Things I wish elementary school aged kids were taught:
- How to identify local trees
- How to identify local birds
- How to identify local wildflowers
(basically, observe the world around you and become familiar with it) - Stories –more stories
Things I wish middle schools/ high school kids were taught:
- How to do taxes
- How to make (and stick to) a budget; responsible money management
- Basic auto maintenance
- General household maintenance
- How to write a resume
- Grocery shopping/ simple cooking
- Introduction to Economics
(…and other practical life skills)
While I think that it is important for children to be taught many of the subjects they are currently taught in schools, I think there is a large practical portion missing from our education. Parents are probably the best people to teach these skills, but not all parents do, so maybe they could be picked up by schools (especially things like budgets and economics).
You may think that there isn’t enough time to teach students to do things like checking the oil in their cars when they have so many other classes to attend, but when schools have time to teach teenagers how to put condoms on bananas, I think they could probably spare a few minutes to teach them some practical life skills.
