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[Massive Duck. C.M.]

In America at least, basic ass things like swimming aren't even taught across the board

 

[ShironRedshift]

In America at least, basic ass things like swimming aren't even taught across the board

Wish I lived in one of those spots. In my school, there was a swimming portion to our P.E. class in high school... and I absolutely hated it and still can't swim worth a damn at all because I'm hydrophobic. My plan? Just not to go into any large bodies of water since well... I cant swim and have no real desire to be anywhere close to them. Swimming is hardly an essential life skill and bar unusual circumstances can be easily avoided in most situations by just... not going near large bodies of hell and I would appreciate it it weren't a requirement even in the schools it is to actually acknowledge that fact and so people like me who just suffer from a subtype of specific phobia aren't treated fucking terrible and made to feel awesome and worthless and terrible for surprise, surprise, not being able to get past a psychological problem at the drop of a hat like it's nothing just because of some fucking stupid school requirement that doesn't acknowledge that fact at all. [/rant]

Sorry about really getting carried away there at the end. Really, really, sorry. As you can tell though this is a rather tender area from me and I just really don't like it because not everyone can learn something like that so easily and when something like this is coming and you know it won't be something you can conquer so you put off taking P.E. as long as you can to avoid it as long as possible and when you're forced to take it anyway and then see everyone else in your class swimming absolutely no problem at all and doing all kinds of laps without any effort or anything, whereas you struggle each and every time to even get anywhere close to the deep end and have your instructor just be utterly baffled by you like you're not even trying at all and like it's something you can just will yourself past, and just having to suffer through that for an entire semester... it just doesn't exactly do wonders for your confidence or self-image at all, seeing that week after week, time and time again, and you can't help but be terribly hard on yourself for something that you have no control over to begin with and shouldn't have to feel ashamed or terrible about in the first place, but you can't help but do so anyway because it's just a "basic ass thing" apparently and even your own hydrophobia starts to feel fake to you and something you should be able to just get past even when you know that's not true and not how it works at all and it just sucks. It really, really, sucks and was definitely my least favorite part of high school, since I was made to feel that way for no reason at all and no benefit at all and not nothing in return out of it.

So yeah, at least personally, not a fan. The intent is wonderful, but in no way should they actually be requirements or tied to graduation or some shit (I got lucky and was somehow passed despite never actually swimming at all). Fuck that.

 

[f0nz0]

No..
But I've always wondered why there wasn't any mandated "stress management" type classes.. I think it would be a good idea

 

[DJ_Lae]

Earthquest. Man that bugged me, couldn't remember it all day.

It is a neat program, limited only by the low capacity (60 students of a possible ~1000 in my old district.

 

[Romez]

No massive waste of time.

 

[cdyhybrid]

I don't know about survival skills in the traditional sense (starting a fire, etc.) but I think stuff like how to change a tire, etc. should absolutely be taught in high school.

 

[bonercop]

maths isn't practical, and comes with strict rules...and its usefulness is debatable

you're, uh, trolling right? How is the usefulness of math debatable when any remotely well-paying job these days requires you to at least have a decent understanding of it? Especially when you're comparing it to "survival skills" for extremely specific situations 99% of humans won't ever find themselves in.

 

[pottuvoi]

I wish we were taught survival skills at school.

But at least at the school I went to, we were taught:

- how to make a budget (this had a big influence on my life and I cannot thank my teachers enough)
- how to sew
- had times were had to cook as a group/individual but for some reason we were expected to learn on our own (I wasn't good at it at all).

These should be mandatory in every school, same for other basic household skills. (Cleaning, small repairs, little electricity etc.)

Basic survival things are pretty much tied to other classes like physics, nature knowledge etc. (Making fire, pulley etc.)
Also a proper office/general etiquette and how to act around people should be mandatory as well.

And a proper problem solving.. not just reading solution from somewhere.

 

[Twilight Gap]

There are lots of things I would have liked to learn about in school:

-Swimming
-Managing finances and taxes, etc.
-Basic wilderness skills (fire, direction, finding shelter, etc.)
-Common illnesses
-Pet care
-Cooking
-Basic car and household maintenance (would be surprised how many people can't change a lightbulb...)
-Speaking patterns and behaviors especially typical of the workplace
-How to apply for jobs

You know, practical things I can apply to my life every day.

Instead I learned about a bunch of dead people and read boring poems that I've long since forgotten. It's not that our history as a species and culture isn't important, but the curriculums spend too much time on things that don't enrich a person's wisdom and worldly application. Shakespeare isn't going to help the guy with deadbeat parents who has to cook for his brother and walk himself to school.

 

[user8503492]

Lets be honest...a LARGE portion of kids in highschool should be in a Vocational Highschool.

The percentage of students who have no use of Poetry, Chemistry, Calculus etc.. is far lower then the kids who would have benefited learning HVAC, Carpentry, Automotive etc..

A good amount of kids go to a "Prepare for college" highschool and graduated with zero skills for the future they're gonna have, many dont even graduate.

I screwed myself this way. I followed all my buddies to basic highschool while 2 elected to go the Vocational highschool route. I'd say 1 out of 10 of us went on to college and a white collar lifestyle while the rest of us dropped out, went from warehouse job to warehouse job, or finally apprenticed in a hands on skill....the kids who went to vocational highschool were far more prepared in a trade skill and went right into a career with little "what do I do now?" early 20's..

I know many on GAF are college type...do you guys feel you would have benefited with 4 years learning a trade skill instead?

I do believe tho basic life skills should be taught. Car maintenance, money budgeting, basic home repair..

 

[CornBurrito]

you're, uh, trolling right? How is the usefulness of math debatable when any remotely well-paying job these days requires you to at least have a decent understanding of it? Especially when you're comparing it to "survival skills" for extremely specific situations 99% of humans won't ever find themselves in.

Math is useful but the way we teach it is really bad. Students don't tend to gain an actual understanding of the math.

 

[Sub_Level]

Basic Cooking
Basic Computer Troubleshooting
Basic Household and Automobile Skills

There are people who can't make beans. There are people who can't reset their wifi adapter if there is a problem. There are people who can't change a tire.

All 3 of these are more pertinent than Survival imo.