When I recently bought my first house, I had no clue what I was doing. I spent all my time doing research on the Internet, and I spent the rest of the time staring at my realtor with a blank and confused look on my face. And this is just one of the common life challenges I didn’t have a clue about. Here are some others that have slapped me upside the head.
- Car maintenance (Where does the oil go?)
- Retirement (An IRA? A 401K?)
- Taxes (How do I do those?)
- Car purchasing and insurance (Do I need that maintenance contract?)
- Clogged drains (What is that black gunk?)
- Home maintenance (Oh, do I need to change the air filter on that?)
Really, the list is much longer, but I didn’t want to shock you with my ignorance. This is why I think that it’s important for students to learn life skills beginning when they’re young. And certainly it’s necessary to have a life skills class in high school. Check out this article for a really good list of life skills.
What life skills do you think are important to cover in the classroom?
PS The first item on the life skills’ list is basic financial management. So true! Get FREE activities to get your kids started here. And don’t forget to enter the contest. One lucky teacher will win $500, and three runners-up will win $100 each!