Laundry 101 class needed in all schools

[whirlcool]

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.

 

[neptunebob]

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.

 

[qsd-dan]

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.

 

[mixergal]

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

 

[toggleswitch2]

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.

 

[j2400]

"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.

 

[kenmoreforever]

Amen to allllllllll the above.

 

[strongenough78]

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!!

 

[qsd-dan]

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.

 

[strongenough78]

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.

 

[ronhic]

I don't change my oil....

...but I damn well know how to check it...

Actually, my parents made both my sister and I rotate the tyres on their car as well as do the normal service station checks weekly before we were even allowed to go for our learners permit

 

[qsd-dan]

but I'm sure there are a few guys on here who don't

Use latex gloves, they work beautifully.

 

[sudsmaster]

Intake, compression, power, exhaust

The auto racing crowd has a more colorful way of putting it:

Suck, squeeze, bang, blow

!

 

[strongenough78]

Ooooooooooh.

Sudsmaster, you made me a little misty.................down there LOL