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Public Schools and Life Skills Education

© R. L. Head

There are so many new things that need to be learned by young people before they can function successfully in this world. The question is, should public schools take on these subjects? The second question is, if they do, what adjustments need to made? Should other subjects be eliminated or reduced? Should the school day be extended, or should there be additional days added to the school year? I have discussed the second question before. It is the first question I wish to address here.

You might ask, why should the public school system care? Why should we, as taxpayers, care about what living skills are learned by children? We should care for the same reason that all citizens pay school taxes. We have to live with the graduates of our public schools. The price we pay for the ignorance, bankruptcies, and poor decisions is incalculable.

I have a friend who is struggling to establish credit. His education, received in public schools, did nothing to prepare him. I am impressed with his basic understanding of what he is now learning. However, he certainly would have been better off if someone had taught him the way I am teaching my own children. There are a lot of parents who aren’t doing very well themselves. Should they have the only responsibility to teach their children what they, themselves, often don’t understand?

Conversely, I got a phone call today for my son asking if he wanted a new credit card. The child is 12. Both of my children have access to a credit card that bears their name. They appear as a second authorized person on a checking account. They are learning how to use credit cards and checking accounts and make decisions regarding how they spend their money. They will ask me to buy something for them. It’s amazing how many things they decide not to buy when it comes out of their own pockets.

They make some poor decisions. My 12 year old got very upset with the way he decided to spend some of his money. I told him, it was no big deal. Better to make his mistakes now when he has no other financial responsibilities. I was impressed that he got upset. He used $10 to play video games. Then he realized he no longer had enough to buy something he wanted. It is vital that he learns these lessons now.

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