody cared. FEH SEEN IT ALL.

Coddled and sheltered? Oh that's rich.
 
"Late coming back into this discussion..."

Better late than never!

In some ways, being forced to learn skills later, and not from parents, has some advantages. One can do research, and find the "best" way to do something. Whereas, if one learns from one's parents, one tends to do things the way it was taught--which may or may not be "right." Of course, one can relearn skills--but few people are willing to bother doing that.

As for the story about learning community, no, it doesn't really cause me to lose faith. I'd become a cynic a long time ago.

I've heard plenty of horror stories about how bad things in colleges have gotten. About 1990, a woman told me that she'd gone to college in the 80s. She was worried--she'd been a "C" student in high school in the 70s. But she discovered that things had deteriorated so far that now she was an "A" student, embraced by every professor she had. I have to think things have gotten worse since that time.

As for college students' writing, I think that's been a long standing problem. When I was in high school in the 80s, we had to take 3 semester long composition classes to graduate. 2 of the classes were little more than endless exercises involving circling all the nouns on a worksheet. There was maybe 2 or 3 writing assignments. The remaining class was all writing, but it was pretty simple. It was a brutal discovery finding out that my "A" writing in high school was worth a "C+" at a not too terribly demanding college. The professor there was probably being generous--partly, I think, because he knew the reality. He even talked about it one day, commenting about the "style" of writing taught in high school that had a rigid form that really only worked well for the limited world of high school English.

Today, I like to think at my best I'm a decent writer, although it may not show here. But the skills I do have were not learned in high school. Nor college, for that matter.

I could probably go on, but maybe I'd better not...once started I may not know when to stop, and I could end up bringing this website's server down in flames as it tries to struggle with my endless rant.
 
So Sad

It's so sad to think that these people will someday be in charge of the city you live in, state or even the country. I see more horrible handwriting, grammar and even speech as I get older than I used to. I remember once in 3rd or 4th grade we had a handwriting homework assignment, my teacher asked me to sign my name on the paper next to where my name was at the top. She thought I had one of my parents do the assignment for me. She was that impressed with my penmanship. And I really am trying not to gloat lol.

Then I hear words like worser and gooder. Here's an example, if you keep doing your laundry like that, your clothes will get worser. I think it's supposed to be worse with an R at the end suggesting just simply, worse! lol. And, you're such a gooder friend to me than that person. What is the world coming to?

Years ago when I was 10 or 11. I would spend the summers with my grandparents in North Fork, CA. We would drive to Bass Lake to do laundry. By the time I reached that age, I knew how to do laundry and knew the difference between a washer and dryer LONG before I knew how to use them. These Girl Scouts came in with their mothers, and one girl who was a year or 2 older than I, walked up to the old style Maytag commercial washing machine and asked, "Does this one wash or dry?" The lid was open and you could clearly see the agitator. When they went outside to get their clothes, I started laughing. My Grandmother asked what was so funny, I told her "Did you hear that girl, she didn't even know if this was the washer or the dryer!" She laughed with me and said, "Well, that's what happens when you're brought up spoiled and not have any responsibilities, aren't you glad you're not like that?" I said, "Yes, that way people won't laugh at me like that!" I bet to this day, they still can't do laundry.

So I must agree, things such as grammar, spelling, check book balancing, and even laundry should be taught in school, and better than it is. I always see people at laundromats stuff the washers, pour the powdered detergent on the top, then get pissed off and wonder why there is a white paste of undissolved detergent all over the clothes. LOL. Makes me laugh everytime. Oh, and don't get me started on simple automotive maintenance. Ok, you may not be able to change your oil, but you gotta be able to check it every week, and know when you've traveled 3000 miles to have it changed. Your owners manual will tell you when to have everything done. If you can read online blogs that your favorite celebrity puts out everyday, you can read your owners manual!!
 
Ok, you may not be able to change your oil,

In my opinion, not being able to change your own oil is right up there with not being able to do laundry. I was changing oil on all of our cars 3 years before I even got my license at 16. Never in 14 years of driving have I ever had anybody change my oil. Hell, I don't even like taking my car in to get an alignment. If I had an alignment rack and laser aligner equipment, I'd do it myself!!

Oh, and I've been running the ol Maytags since I was 9.
 
qsd-dan

Hun I completely agree with you, as I do my own oil changes too, but I'm sure there are a few guys on here who don't like to get their hands dirty lol. But at the very least, you gotta be able to check it.
 

Similar threads

H
End of ownership review - Miele W1 PowerWash & T1 EcoSpeed
Replies
5
Views
439
henene4
H
N
Maytag Atlantis-Neptune and Kenmore HE5T 2 years later
Replies
0
Views
40
norgechef
N
W
Lagging with the times...
Replies
1
Views
40
gelaundry4ever
G
F
New Member, Antique Appliance Lover
Replies
17
Views
165
fridgenut
F
Ultramatic
How Often You Should Actually Be Washing Your Towels And Sheets
2
Replies
35
Views
143
kimball455
kimball455

Latest posts

Back
Top