Students Prep for Life 10-22-24

Students who are interested in how things work should take Shop Courses to learn Auto Mechanics and Construction. Students should take one course at a time to test their motivated abilities. The auto mechanics course will at least give them the knowledge they need to keep their cars in good repair. The course in Construction will at least give them some experience in home repair and maintenance. Many students began to learn these “Life Skills” in grade school by doing shores at home. Students need to know how to cook and clean their houses, how to maintain their yards, how to paint their walls and how to maintain their vacuum cleaners. 

Some High Schools offer “Life-Skills” Courses to teach students how to balance their checking accounts, how to read insurance policies and how to read contracts and appliance maintenance instructions. Students will need to know how to drive and maintain their cars and trucks including how to check their oil and fluid levels, when to get an oil change, how to keep their tires inflated and how to change their tires when they go flat.  These courses should include nutrition and how to look up symptoms of illnesses and how to prevent injuries and how to treat injuries. Students will need to know how to look up information about illnesses and when to schedule physical exams with their Family Physicians Students need to know how to control and maintain their weight to avoid obesity.

Schools need to update their science courses. Biology classes need to include nutrition and other useful health information. Experimenting with frogs is cute, but unnecessary. Chemistry classes need to include organic chemistry and blood sample analysis. The Hydrogen Bark is cute, but not useful. History classes need to include the causes of wars, not just the dates. Civics needs to explain Citizen responsibilities in addition to the US Constitution and the primary functions of government at all levels including the primary responsibilities of cities, counties, states and federal. Economics needs to include the basic data that will help students keep track of the US Free Market economy including Debt, Nominal GDP, Trade balance, Exports, Imports Government Spending, Government Revenue and Inflation by year.

Parents need to allow their children to be themselves and follow their own talents and interests. Parents need to teach their children to prepare for adulthood. Schools should join parents by improving their class curriculum. 

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader