If you were to ask the average high schooler if they knew how to cook basic meals, take care of children, or manage finances, chances are they would answer with a resounding “no.”
Throughout my schooling career, I took one home economics course in middle school, which was a semester-long elective. During the semester, we learned how to iron, use a sewing machine, fashioned our own aprons, and work in the kitchen, both utilizing cooking and cleaning skills. This class was viewed as a blow-off, but it provided students with valuable abilities. However, why are academic institutions, where students are preparing for life after school, not equipped with real-world knowledge and skills such as home management?
That is not to say that schools don’t offer home economics classes, but that they are not mandatory for students. While I have been in high school, my schedule has been packed with numerous courses aiding me toward my diploma, but I had hopes of taking a cooking class. Due to the courses I picked, I was left with no choice but to pass on the opportunity.
Similarly, CHS offers Personal Finance and Responsibilities, which aims to help students understand and control their finances, however, this class is also an elective. When students schedule their classes for the upcoming school year, most of the time they will not choose a class that is beneficial to them, but choose a class that is relaxing and fun. While it’s important to incorporate fun classes, students still need to know how to function in the real world. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and may not have their families to rely on to teach these skills, and even if they do, we all need to become independent and self-reliant at some point. Likewise, with both boys and girls taking home economic classes, it also helps to further bridge the gap in people’s beliefs that only a woman can manage a household.
“Personal finance classes specifically should be mandatory as a lot of people are going into the real world and have no idea what they are doing with their finances. Whether they flat-out don’t know how to do their taxes, or they don’t know how to make a bank account. I think taking personal finance classes is essential for young adults to be able to understand how to go about finances going forward,” senior Shaun Koznarski said.
In school, we are taught how to complete confusing mathematical equations, but still, so many students don’t know how to budget. With “adulting” classes, so to speak, students won’t feel so dependent on others and can become well-adjusted adults when students, if they choose, attend college. Many seniors are realizing that they will need to defend themselves, manage their time between classes, jobs, and social events, as well as doing laundry.
This has been somewhat addressed during Advisory sessions, with Mr. Hennigar explaining how to be an adult by leading tutorials relating to cooking and car maintenance, which is a beneficial tool for students. However, I think schools should take it a step further and establish some sort of class that each student must take, similar to how every senior has to pass government and economics to graduate.
As of now, home economics classes are not required for high school students, but with enough awareness of the benefits these courses offer, a new generation of students can learn basic skills to prepare themselves for adulthood.
