What are they teaching kids these days?

[Cybrvanr]

I have noticed the basic ignorance in life skills that the typical high school graduate has. In my travels around making service calls, I cannot believe the ignorant questions I frequently get about things, and I sometimes wonder in fact how someone actually grew up not knowing the answer to. I think the answer lies in our education system. The typical high school graduate:

Not only does not know to perform basic preventitive maintaince on an automobile, but also does not know what service an automobile requires, so they cannot even tell a shop what their car needs, or know when to even take it there.

Does not know anything about basic financial management, for instance, how to balance a checking account, what a credit card is and how to use it, investing/saving, and what basic financial terms mean like Interest rate, 401K, etc.

Do not know how to prepare quick, simple nutritious meals themselves, and the reason why eating properly is good for their health and well-being. Familiarity with the kitchen only extends to re-heating previously prepared foods in a microwave oven.

Do not know how to properly sort and wash laundry properly using the correct cycles, water temperature, and load amounts.

Do not know anything about home repair, such as why circuit breakers and fuses blow, how to turn off the water main if necessary, how to light a pilot on a gas appliance, repair air and water infiltration issues (caulking) basic carpentery.

There has been much adoo about the classic "Home Ec" classically portrayed in fifties shows as being sexist and un-necessary in today's world. Significantly less noise has been made about guys taking "shop" classes or any other sort of vocational related classes. Both of these class types have been dissapearing out of schools for about the past 20 years. When I graduated in about 1992, I was already seeing the changes. I visited a high school in Northern Virginia and the woodworking shop area had been turned over to the school maintenance technicians. English classes were being held in the old home ec rooms, with the kitchen areas just being used for storage. It's obvious that parents are not teaching these basic life skills anymore either. In fact, it's been the defacto standard of "good" parenting to NOT include their children in on financial information, and how they handle the family budget! Many parents feel that they are being a "good" parent by doing everything for their children and not giving them chores like, laundry, cooking cleaning, etc. Many parents even go as far as giving their kids cars, and then maintaining it for them. The result is students are graduating school totally clueless as to how to survive in this world.

 

[toggleswitch]

Dear Anne Landers:

One of my nieces said (12 y.o. down to newborn) said they have a maid.

Who honey? -Grandma.

My sister is a great and attentive mom. Cooking and cleaning, however, is not her forte. My nieces believe their grandma is cleaning-obsessed and OBLIGATED to do for them. They don't get that momma doesn't really HAVE to outsource those tasks.

For Example- My sister puts in her head that she wants steak, and that there is "nothing to cook" in the house. I visit and see leftovers everywhere.

in the ref were:
day old chicken
rice
vegetables
baked potatoes
2 lbs of chopped meat defrosting. (still with ice crystals in it.)
broccoli, starting to wilt

I see chicken soup, a metloaf with a pasta side and broccoli.
[soak veggies in salt water and fluff-up, it does.] "OH NO you CANT use the chopped meat it is two days old. I never got to cooking it."

Uh- Hon Do you see the ice crystals? It is still frozen.
(next time spice it, and leave it uncooked if you have to, it will last much longer. "OH.")

How can I get her to THINK about her actions and the long term-repercussions?

What do you think Anne?

-Signed
A New Yorker trying NOT to fling major attitude.

Dear Attitiude Flinger:
You learn what you live and you ARE your zip code. Babysit frequently and get the girls involved in playing Hazel WITH you and along-side you. Make it fun time with aunt/uncle. They will learn by obserivng and not get that it is about lessons. They see it as quality time and being helpful.
Bit by bit they will learn and feel a sense of pride in doing so.

A little manual labor never killed anyone. BE KIND teach them all that you know.

 

[toggleswitch]

What is it People Rreally Need: Love and Attention

The ex in-laws (aunt/uncle) asked if I could stay in their home as Home-depot was to put in a new bathroom. Both husband and wife were working and coudl not take a day off

You see the three girls were 9, 14 and 18 y.o. ("just in case", I mean- WHO are these guys?). a very prudent move IMHO.

So LOOKING AHEAD and anticipating sheer boredom AND THE NEEDS OF THE FAMILY I decided to cook them a family dinner and came armed with groceries.

The 9 y.o. was glued to me. Gave her the the DW to empty. NO CLUE where the forks belonged. OMG. So we analyzed the cupboards together. Look honey, the plates seem to be here, and the pots there and the serving dishes.. etc. She managed to get it done as was SO proud of herself. She also got her firt cookign lesson and stove lesson.

(It's electric, sweetie, so the rule is, nothing is on the stove unless you are actually cooking it. This way if you fire-up the wrong element accidentally you cant start a fire.) They were sponges and thrilled to absorb.

The person who walks the 9 y.o. to school loads the previous nights dinner dishes into the DW I learned. Mother WILL NOT break a nail, ever lifting a dish. Dad workd later than mom.

Anyhoo- so the girls got duties delegated from me- eldest chopped an onion, second eldest added tomate sause and water to pan. We made stuffed peppers. By the middle of the day, ALL THREE girls cancelled their extra curricular activites to be able to have a dinner at the table-- all five people--with mom and dad. My "aunt" was flabbergasted that they CHOSE to cancel all their fun to do the simplest of things that a "normal, old-fashioned" family does-- have a "HOLIDAY" meal during the week. That means non-takeout to them.

I WAS FLOORED an honored that the girls felt proud, useful and had bonded to each other and their family over a family dinner.

I knew I had made an impression when they spoke about the way that the base sauce in our meal can become a bolognese sauce or a picadillo or a sloppy-joe or even a chili-type stew.

Children want your time and love and affection, IMHO.
Do they really need a larger TV in the den or do YOU "need" that?

 

[Cybrvanr]

Sounds like you had a really great time with them! One of the things that gets me so annoyed is that in the media, when families are portrayed spending time together, it is poked fun of as being disastous and problematic. The common theme among just about every sitcom is the camping trip that falls apart, or family project that goes awry, or a bad ending to some other normal, routine thing that functioning families do together for fun or daily life. The disasterous outcome of families trying to do things together seems to have rubbed off on the typical person, as they seem to not even try to do things together anymore.

The typical sitcom family consists of an inept, bungling father that cannot even change a lightbulb, a professional mother that doesn't spend any time at home, and kids that are kiniving, and scheming against their parents every move. Maybe this is what the modern family is like? Quite the opposite is true. If families would spend more time together they would see how great and enjoyable it really is, as you have seen for yourself. You have two teenaged girls there that actually wanted to spend time at home in the kitchen with you and the rest of the family. The portrayal that teenagers loathe time with the family is totally bogus, and that just goes to prove it.

I hear of kids with their schedules loaded up with stuff so bad that they barely even see their home during daylight hours, only pausing there to sleep overnight. It's pretty sad really.

 

[tomturbomatic]

They also are not reading books and stories so they cannot put thoughts together in a good paragraph. This was reported in the Post last week. So it appears that composition in English class must be considered unimportant. It gives me hope that as I face my retirement, my reading and writing skills might be more valuable than my degrees and bring in a little income in my declining years. I hope that we do not become so illerate that we will revert to having paid scribes. In the 1980s, someone was telling us at a dinner that a friend of his was hired by the District of Columbia Police Department as a detective because he had a degree in criminal something-or-other, but once they found out that he could actually arrange thoughts on paper, all he did was write reports because nobody else in his department could, not even his commanding officer. That is scary, because if a police officer cannot arrange or organize thoughts on paper, they will have trouble communicating verbally. Studies have shown that when people cannot express themselves verbally, especially in cases of strong emotion, they do it physically, often with a weapon.

The students of today also do not receive penmanship training which means that many students today either have a head start on writing prescriptions or will be lost without a keyboard. It's funny how times change. My mother, who was born in 1917, never was taught printing in her educational journey from elementary school through her graduation from college. It was cursive writing from day one and it was beautiful, like that of some of my teachers and family friends. Mom said that she actually learned to print from our elementary school papers.

I remember the time in Boy Scouts when had a patrol meeting at our patrol leader's house to design and make a flag for a parade. His mother helped us design it and, after she showed us how to sew, insisted that we all take turns sewing so that we would have the ability to sew a button back on a shirt or do a temporary repair if something happened to our clothing. She also had a Youngstown dishwasher upstairs which I got to watch.

 

[maytagbear]

A Maytagbear chimes in:

My late mother was a Home Ec teacher for most of her 30+ years of teaching. (She was also certified to teach Biology, History, and Ohio history, and taught all of those, but Home Ec was her professional love.)

Starting in the 1970s, Home Economists and Home Ec were derided as being "irrelevant." Ye sow what ye reap. Part of this was due to societal attitudes that "Home Ec" was just "Stirring and Stitching."

Also, since Home Ec is a "pink collar" subject , and field....

A good Home Ec curriculum, then and now, includes child development, money management, volunteerism/civic life, and even end-of-life issues.

My mother was surprisingly shy, and didn't welcome publicity, but made an effort to get the message of the necessity and worth of Home Ec spread.

I agree that a "basic life skills" course should be required for all students. However, in many school districts, it isn't.

There is a lot of emphasis put on "teaching to the tests," statewide mandatory basic skills tests.

Home Ec, like Manual Training/Industrial Arts, and Music, and Studio Arts are now considered "frills" by many.

In 8th grade, I took the Industrial Arts course that all boys had to take then (this was the early 70s.) I would have been far happier if I had insisted on taking the Home Ec track, but that (then) would have been a major fight with the school district, and also would have been a difficult coming-out.

Of course, I would have aced most of it, particularly the cooking module, for by the time I was 13, I was taking my turn cooking our evening meals.

I may have said this here before, but my first week in the college dorms, I was the ONLY guy on my floor who knew how to do his own wash! (More horrifying was that the other guys all had working mothers. And yet those sainted women still did their loutish spawn's laundry.) I held seminars that week.
A few did do their own, but more than one suddenly aquired girlfriends. (Lordy, I hope those girls wised up soon.)

Steve's method of skills transfer by "play-work" is a great idea, if the child(ren) are receptive.
Tomato-meat sauce is a fine early lesson, for it is so versatile. Take it one way, it's chili. Take it another way...over pasta.

It's going to be interesting.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[maytagbear]

PS-

and as for watching "families" on tv, maybe it would be better if there was less watching of families, and more being of families.

I know more than one family that has a tv per person.

I know my sister and brother-in-law limited the amount of tv my nieces got per week, and it showed in high grades, community involvement, and better attitudes than many of their peers.

Don't get me wrong. TV is not entirely evil, it is just a powerful, powerful entity, and should be treated as such, and not as a totally benign one, either.

(I know I feel saner and smarter, and more serene without a lot of tv.)

L/Mb

 

[customline]

Customlines two sense

I recently had a conversation with a gentleman who was once employed at a college and he was in charge of student housing. One night he went to check something at one of the dorms and a young male student asked him a favor. The student asked if he could mix this drink that his mother made for him every night. The student then proceded to pull out a box of Alka Seltzer. If this doesn't say something about the way people raise their children today then I don't know. We treat children today like they are fine china, as if they are going to break. Children should be catering to their parents instead of the other way around. Yes,parents must to the needs that a child cannot do for themselves but a parents main responsability is to prepare their children for when they leave the proverbial nest. My daughter is fourteen and does her own laundry, runs a vacuum cleaner and a rug shampooer. Also does dishes too. The amazing thing is,some parents would gasp at this. What's wrong with people?

 

[jasonl]

Pass the Soma

We're getting closer and closer to the novel "A Brave New World".

Get it, use it, throw it away.

 

[toggleswitch]

OK I admit fruit that is peeled and seeded and sliced and served to you is MUCH sweeter

but COME ON! past four year old wipe your own * * *

 

[tolivac]

Young folks today may not be able to cook,fix their cars(esp the one their PARENTS bought them)do laundry,etc.But--They sure can play Video games and run the computer.I watched a group of kids clustered around the video game machine displays in Best Buy.They were sure EXPERT at that.They esp LOVED the new X-Box machine.

 

[knitwits1975]

I can understand people not working on their own cars anymore due to the electronics and diagnostics that so complicate the modern automobile. I own 2 vehicles. a 1995 Ford van with a power stroke diesel engine, and a 1997 Mercury Sable Station wagon. These are like cryptonite to Superman to me because I don't have all the expensive diagnostic equipment and special tools to do much more than an oil change, especially on my diesel van. So yes, I outsource these jobs to the shop. I hate paying dishonest mechanics an exhorbitant amount of money to fix my rigs. But I simply cannot do it myself on my own devices. Do I believe that the automotive industry has designed these goddamn vehicles like this deliberately? Hell yes! Does this Piss me off no end? Hell yes! Do I miss the days when a typical layman could work on their own vehicles, before Everything got all fancy? Most definately!
But I do agree that our education system has gone to pot. And that parents are spoiling their children to the point where they are becoming insufferable. I truly believe that couples should have to pass a series of tests before they are allowed to reproduce. Since this will never happen, all we can do is the best we can do. I must say that we as a society are perhaps a child's best teacher.

 

[tolivac]

At this stage I don't work on my car either.For routine oil changes and inspections-its now cheaper to take it to the dealer.They can change the oil faster and more cheaply than I can.Mine is a 2003 model.

 

[angus]

I see the same thing- we are raising a generation that thinks everything needs to be "done for them". They are overscheduled, over spoiled etc,,,.. I am tired of hearing "There is nothing to DO...." It is sad that we aren't teaching them life skills and allowing them to be kids and use imagination. I think it is more than we think though. Every year I see Americans working longer and harder and for what? We now lead the world in overtime worked, unbalanced lives and overweight people. And I have to believe these are all related. How can we teach our young people if we are worked to death ourselves? I don't know what the right answer is but I feel as if we are moving backwards. INdustry leaders and company heads would have us believe that the key to all success is to work more hours - but for whom? So the biggest stockholders and Boards of Directors can line their pockets and retire earlier? So

Sometimes I feel like the American workplace is just an "enlightened form of slavery".

Even with all that said - there are just certain life skills we must all learn. Somehow.....

 

[Brneyedgrl80]

I dunno, while I can agree with some things mentioned here, I cannot agree with all.

I suppose my age plays a role in this (being 25), so I may view things differently than some people on this board.

"Not only does not know to perform basic preventitive maintaince on an automobile, but also does not know what service an automobile requires, so they cannot even tell a shop what their car needs, or know when to even take it there.

Does not know anything about basic financial management, for instance, how to balance a checking account, what a credit card is and how to use it, investing/saving, and what basic financial terms mean like Interest rate, 401K, etc.

Do not know how to prepare quick, simple nutritious meals themselves, and the reason why eating properly is good for their health and well-being. Familiarity with the kitchen only extends to re-heating previously prepared foods in a microwave oven.

Do not know how to properly sort and wash laundry properly using the correct cycles, water temperature, and load amounts.

Do not know anything about home repair, such as why circuit breakers and fuses blow, how to turn off the water main if necessary, how to light a pilot on a gas appliance, repair air and water infiltration issues (caulking) basic carpentery."

As for not knowing basic maintenance on vehicle, I would say that my generation as a whole does know a lot. I know how to change the oil, tires, and battery on my truck as well how to check for fluids, belts and hoses. I know how to change my filters and change the casing out. I also know how to wire in my own custom stereo system. I can generally tell someone if I think the problem is coming from the bearings in my A/C compressor, to my gearbox, to my steering pump. And most of my friends can do this if not more. Not too unlike generations past, younger people love their cars and love to work on them if possible, but with newer technology, it get's harder to work on a vehicle or to pinpoint something that is electronic.

One point to make, in older generations, I'm willing to wager that less women knew about the vehicles they drove (if they even drove) than today's women.

As far as financial management, I can agree with that partially. I say partially because I know of people in their 30s and up who have no concept of money and cannot manage a check book, but also, in defense of my generation, I cannot remember the last time I ever had to write a check. I pay everything either online, by debit, or over the phone and everything is instant now. I can pay for my cable bill over the phone and then go online and look at my account and see the money deducted. Balancing a check book and a checking/savings account is pretty much a thing of the past or will be shortly. In today's world, most young people know what a credit/debit card is, heck I had my first credit card at 17 and live off of my debit card. Most young people know what interest rates are as well as APRs (we have credit cards at younger ages). We are also very aware of having checking and savings accounts. Without a checking account you cannot have direct deposit and cannot have a debit card. Then one would be forced to actually deposit their check and (heaven forbid) carry around actual cash. I'm sure most young people know about investing as well if they had government/economics their senior year. I knew about stock markets, 401Ks, roth IRAs, mutual funds and bonds; so did every other senior who graduated from my high school (class of 525).

We know about nutritous meals, we just don't have time to make them in most cases. We also know the value of them, what with the pressures of healthy lifestyles on television shows, magazines, the internet and newspapers. Now more than ever, younger people are loaded with extracurriculars and work than ever before. Take myself for example when I lived at home as an 18 year old. I had college first thing in the morning taking a full-time load 5 days a week, work full-time after my classes, taekwondo 3 times a week and my police cadet program on Mondays. If it wasn't for my mother, I wouldn't of had time to cook myself anything that required more than a microwave. My generation needs things done quickly, we just don't have the time. The way my life is now, I'm at work at 6 o'clock in the morning, I'm home by 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I cook dinner and then I'm off to college to be at my class by 6 o'clock in the evening. If I didn't cook and just relied on my microwave, I would actually have time to relax. But 4 days out of my week, my schedule is hectic.

As far as washing clothes, I think I speak for most people my age when I say that if you do what the label says on the garments and the clothes come out clean, smell good, aren't dyed and are soft then you did a good job. Again, time is an issue. Don't even get me started about having to go to the dry cleaners all the time for my work clothes.

As far a general home maintenance, again I can agree up to a point. The defense I have is that most people out of high school or even my age do not own a home. We live in apartments if we live on our own in most cases. If anything ever broke in any of the apartments I ever lived in I called the manager to have it fixed. That's why I paid rent, so I wouldn't have to fix anything on my own. Now that I live in a house, I know about fuses, I know about lighting pilots. I know nothing of caulking because I've never had to caulk my tub or my toilet or a sink as of yet. When the time comes, I will go to Home Depot or Lowe's, ask somebody about how to do it or look it up on the internet and proceed to apply it accordingly. Most any information that would be home repair can be found on the internet or pick up a home repair book a store. And anything dealing water beyond a clogged drain, and angle stop or a valve stem is not going to be fixed by me. That's what plumbers are for. Same for my A/C. If it involves more than a filter change, I am not climbing up on my roof to figure out what is wrong. It's nice being able to fix things on your own, but sometimes it's better to let professionals do it.

Oh, and as far a penmanship goes. Yes penmanship is nice, yes it's pretty and yes it's stylish. But from younger stand point, it's unnecessary and annoying. More than once I've had to deal with forms filled out in cursive and it takes me a lot longer trying to figure out what the heck someone wrote. The only time I use cursive writing is to sign my name to something. I never use it to fill out forms, I don't use it to leave notes or messages and I don't use it at work. I know that may sound harsh, but I think that's how most younger people would view things.

With technology comes change, maybe not for the better or maybe so, but change all the same. What was once viewed as necessary and important for one generation becomes obsolete for another.

Now,I have similar gripes and grievances with people older than me.

For the life of me I cannot understand how some older people cannot operate a cell phone. It is a very easy electronic device that requires no more work than a regular phone.

I am appalled by how many older people cannot operate a computer well, especially the older people who are still in the work force. It is a necessary skill in practically every field. Point and click people, point and click.

To refuse to use an ATM (drive-thru or walk-up), there by using up teller time, and making wait times longer, to make a deposit or withdrawal.

A copy/fax machine combo is not a mystery. There's even a screen on most of the machines for your convinience that will help you out if you need it, if not read a manual.

Not understanding the value of self check-out aisles in stores. If you have 10 items or less in your cart, please, check yourself out. There is a huge screen that guides you step by step. It can't get more simple than that.

And this one is more of a pet-peeve than an actual change that I view necessary. Older people who insist on paying with a check at the grocery store and wait till the last minute to fill out the check. Are you kidding? Get a debit card, it's faster! Seriously, you had plenty of time to fill out that check before you even got to the store! Sigh...

Those are just some of the things that I actually see as necessary to know in this day and age.

 

[toggleswitch]

The lady has some very good points there.

 

[vinvac]

In reply

It saddens me that most young people have this feeling that it is all about ME!!! There is a reason people don't want to use the ATM, There is a reason people don't use the computer. Most people need human companionship. Having someone say Good Morning or How are you is a doing is a lost art. A year or so ago I went shopping and the computer was down. I gave the young girl (25 or so) a $5.00 bill for an article that cost me $2.50 she gave me back 3.50. Now I explained to her that she had given me back to much, she proceded to argue with me and tell me I was wrong...

We need to teach manors again and particularly Cell Phone Manors... there is no reason to be on a cell phone in a store in a restraunt,, I can see walking down the aisle of the mall perhaps, but to be on the phone while your at the bank and the teller is trying to cash your check and count it back,,, that is JUST PLAIN RUDE...and driving a whole issue unto to its own.

Modern Tec. is nice and not sure that I could live with out it. But there is something to be said for the human touch. After all that is why we were created.. Common sense has flown out the window and Self has moved in...

Just my opinion

 

[vinvac]

PS

Being a Banker I commend those who do not fill out there check ahead of time and that don't use Debit Cards. There is a reason you don't fill the check out ahead of time.. Safety.. and people that don't use a debit card are generally those who actually balance their accounts and keep track of transactions properly. Something we have forgotten to teach the younger generation. If your using a check book correctly you will always have a running balance - therefore knowing how much you can spend with out getting into trouble. Debit cards are a wonderful tool.. but not everyone can handle them properly. And here in the midwest we still have banks that don't offer them.

 

[gyrafoam]

Whew, this is getting deep! A lot of good points made.

I had great a good education growing up and spent hours trying to master the skill of cursive writing. To this day it still looks like a prescription-------none of my friends could read my hand writing now, so without this keyboard I WOULD be lost!

Now about that self check-out system-------it does NOT always move quickly----sometimes a greeting card or weighing vegetables will cause it to lock up and need help from the attendant----if you can find one---if they are not busy trying to unsnarl someone elses problems! And oh yeah, I don't get paid or get any discount for doing the work, so as far as I'm concerned I'll go to a line with an employee to do the check-out when at all possible. And I agree, folks who still use checks need to have them filled out and ready to go!

O.K. now I have to quit this and go get a life again----------