is it interesting?

lemon_and_mint · Post by **lemon_and_mint** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 5:23 am

Lots of people saying what did you? threads are uninteresting.

So this thread is about what you should have learned in school and had an exam on which would have helped you in life.

For all i know they may now teach these things - but it would have helped me to learn -

How to change a lightbulb

How to deal with fuses which have gone out (electricity)

How to open a bank account

What you need to do when you buy/rent a house - who to notify

how to deal with official forms/paying bills

how to measure and fit curtains

what it means to vote, and how to find out about the candidates.

How to put gas/petrol in the car.

mikeinie · Post by **mikeinie** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 5:45 am

The other thing they should teach in school is financial management.

Time is spend on macro economics and stuff, but most kids leave school and have no idea how to manage their money.

lemon_and_mint · Post by **lemon_and_mint** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 5:49 am

I know from when i was at school, they seemed to teach us a lot of things i will

never need to know and not a lot that i should know

It is obviously a good thing to have knowledge of history and other languages in order to understand the world, also basic maths and english in order to be able to cope with life, but why did i need to learn trigonometry?

Why didn't they teach us about other religions in order to understand how to relate to other cultures?

Indian Princess · Post by **Indian Princess** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:12 am

I agree with the money thing, we did have home economics, learning to cook, and planning a budget, with a pretend job, (you drew a paper out of a bowl with an occupation on it) Then you were assigned how much you made a year,back to another bowl, this time the paper held the circumstances of your life, how many kids,pets, full time/part-time, single parent

Then off to Newspaper table, where you had to actually find adds for a job that you were qualified, an apartment, cut coupons out , make a grocery list, you get the idea.

One girl and I am not kidding, during the duration of this project (two weeks) yeah, that really got us prepared for life LMAO!!!!

Anyway each day she came in and did her nails, or wrote love notes etc, so when it came to presentation time, Miss Thing got up and said" I didnt do the assignment because my mother told me that I can get by on my looks,yes she was popular, and mean, 3 years after we grad from High School, she came into the Doc Office I worked for with two kids unmarried on welfare, and looking haggard.

Pheasy · Post by **Pheasy** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:12 am

How to parallel park :-5 :-5

lemon_and_mint · Post by **lemon_and_mint** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:16 am

Indian princess, we had nothing like this at all, it sounds interesting, so i want to add to my list -

how to budget all you need from your wages, and what the costs of various bills etc would be

how to save, and why it is important to have a pension.

Also about benefits - i had no idea what to do when i was unemployed.

And i think young teenagers should be made to look after a baby for at least a month it might make a difference to the way they behave later.

mikeinie · Post by **mikeinie** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:17 am

To understand what it is that woman want:-5:-5

Indian Princess · Post by **Indian Princess** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:21 am

Uh, good luck pal cuz some of us dont know what we want:wah::wah:

Snooze · Post by **Snooze** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:46 am

Better sex education... maybe a little hands on experience?

I was very shy in school.

The Rob · Post by **The Rob** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 7:11 am

I won't fault the curriculum of the various schools I attended. I was a lazy student.

I hated mathematics, and now when I look at the night sky and consider it's vast architecture, I kick myself for not bothering to try to learn it's language.

I was never interested in auto mechanics because I judged the punks who took Auto Shop by my bookworm standards. As an adult I once tried to pry the oil filter out of my car because I was convinced it was an empty oil can that had fallen in there and gotten wedged.

I loathed organized sport and so passed by the opportunity to learn cooperation, dedication, and physical discipline.

Of course it's not too late to learn (I'm only 48), but it's always easiest to learn when young.

Chezzie · Post by **Chezzie** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 8:38 am

Yeah I agree live skills are just as important to learn and could make school time a lot less boring for some students.

Taking teenagers and giving them a real car to work on would maybe stop them going to nick one to find out.

Letting young kids get on mixing decks and dj stuff, list is endless...

Post by **spot** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 5:57 pm

How to change a lightbulb

How to deal with fuses which have gone out (electricity)

How to open a bank account

What you need to do when you buy/rent a house - who to notify

how to deal with official forms/paying bills

how to measure and fit curtains

what it means to vote, and how to find out about the candidates.

How to put gas/petrol in the car.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:10 pm

Am I the only one that taught these things to my kids?

Post by **spot** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:12 pm

It took me until the last one was at university before I checked off "how to measure and fit curtains" but I finally covered the lot with mine.

watermark · Post by **watermark** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 10:24 pm

My parents should have taught me how to change a lightbulb and open a checking account and practical life skills. My schooling needed to make it clear what a scholarly education was all about and what subject/content was important. My parents should have reinforced that. Never happened in my memory. School was a joke to me. There were maybe 2 teachers in 12 years who knew how to teach me.

To be honest though it was my parents who failed to educate me. I have complete compassion for them however. I'm a parent now and know educating my kids is not my high priority, as it was not for them. I mean, it is a high priority for me that my kids have a solid education, but somehow I feel I've not enough energy to make this happen. I know the school system doesn't have what it takes on its own.

It's like I have to reeducate myself before I could tutor them better, help them with all their studies. Maybe it's simpler to quote anonymous "I want better for my children than what I had" leaving it at that. I could push them forward with the incentive of, not more money or opportunity, but of having a more informed mind, better thinking, more exposure to important input, ability to articulate thoughts and feelings, to know what is happening in the world, things of that nature... and then let evolution take its course.

E

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 10:49 pm

mikeinie;736916 wrote: To understand what it is that woman want:-5:-5

Amen brother.

laneybug · Post by **laneybug** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 6:38 pm

My sister is 7 years older than I am.... when she went to highschool they were taught how to balance a checkbook, which is a very important skill, IMO. But, by the time I got to the same highschool, that useful class was nowhere to be found. I wonder why.

Anyway, I agree. Money management is a huge skill that is not focused enough on in schools these days. Very sad. Kids go into life not understanding the hard work that goes into making a dollar, unless of course, the parents instill that value into them with no help from the schools.

laneybug · Post by **laneybug** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 6:40 pm

ThePheasant;736912 wrote: How to parallel park :-5 :-5

Where I live, parallel parking is part of the driver's ed course. And to pass the final driving exam, you must parallel park appropriately and be within 12 inches of the sidewalk. I can't imagine passing the test without that very important driving skill.

Sheryl · Post by **Sheryl** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 6:50 pm

I took a class in high school on money management. However I learned about taking care of my car when I got one. My dad was intent on his girls knowing how to check the oil, change a spark plug, ect. Parallel parking was taught in drivers ed. I also learned about paying bills and such in high school, since I had a part time job and was required to make my car payment.

My son is being taught now about money, both at school and at home. He earns fake money at school for doing and acting as he should in class. If he misbehaves, he has to pay the teacher. On Fridays, they get to shop in the first grade store. If there's something that costs alot in the store, they learn how to save their money to get it. At home, son knows certain chores earn so much money.

lemon_and_mint · Post by **lemon_and_mint** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 3:31 am

I thought of another one -

How to apply for a job and pass an interview.

grh · Post by **grh** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:02 am

To post a new thread without blowing out the frick'in margins all the time:-5

Post by **spot** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:14 am

grh;737961 wrote: To post a new thread without blowing out the frick'in margins all the time:-5

That one's easy - don't put a large picture in the first post of the thread inside IMG tags or you'll blow the home page margins. Don't put a large picture anywhere else inside IMG tags or you'll blow the margins of the thread. The first is a bigger concern than the latter.

grh · Post by **grh** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:26 am

spot;737965 wrote: That one's easy - don't put a large picture in the first post of the thread inside IMG tags or you'll blow the home page margins. Don't put a large pucture anywhere else inside IMG tags or you'll blow the margins of the thread. The first is a bigger concern than the latter.

So, how about they post these instructions right next to where folks upload a picture or graphic when they start a new thread..

Post by **spot** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:37 am

grh;737967 wrote: So, how about they post these instructions right next to where folks upload a picture or graphic when they start a new thread..

I'm experimenting to find out where that would be.

The Edit Options page of My Settings says: "When posting messages to the forums or other members, there are three interface types available to you. The simplest of these is a simple text box, while the last is a fully-fledged WYSIWYG editor, which allows you to format your text as you want it and see the results immediately."

Using anything but the Basic editor shows an Add Image button with the words "Please enter the URL of your Image", that would be the place to say "and don't make it one that's so big it would blow the margins of the thread or homepage". It wouldn't show up for anyone using the Basic editor though, which is what I usually have selected. Is that button what most people use to add an inline picture to their post?

lemon_and_mint · Post by **lemon_and_mint** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:40 am

actually that might be an interesting thing to learn in school,

which are useful websites

how to set up a webpage

how to make a forum

how to interact on a forum

how a mobile phone works

how the video/washing machine/iron etc works.

sunny104 · Post by **sunny104** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:01 am

everything I learned came from the real world, I couldn't wait to be free from school! :p

:wah:

Post by **spot** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:10 am

sunny104;738002 wrote: everything I learned came from the real world, I couldn't wait to be free from school! :p

:wah:

Who taught you to read and write, Sunny?

sunny104 · Post by **sunny104** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:16 am

spot;738016 wrote: Who taught you to read and write, Sunny?

you know, now that I think about it, I actually started to read and write before kindergarden.

sunny104 · Post by **sunny104** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:17 am

I wish you could see smileys!

YZGI · Post by **YZGI** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:53 am

Someone needs to teach these kids how to properly use a time clock. I once had a conversation with a teacher who asked me what skills students who do not go to college and enter into the work force need. My first answer was the proper useage of a time clock. I cannot even count the people I have hired over the years that could screw up a time clock for months before finally getting it right. It used to frustrate the heck out of the person doing payroll. Now it seems most of my employees have been with me so long that it is not a problem.

lemon_and_mint · Post by **lemon_and_mint** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:58 am

yzgi -

It's because they have digital watches which just display a number, and even clocks in the house do this - with oldfashioned clocks and watches if you were unsure of time taken for something you could at least trace the time in increments of minutes round the clockface.

sunny104 · Post by **sunny104** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:59 am

YZGI;738058 wrote: Someone needs to teach these kids how to properly use a time clock. I once had a conversation with a teacher who asked me what skills students who do not go to college and enter into the work force need. My first answer was the proper useage of a time clock. I cannot even count the people I have hired over the years that could screw up a time clock for months before finally getting it right. It used to frustrate the heck out of the person doing payroll. Now it seems most of my employees have been with me so long that it is not a problem.

weird but the kids born in the 80's and 90's have probably never even seen anything other than digital clocks.

they teach it in school here thankfully. :-6

lemon_and_mint · Post by **lemon_and_mint** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 10:02 am

they should teach very basic cooking.

how to cook on a very tight budget without eating hamburgers every day.What is cheap and nutritious to eat.

YZGI · Post by **YZGI** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 10:13 am

lemon_and_mint;738069 wrote: they should teach very basic cooking.

how to cook on a very tight budget without eating hamburgers every day.What is cheap and nutritious to eat.
I thought everyone could boil beans..:wah: