Editor’s Note: I know lots of you are homeschool parents. But please accept before reading this article that many kids are sent to public schools for a wide variety of reasons. Please do not turn this into an argument about homeschooling vs. public schooling or an insult festival toward parents who send their kids to school. That’s not productive. Let’s talk about what is taught vs. what is missing. And also, keep in mind that school is the only chance that some children have to learn new ideas because their parents are either disinterested or close-minded. While most of us try to teach our children these excellent skills at home, many young people are not raised in households like ours. ~ Daisy
By Meadow Clark
Think of the vast amount of time that students spend in school. But what do they come away knowing? They are taught very few life skills, so are they really prepared for the real world?
Here’s one of the glaring problems with public school: it’s designed to waste time.
Like a Weeping Angel from Doctor Who, school can zap your life away. It wouldn’t be half bad if you were being taught something useful. Sure, reading and math are important, but the bulk of those things can be taught in much shorter periods of time than are being utilized right now. Plus, reading skills are deteriorating and math was swallowed by Common Core.
Ideally, there would be myriad forms of trustworthy education that could suit any personality. And ideally many of these skills would be taught by family and imparted by experienced people – but that’s getting harder to do.
So in the list below, think of what it would be like if schools were ideal and actually preparing people to live meaningful lives.
Without further ado, here are…
25 Life Skills That Should Be Taught In School (But Aren’t):
#1 Individual Thought
Instead of regurgitating what the teacher says and mirroring their peers, people need to think for themselves only. That means no groupthink. Most people think they are unique but are only parroting. That’s why you can figure out who they are from just two of their beliefs. A lot of people struggle with who they really are but can’t even have a thought of their own. Life shouldn’t be so monochromatic and Borg-like. Calling all real individuals.
#2 Personal Finance, Saving & Budgets
The credit card and personal finance industry should not be the ones teaching us about money. And while I think Dave Ramsey’s advice from Total Money Makeover to start an emergency fund is golden; I’d like to nominate The Index Card by Helaine Olen as the curriculum. It is by far the best, most objective personal finance advice I’ve ever gotten. Takes all the confusion away. The name is from the idea that everything you need to know about finance fits on an index card – and the book even comes with it!
#3 Health & Nutrition
No fad diets. Just self-care and nutrition. Food selection and important information about vitamins, minerals, and bio-compounds. I know they teach health in school but c’mon… And why not include gardening and food prep?
#4 Resiliency & Failing Gracefully
The world can be crushing enough, perhaps resiliency and tenacity can be emphasized instead of measuring students against failure. Failure is inevitable after all, so people should be shown how to fall and get back up again.
#5 The Art of Conversation
‘Sup! Hav U taken this class B4?
#6 Logic, Reasoning, and Public Discourse
Did you know that schools have been rapidly dropping Logic classes? It’s time to stop the Idiocracy from spreading and revive Logic! Also, it would be nice if public discourse didn’t amount to two people rabidly screaming at each other.
#7 Character
You can’t legislate morality, but young people are eager to learn character. Instead of burdening children with global warming responsibility and punishing them severely for breaking unspoken social justice mores – how about letting them have fun but fostering a sense of character. Show them they have personal control/responsibility and that there are real-world consequences for their actions. Relationship skills probably shouldn’t be taught by government-run schools but ultimately those come from a person’s character.
#8 Negotiation
In order to make it in the real world and provide for a family, negotiating is crucial. It means being firm, having a backbone and the willingness to exhibit some disagreeableness.
#9 Cooking from Scratch
It’s a seriously needed lost art! And it overlaps with health, budget and survival classes.
#10 Survival & First Aid
All forms of survival, prepping and first aid, including wilderness first aid, should be taught to everyone. Survival without tech and during disasters or live shooting events – all of it. Gardening, self-defense, and firearms overlap with this class, too. The Dangerous Book for Boys, The American Boys Handy Book, The Field and Forest Handy Book: New Ideas for Out of Doors would be a great, fun start! Of course, The Organic Prepper makes a great curriculum – hi, homeschoolers!
#11 Speed Reading (But with Deep Comprehension)
Speed reading is not the same as skimming. Many people have been taught to skim haphazardly because of the Internet, new gadgets and pressure to multi-task. This study shows that skimming is actually not a great way to comprehend more. Speed reading removes “subvocalization” while reading, and it can be done while maintaining comprehension.
#12 Self-Defense
Both with and without firearms. It would include boundaries, situational awareness, and improvisation.
#13 Crash Course on How Government Works
People are told to go out and vote but a lot of them don’t even know much about the positions they are voting on. I wish School House Rock had kept up the government songs! “I’m just a bill…”
#14 Creativity
Our linear-thinking and tech-driven world is rapidly extinguishing right-brain thought, and that is a travesty. Our creative force needs to be ablaze at all times and should never be downgraded or snuffed out.
#15 Household & Basic Car Mechanic Repairs
Why are these skills not taught to everyone? Learn to be handy and be independent from others while putting thousands of savings toward paying down a house. A lot of people are afraid to try, but only because they weren’t taught and may be afraid to ask for help.
#16 Time Management, Focus, and Productivity
Multi-tasking is a proven fraud. In a world driven to distraction, the art of focus is priceless in the working world. Maximized time is a maximized life.
#17 How to Read Literature With Deeper Understanding
Let’s face it: high school makes a lot of people hate books. Something tells me that’s the real reason why 1984 is mandatory reading. Who actually remembers the deeper message later in life? Curriculum: The Well-Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer is a straight-forward, wonderful guide through the classical education most of us never got.
#18 Entrepreneurship, Career & Starting a Business in a Gig Economy
This is a crucial skill desperately needed in a changing job landscape. It could teach sales skills for all different personality types. And hey, wouldn’t it be great to cultivate what your passions are instead of being wedged into categories by those career assessments?
#19 Etiquette
Seriously. Make. This. A. Class.
#20 Social Skills
Social skills are different than etiquette and manners. It involves picking up on cues and tone, and knowing how to appropriately respond in different situations. There is dating etiquette and there is also dating social skills. These are just as important as having social awareness on the job.
#21 Study & Deep Research
Why do 12 years of school without first learning this key element?
#22 How to Selectively Make Real Friends
An elective class to win GOOD friends and influence people. Networking. Watching out for red flags in relationships. School is basically a big bullpen where you’re with the same people every day for 12 years. And they think homeschoolers aren’t “socialized”? Sheesh! Plus, social media gives the false impression of connection without much selectivity.
#23 Effective Communication & Writing
So apparently this is being taught now, but…is it really?
#24 Resume & Cover Letters
Firstly, a lot of people do not know how to craft these. And secondly, most of them are thrown into the trash or get lost in cyberspace. The soul-crushing job application process needs a serious makeover, but until that happens, people need to learn how to write an attention-grabbing human-voiced resume that gets that foot in the door.
#25 Understanding Credit Cards, Bills, Taxes, House/Car Purchases, Student Loans, Insurance
This is a much-needed course, unfortunately. This class would help students avoid predatory financial practices instead of being ushered right into them. Day 1: teacher cuts up all credit cards in a class demonstration.
Last but not least….a bonus that is only being sort of taught apparently?
GEOGRAPHY!
If people want to let their government charge trillions to lob bombs into another country, then by Jove, they’d better be able to point it out on a map… I’m being darkly facetious, but seriously, geography is important.
It may even drive a wanderlust to explore, and the government doesn’t want that. We were always at war with Eurasia!
What electives would you like to see taught in school?
I was tempted to put some other electives on the list like “Relationship Skills by Interviewing Elderly Couples” or “Why TV Sucks” but I realize that these fall outside the realm of objectivity and belong in class #1: Individual Thought.
Would you like it if schools taught some of the skills above? Which ones are your favorites? Did I leave any important skills out of the mix? Leave your nominations below!
I totally agree with is article! Critical thinking is a lost art along with self reliance. When I left home, I was prepared to run a household, plant and tend to a garden, and preserve and cook what came out of it. I know that the 50’s and 60’s were a different time, but really? I raised my children much like I was raised, to be self sufficient, polite, and smart. Yes, smartness can be taught, it really has nothing to do with IQ, for most people. Thankfully, my children have shown good judgment throughout their lives and are teaching their children the same values of their childhood.
Thanks for addressing this problem.
Same here. Thanks for saying it well.
I’m going to buy all the books that you mentioned. I wish you had supplied one or more books for all 26 of your subjects. Maybe the readers can suggest some.
Some of these subjects are covered by the books listed in this book
https://www.amazon.com/100-Best-Business-Books-Time/dp/1591842409
Learn Mandarin Chinese.
According to the Solari Report the rise of the Asian consumer will reach 3.5 billion people. It is estimated by 2030 thirty-nine percent of the world’s consumers will be Asian as opposed to seven percent of the U.S..
The Asian consumer is well educated, has the technical skills that will be required for jobs and is middle-class.
Compared to the dumbed-down Amairikuhn edgykayhan we recieve we’ll be looking like a third world country.
See “The Interview Between Catherine Austin Fitts and Greg Hunter: The Government … ” as of a few days ago. It is 56:21 minutes but as Joseph Farrell said “This is an important interview folks”.
#15 should specifically include wood shop, auto shop, metal shop/welding, cooking, sewing/repair of clothing and household articles. intro to building trades, production line/clean room, etc. as semester internships. kids need the first group. many will end up in the second group–having a taste of a few possibilities can better direct their energy and education.
I firmly believe that high school should be about life and work skills. Home ec, wood shop, welding, auto mechanics, personal finance, nutrition and fitness, driving, etc. Make the cores of math, history, etc. now become the electives. As it is now we graduate people and at 18 say they are ready to function as an adult but they aren’t. They sign credit and rental contracts without reading or interpretation, vote for things with no understanding of the ramifications, can’t make toast, can’t change a lightbulb, don’t know first aid, can’t apply logic, can’t THINK. And drivers ed stopped some time ago, can you tell?
As a homeschool family we recognized that even some of these skills were being neglected for us. We chose to join 4-H to provide our kids with some of the practical skills mentioned but also ones such as resiliency, failing gracefully, and time management. My mantra is “Someone’s got to place last” – if it happens to be one of my kiddos they know they’ve done their best and can geniunely congratulte those who placed ahead of them while self-reflecting on what they might do differently next time.
#11 Mortimer Adler’s “How to Read a Book” is a great resource for understanding how to read and digest different types of reading materials.
#20 – “Bridging the Soft Skills Gap” Bruce Tulgan – geared toward business but is practical and user friendly to teach some of these social skills.
#26 Getting rid of “Social Studies” and bringing back Civics, Government, and history along with geography
Adding a #26 to your list for me would be Penmanship (specifically cursive)! Our posterity will need a Rosetta Stone of sorts to decipher old family documents, letters, etc. Furthermore, the art of penmanship teaches discipline and persistence. Well thought out words in one’s own elegant hand inscibed on a lovely piece of paper could be a remedy for lost etiquete of our past restore civility to our society.
Write on! How are signatures on bank accounts, loan documents and other LEGAL documents be valid if no one knows how to sign their name in cursive?
NOT teaching cursive is the entire point of the Left’s crush to our history. If our children cannot read or write cursive, then not only family documents, but the original documents of our country will not be able to be read or understood. The continued dumbing down of our children. It is a tragedy that this is allowed to happen.
Lots of home schooling families in our church. We used to have a group that met at church on Saturdays to teach the young girls skills like cooking, sewing, setting a table, etc. It’s been years since we did that, but my wife and I have talked about starting it again, only this time alternating between boys and girls. We already have a “Brotherhood of Gentlemen” who get together to become better husbands and fathers and boyfriends and fiancees, where we go over those skills that have fallen out of favor over the past few decades. There is a lot to learn for all of us.
Excellent thought! Boys need all those skills as well!
Our kids would absolutely be better if they learned all these things! Not even homeschoolers learn all this stuff. Some great ideas. Thanks, Meadow!
Years ago I moved to a new neighborhood. Nice people, but I felt out of place. I didn’t have some of the same ideas they did and I felt like I should fit in, but I didn’t.
Then one evening I was watching the Johnny Carson show and he had an actor on that was openly gay. He said something that has stuck with me ever since.
He said “Life’s not worth a damn until you come out of the closet.”
I’m straight. But that comment had new meaning for me. Be who you are, not what you think society wants you to be. I’m a much happier person for it.
I agree with #1 – Individual Thought and knowing who you are.
Gardening, and property ownership.
The best idea yet.
My child’s school is currently teaching some of these things-impressively enough! The rest is what we have taught intermittently at home to our 9 year old over a few years time. Even he cannot believe how kids in his class know so little. I think that those who send their kids to school like I do can teach some of these items a little at a time at home while engaged in various activities. We are, after all, in the days of dumbing people down, so we can only agree on enlightening those near and dear to us for the sake of actual survival.
Yes, I watched that one with Greg Hunter and Katherine Austin Fitz too. Very informative…..So the Elite are preparing for a geophysical event that may destroy our world in 100 200 years? There is a book called ‘Cataclysm ‘ that reads like a text book with 200 or 300 references at the end of each chapter that documents that happening here 12,500 years ago. Personally I think it will be much sooner based upon work done by John Moore thelibertyman regarding planet X.
Regarding life skilks, I think the parents and extended family should be teaching this. A lot of it you can get in the boy scouts program.
I work in a men’s prison. Before cadets (that eventually become correctional officers in the prison) go to Basic Training, they are sent to different departments to work so that they will know all aspects of running a prison. I work in the file room and I’ve never needed a cadet until two months ago. There was a special project where I needed to find out where some 300 inmates were born since they did not have a birth certificate from our state in their files.
The work had to be completed in one day so I asked for a cadet to help me. I handed her half of the list and told her to just write the two letter code that marks the state where the inmate was born. Age of the cadet is 22. Three questions she asked that blew my mind – she was with me for three hours …
“Where is Got…Gut…Gutmolo? I don’t remember this state.” I looked at her paper and she was trying to read Guatemala. Told her it was a country in Central America.
“This guy was born in Philadelphia. Would the two letter code be PE?” I don’t know how she would have gotten PE, but explained that it was the city and Pennslyvania was the state – PA.
“Where is Crox … Crix … Crux?” I looked and told her the place was St. Croix. She said she didn’t remember where that state was & wanted to know if it was north or south of us. ????
Geography for sure!!!
Last month I needed another cadet for a different project. The girl did not know her alphabet! She filed E names behind G, S behind T, Ca behind Co. It’s just sad how dumbed down school is now.
Great list! Back when I was in high school in the 80’s, a lot of these classes actually existed. It’s a crime that they have all been removed. They were some of the handiest courses the school taught!
Teachers have their hands full now. I can’t imagine adding this list to their day. I think it may be time for scouting to make a resurgence. It would fill a void in a lot of kids’ lives.
The importance of history cannot be underestimated. It’s so important that schools today have virtually stopped teaching it. That should tell you something. A people who do not know their ‘tribal’ origins, traditions, values and virtues can be taught anything, including how to hate those attributes. That’s how to turn a nation of free people into virtual slaves who look to government for every need.
HISTORY!!
The real history! Not the fake junk they’re teaching now. You want real, American, Constitutional history, check out Wallbuilders.com or Hillsdale College. I have two daughters, 18 and 21, homeschooled from the beginnning. Thy were taught life skills, including communication – writing (including cursive) and speaking properly, budgeting, balancing a check book, sewing, cooking with from scratch (not a box), gun safety and hunting, basic auto mechanics, and History (specifically American in relation to our Constitution). My 21 year old daughter is in trade school to be a welder, my 18 year old wants to be chef.
So, what you are suggesting is we turn all our schools into Vo-Techs. I am not opposed to that, just curious. The shit they call education today is worthless. Showing up and keeping quite are not subjects. I have had some contact with students taking advanced placement courses. A few years ago, this was standard education taught in every school, to every student with any inclination to learn something. Geography for sure. One of the advanced students I mentioned wanted to visit…wait for it….Nova Scott-tee-a some day. I think one should know how to pronounce the country name before one is admitted entrance.
Love this list! I am a grandparent and I have so much to teach my grandchildren that they are not getting in school. Fortunately 4 of the 5 are old enough to have phones now. I copy news articles on immigration, legislation, elections, climate change, currency issues, and world affairs, along with my own commentary relating those things to geography, civics, science, leadership, history, leadership, etc, and send them to the kids. They text back with their observations so I know they are reading and understanding. We do prepping and wilderness survival training in person and I send them good articles about those things too. Had to show my 13 year old grandson how to tie a fish hook knot the other day for hanging Christmas balls on the porch. He fishes but he has always been handed a rod and reel and never had to put on a new hook. Geez.
Like, back in the day, basic education was, like, Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric, you know? Grammar to put your ideas in a form that other people could, like, understand. Logic to – er – stop you from having totally dumb ideas. Rhetoric to, like, put the ideas in proper order, and not get tricked by bad dudes. A lot of what you are suggesting would, like, totes fit into that framework, you know?
It would help if the “public schools” would teach reading, writing and arithmetic.
The fact that they can’t even do that doesn’t give much hope for any of the above.
God Bless home schooling families.
We actually had to take home economics. We learned to cook, sew, and manage a checkbook for nine weeks. I wanted to take shop but I wasn’t allowed because I am a girl but my dad made sure we knew how to change a tire, the oil, and check all fluids.
I especially agree that manners need to be taught!
Oh, the comments I could make on this…Great post, Meadow! I couldn’t agree more! I’m grateful my daughter married a country boy, so my grandkids are being raised to know the land. The oldest is in public school (we’ve talked about home schooling), but he is also learning about living off the land. I am aging myself, but basic accounting, typing, home ec, shop, were all still available when I was in school. And I totally agree that penmanship should still be taught, regardless of how reliant society has become on electronics. Signatures are going to become all ‘x’es now? Just another assimilation.
Great list!
I love this list, and #3 is near and dear to my heart. One of my favorite books is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver, and one of my favorite parts of the book states this wonderful quote below:
“Most people of my grandparents’ generation had an intuitive sense of agricultural basics … This knowledge has vanished from our culture… We also have largely convinced ourselves it wasn’t too important. Consider how many Americans might respond to a proposal that agriculture was to become a mandatory subject in all schools … A fair number of parents would get hot under the collar to see their kids’ attention being pulled away from the essentials of grammar, the all-important trigonometry, to make room for down-on-the-farm stuff. The baby boom psyche embraces a powerful presumption that education is a key to moving away from manual labor and dirt–two undeniable ingredients of farming. It’s good enough for us that somebody, somewhere, knows food production well enough to serve the rest of us with all we need to eat, each day of our lives.”
Luckily I got my boys into a private Christian school – they taught most of these! I taught them a couple others myself (some, like household maintenance are still being taught as the issues arise!) but wish I’d had this list 22 years ago!
Dianne,
Hope you got your time’s worth out of the interview between Catherine Austin Fitts and Greg Hunter. The hypothetical question bought up in the interview of whether the government may or may not be preparing for a geophysical event was answered by Ms. Fitts saying that she didn’t know.
Ms. Fitts, former Assistant Secretary of Housing, is currently president of Solari, Inc. and has studied Mandarin Chinese, hence her recommendation to learn Mandarin in response to the changing world economy. Mr. Jim Rogers, American businessman, has said the same.
Learning a foreign language(s) is a necessity for business today.
It used to be English was the primary language to learn in schools worldwide since it was the language most used in business but … economically times have changed therefore the need to learn another language. With a fiat currency with no gold or silver backing and a military unable to back the dollar other countries are developing their own currencies.
While, in a feel-good way I mostly agree with the above article I didn’t notice an emphasize on technical mathematics skills needed for jobs today and in the future. If one can’t meet job skill requirements nor, at least communicate what is wanted, no technical or language skills, no job.
Furthermore, it doesn’t bode well today with 3.5 billion Asian consumers on the rise. Compared to the waves of illegal cheap-labor immigrants crashing on our southern borders, this current reality comes across like a tsunami with a huge educated middle-class with enough disposable income to buy the land right from under you.
ah, sorry, throw into the curriculum some real understanding of History since we’re not in Kanas anymore with Norman Rockwell, as much I wish we were.
Public speaking! So many people today (and especially young people) can’t get up and speak without creating an uncomfortable situation for most of their listeners because of physical mannerisms, inane statements, and general incoherence.
It’s impossibke for teachers to cover every single thing on this list. I disagree with critical thinking being number one on the list. Only because one needs a solid foundation of knowledge and information first before interpretation, analysis and evaluation may take place. How can one make a sound decision or argument without facts? Too many students today expect to “be heard” without having the knowledge or skills to do so effectively. Wait, this is true of adults too… just watch the news.
My parents worked hard and made many sacrifices to send me to Catholic school, from pre-school through graduate school. I had nuns, lay teachers and later brothers in college. We learned everything from geography (from memorization to practical applications) to biographies of great Americans (such as TR and Carnegie) and everything in between. And yes, critical thinking was part of the curriculum. But a solid and rigorous foundation always came first. Then the higher level skills and activities followed.
I was taught the Palmer Method of penmanship by a sister and am thankful she did so every day. And I grew up in the nineties. 🙂
I learned grammar and composition, as well as how to properly edit and revise my work. Research skills were also invaluable. These are severely lacking in public school. However, I was and still am a terrible math student!! My parents and I didn’t blame my teachers for this either.
I went to a small college with outstanding professors who really knew their students and wanted what was best for us. One of my professors was a Christian from the Middle East who fled persecution. He worked hard and made his way in America, earned his degrees and became an accomplished scholar. He was also literate in a dozen languages. He was so infuriated by the poor writing from students in our class one day, and gave examples from research papers that were ridiculous (no names given). Then he went up and down the aisles and correctly identified who attended Catholic elementary/high school. He said “That’s who can read and write! The rest of you don’t know your native language! Disgraceful!” And he was 100% right.
Is Catholic school perfect? No. Did it have its downfalls? Absolutely. But the benefits outweighed the drawbacks for me and I appreciate the sacrifices my parents made to send me to the best schools possible.
I wish I had home ec and shop class, as well as first aid and financial literacy. However, I received a strong foundation. I will continue to learn and supplement especially as my husband and I raise our own little girl! And I hope we can send her to parochial schools, too, with 4-H and/or Girl Scouts to help with learning in many other areas.
What should be taught is our schools is the first chapter of the founding of America and that it is the cause for all that has gone so terribly wrong for We the People. we were taught about founding heroes but they were actually traitors starting with Ben Franklin acting as one of the Kings men with the title of Esquire and Mason.
Below are just the opening claims of the King of England that Ben Franklin agreed to and signed by Treaty/Contract.
The Definitive Treaty of Peace 1783
It having pleased the Divine Providence to dispose the hearts of the most serene and most potent Prince George the Third, by the grace of God, king of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, duke of Brunswick and Lunebourg, Arch-Treasurer and Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire etc., and of the United States of America….
Article 1:
His Brittanic Majesty acknowledges the said United States, viz., New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, to be free sovereign and independent states,…
Medow, If we won the war and plenary independence then why is the KING arch-treasurer and prince elector of the United States of America, and why were the people not recognized as free, sovereign and independent? why was the King and his heirs in perpetuity giver a share of all the gold, silver and copper found in America. why were only the English land owners protected. how come the King got control of our money and banking plus control of the body politic/electoral.
For proof of England’s interference and the fact of the status and capacities of arch-treasurer is presently in full force, affect i can supply you proof. as well what is list below from government websites. Just request them of me. [email protected]
Why and how does the FEDERAL RESERVE claim ownership of all American people and their land?
Why did the DEFENSE DEPARTMENT and TREASURY 1789 lien the same, thereby giving validity to the ownership claims?
Why is that lien also legal tender for 28 quadrillion, and where did that legal tender go?
I have a copy of actual filing.
Why, and under what authority, were all Americans declared to be enemies of their own country in 1933?
I have a highlighted portion of the 1933 pdf from the FEDERAL RESERVE for proof of this fact.
I also have 3 written chapters with references to documents and archive links for further proofing. i have tried to get school board members to consider what they have been teaching was written by the actual winners of the Revolutionary War and they are the ones who received the spoils of the war not We the People. I was continually shouted down, asked to leave the meeting and called a heretic and traitor.
If these truths are of interest to you please contact me for more proof of what this 1783 Treaty has allowed to this date.
PS; the link in my contact info is my family business I work with.
Respectfully, Richard
You left out SEX EDUCATION!
We must stop GROWING our already very excessive human population, that’s why we are in the mess we have made for ourselves. Too many people demanding from the earth more than it can give.
Everyone has a solution to our unsolvable delema, EV’s, “renewables”, going vegan, banning cows, walking, gardening etc but with an excessive & still growing population all of our problems will continue to get worse no matter how “green” & “sustainable” we try to be. There is no way that 7.6 BILLION HUMANS can be “sustainable”.
We will either reduce our numbers volentarily or “nature” will do it for us just like yeast in a petri dish, we will drown in our own filth & starve to death.
What a finish for a species that named itself, “wise man” HA!
We are no “wiser” than YEAST!
I am not sure how you teach Respect! Aretha tried! It is truly disheartening and discouraging to see what has happened to our office of the Presidency to every day treatment of co-workers and superiors. Every one seems to have an opinion..often not supported by facts with the need to share it every minute of every day. Some even feel the need to use vulgarity and violence. The media is often the biggest culprit.
Nice but système Is set up to quash free thought and self reliance.
OMGosh – schoolhouse rock!!! I learned the preamble to the constitution perfectly and can still recite it 40 years later!!!
Love this! The school where I work does teach planting and raising some foods, but lots of other great ideas in here!
Given the times we are living in, I would add meditation to help increase focus and to keep calm while alert.
I think navigation is useful in life. Being able to use a map and compass, finding the North Star, understanding tides and lunar phases. It’s reassuring to know you can find your way. It’s also a fun thing for kids to learn orienteering.
Sailing is also a great way to get some of these skills, plus an understanding of knots, weather, and teamwork.
Gosh, I nearly cried reading this. In high school,us girls were regulated to Home Economics (cooking),sewing,typing,while boys did wood shop,metal shop,and car mechanics. I so wanted to go to wood shop! Is it any wonder that all the ‘girl’ classes except cooking,I failed miserably at?
Public schools aren’t designed to make people smart or survive, only to comply with the state and believe in its legitimacy, and to believe its BS narratives.
Homeschooling is a different story. Our kids get plenty of what’s in this list, and I’m an Earth scientist so they learn all about geography in particular.
I haven’t read every single comment so I apologize if I’m restating someone else’s point. That said, aren’t there some life skills on this list best left to parents (ideally two parents, but that’s another show)?
I agree with the most recent poster – many of these skills/ideas should be taught by parents.
If you have not spent much time in a public school classroom in the last few years, please think before you trash ‘all’ public education. You have no idea what teachers face each day.
Kids should be taught about the international organizations (such as UN, IMF, World Bank, WHO, etc) and central banking system, and the ridiculousness of parents sending their kids to a school run by their government, which is owned and controlled by these people –
Who constantly kill thousands or millions in wars for profit, and push pseudo-science and attack real science, and seek to force their cult of depopulation and totalitarianism onto everyone while claiming to have the consent of the governed and while feigning benevolent motives.
This article is spot on, I resigned my job so I can spend time with and raise responsible kids. Thanks for giving me quality resources. Surely these skills are relevant but overlooked as schools are under pressure to focus on grades.
I don’t know where your children attend school, but in rural Oklahoma, our students are taught Personal Finance, Geography, Government, Early, and Late American History, Writing/Communication Skills, Physical Education, and Art courses. Actually, the Arts are mandated in Oklahoma and are required credit for graduation. As for the rest of your list, schools cannot be expected to teach it all. Whatever happened to expect parents to have a responsibility for their child’s education? Teachers are so overwhelmed with the ridiculous expectations and mandates that federal and state legislators place on them, that they have no time to teach the list you have generated, and schools don’t have the money to incorporate such a curriculum.
Is there anything you think parents should teach their children? As a public school teacher, I’m always astounded when people suggest that I teach etiquette, social skills, and how to pick their friends. You then want me to teach creatively and individuality? If school teaches these things, everyone will get the same curriculum and there will be no individuality. I was trained to teach math, not raise your kids.