Life Skills
There is so much pressure on our education system. The three Rs of basic education (Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic) aren't even known to the millennials. The school system says they can't keep accommodating all the demands that put upon them. They have to teach social skills, ethics, and life skills. Life skills includes everything from nutrition, mental health, fitness, and critical thinking. In addition, they must ensure students appreciate cultural opportunities, are not prejudice, and are good citizens. It is a lot.
Fortunately, thanks to innovation, they really don't have to teach much of the three Rs. Children learn to read quickly thanks to social media. Cursive writing is a thing of the past. Math is not really something needed as we can ask what we need from our phones and they will figure it out for us.
There still is some cooking done in society and we can thank the food networks for the resurgence of popularity to this. It is so much cheaper to pay a frozen lasagna than it is to make one. The home made one taste is superior but who has the time or energy to do this is our multi-tasking busy lives. A decade ago, I was concerned that I wasn't passing on any food traditions to my children. It was the holiday time so I decided we were going to make butter tarts together to start a tradition. We went shopping for the ingredients and I saw pre-made tart shells. They were perfect and had nice little perfect pinch marks. I thought that it wouldn't be cheating if we bought these as pastry is hard to make and even harder to make look perfect. So, I decided to buy these and so I never passed down my secret ingredient to make perfect flaky pastry. It is 7-UP, by the way. That reminds me I should send my children an email telling them about this. Life would be easier for me if my children just read my blog! I digress.
So, I had the pre-made pastry shells in our cart when I spotted packaged butter tarts. A dozen for 5.99. Since I had basically no ingredients at home and would have to buy everything, I calculated that it would cost me atleast double to make the butter tarts than to buy them. So, I caved. No food traditions passed on.
Anyway, cooking is a life skill that should still be taught. Also, we have a generation that, thanks to velcro, doesn't know how to tie shoes, but I guess that is fine. Instead of teaching things like that, we should be focusing on decision-making skills. Something that is more practical and is needed.
We used to not want the school system to teach things like ethics and critical thinking skills. As parents, we wanted to be responsible for passing on our morals and values. We are too busy now so we have asked the school system to handle that one for us. And, as parents, we have proven that we can't handle things like teaching fair play. Don't believe me. Go to any little league sports event. The kids are just having fun. It is the parents who don't take losses well and don't want to play by the rules. I used to think that wasn't true and then I was watching my son play on a team and I found myself yelling, "Ref. You are missing a really good game here."
So, I know the school system is under tremendous pressure yet there is one other life skill that I wish was still taught. It is swimming. I am amazed at how many children and adults can not swim. I understand that membership and lessons are a huge cost, but I still think swimming should be mandatory in schools. It is summer now and, unfortunately, we will be hearing about too many senseless deaths from drowning from people who are unable to swim. Some people think they will never need to swim so it doesn't need to be part of any curriculum. Swimming teaches you more than just swimming. Swimming teaches you to be self-reliant and to not panic. It teaches you self-confidence. It also teaches you that you can participate in a solitary sport that is beneficial for your all aspects of your health. It is great exercise and knowing how to swim can save your life. It can also save the lives of others. It is an important life skill.
I am writing this as I am watching the rescue of the Thai soccer team out of their cave. It is hard to imagine and watch. It is also unbelievable that in Thailand, these young boys who appear to be so vibrant, don't know how to swim. It still would be risky even if they did know how to swim and lack of knowledge of swimming might not affect the outcome, however, I would still feel better if they knew how to swim. I don't know anyone who knows how to swim that has regretted learning it.
As world is constantly changing, however, mother nature still remains a force that we can not control. Learning how to survive in nature teaches us respect for our planet in addition to all the other practical skills. And have you ever been to a pool party? Swimming is also fun. Fun is also an important life skill.
Fortunately, thanks to innovation, they really don't have to teach much of the three Rs. Children learn to read quickly thanks to social media. Cursive writing is a thing of the past. Math is not really something needed as we can ask what we need from our phones and they will figure it out for us.
There still is some cooking done in society and we can thank the food networks for the resurgence of popularity to this. It is so much cheaper to pay a frozen lasagna than it is to make one. The home made one taste is superior but who has the time or energy to do this is our multi-tasking busy lives. A decade ago, I was concerned that I wasn't passing on any food traditions to my children. It was the holiday time so I decided we were going to make butter tarts together to start a tradition. We went shopping for the ingredients and I saw pre-made tart shells. They were perfect and had nice little perfect pinch marks. I thought that it wouldn't be cheating if we bought these as pastry is hard to make and even harder to make look perfect. So, I decided to buy these and so I never passed down my secret ingredient to make perfect flaky pastry. It is 7-UP, by the way. That reminds me I should send my children an email telling them about this. Life would be easier for me if my children just read my blog! I digress.
So, I had the pre-made pastry shells in our cart when I spotted packaged butter tarts. A dozen for 5.99. Since I had basically no ingredients at home and would have to buy everything, I calculated that it would cost me atleast double to make the butter tarts than to buy them. So, I caved. No food traditions passed on.
Anyway, cooking is a life skill that should still be taught. Also, we have a generation that, thanks to velcro, doesn't know how to tie shoes, but I guess that is fine. Instead of teaching things like that, we should be focusing on decision-making skills. Something that is more practical and is needed.
We used to not want the school system to teach things like ethics and critical thinking skills. As parents, we wanted to be responsible for passing on our morals and values. We are too busy now so we have asked the school system to handle that one for us. And, as parents, we have proven that we can't handle things like teaching fair play. Don't believe me. Go to any little league sports event. The kids are just having fun. It is the parents who don't take losses well and don't want to play by the rules. I used to think that wasn't true and then I was watching my son play on a team and I found myself yelling, "Ref. You are missing a really good game here."
So, I know the school system is under tremendous pressure yet there is one other life skill that I wish was still taught. It is swimming. I am amazed at how many children and adults can not swim. I understand that membership and lessons are a huge cost, but I still think swimming should be mandatory in schools. It is summer now and, unfortunately, we will be hearing about too many senseless deaths from drowning from people who are unable to swim. Some people think they will never need to swim so it doesn't need to be part of any curriculum. Swimming teaches you more than just swimming. Swimming teaches you to be self-reliant and to not panic. It teaches you self-confidence. It also teaches you that you can participate in a solitary sport that is beneficial for your all aspects of your health. It is great exercise and knowing how to swim can save your life. It can also save the lives of others. It is an important life skill.
I am writing this as I am watching the rescue of the Thai soccer team out of their cave. It is hard to imagine and watch. It is also unbelievable that in Thailand, these young boys who appear to be so vibrant, don't know how to swim. It still would be risky even if they did know how to swim and lack of knowledge of swimming might not affect the outcome, however, I would still feel better if they knew how to swim. I don't know anyone who knows how to swim that has regretted learning it.
As world is constantly changing, however, mother nature still remains a force that we can not control. Learning how to survive in nature teaches us respect for our planet in addition to all the other practical skills. And have you ever been to a pool party? Swimming is also fun. Fun is also an important life skill.
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