To think schools should have a class to teach basic life skills

My Mum taught me various practical skills including how to bake, how to sew by hand and machine, how to change a fuse and wire a plug, how to change a lightbulb (bayonet or screw) , how to iron well, and how to launder different things including hand washing different types of delicate fabrics. My Dad taught me basic accounting and how to polish shoes. My Mum was the more practical of the pair of them.

What did Little Friend Susan ever do to you?! She barely even has a personality, bless her!

I’ve been teaching 30 years and we do all of this and more

Nailed it

I defo think that subjects at school should be reflective of the real world.

Example - this is your mortgage contract. Work out how much the house costs in total and work out your monthly payment. Now work out the total costs of you overpay x% for the final ten years of the term.

Most secondary school maths is worthless.

So you think parents are choosing home education because they're upset their children aren't allowed to misbehave at school. Genuinely?

Well all the money stuff comes under "maths" ... but parents should be teaching their kids basic life skills. I also think kids are much more resourceful now, they'd just google how to change a lightbulb. And some things you probably need to figure out, like mortgages.

A lot of schools use interest rates in Maths lessons. Banks have easy watch videos. Colleges should definitely cover it. But not schools.

Not just this.
It’s a lot to do with behaviour at school (often again the fault of permissive parenting)
You ask Ai to explain what a mortgage is.

Well she said non of us have learnt these skills. So OP didn’t get this from their parents

I'd usually be on the side of these being part of parenting, but with the state of parenting these days, school may as well teach these alongside changing nappies, brushing teeth, managing behaviour...

Forget actual academics.

You can’t always compensate for shit parents - unfair on the real ones.

All the things you’re listed are things parents should teach their children.

If you know how to read and write, you can also find them out from books or even social media videos.

Did you never watch someone change a lightbulb in your whole life?

Where did she say it was just the teachers job? She didn’t.

My understanding is that some of this is covered - letter writing, cooking, spreadsheets etc

But a lot is down to the parents - budgeting, paying bills, meter readings. That said I echo pp that this would be a great replacement for RE.

Ime the rise in home education is down to cuts in send funding and parents being forced into it.

Doesn’t work if it’s a bayonet fitting, they’re not screw threads. Many light bulbs are not screw threads anymore. You’ve also to consider the voltage as some light fittings use transformers so the bulbs may be 12v or 24v and not 240v.

💯 agree! I think this would really help people. It’s ok others saying it’s what parents are for but some parents don’t have the education / ability to teach their kids this. I do my children but I didn’t have this guidance from my parents despite them having great jobs and being educated. So yes I missed out on this and now teach my children.

It is not just about learning about faith in RE. It is much more about gaining knowledge so that you can understand for example culture, history, music, society and art.

Why do you think it’s a teachers job to teach your child how to change lightbulbs? Have you heard of a mortgage advisor? Or google? You sound silly calling me passive aggressive while using the word ‘cunty’.

Also many of these things ARE taught in high school, changing lightbulbs was in primary school science in circuits, obviously not a household bulb but it gives the idea. Relationships is in PSHE. Maths obviously gives a foundation to be able to understand mortgages and bills. Life experience comes from personal relationships and living life, basic education comes from school.

My parents covered all of that and school
covered some. We definitely did letter writing, budgeting, lightbulbs, plugs, cooking, sewing and all the traditional home economics at school.

School shouldn’t be substitute parents.

I do think some of this could be covered at school. Whilst I now have the knowledge for personal finance stuff my single mother did not and I got into a lot of trouble. I was however taught cooking and home ec and that's been so useful although I complained a lot at the time. The reality is (now I have my own teens) kids don't always listen to their parents, maybe they used to listen to grandparents (woodwork and gardening) but many don't have that 'village' to help.

I absolutely agree op. Yes, it’s mainly the parents job but children listen to teachers. I’m constantly banging the ‘save a bit, spend a bit’ drum to my DD & it just wasn’t working. Miss Ellet said the same to her & she’s now fully on board. I think it’s more important than some of the stuff she mentions they’ve covered in class. I think its especially important about relationships/consent.

Kids learn most off parents then next most off teachers so I think your idea is a great one. Reinforcing what parents are (or ahould) be teaching them.

As a teacher I know my school covers a lot of these things in Home Economics, maths etc. I recently did a series of lessons about sexual health topics and a lot covered was about changing bodies, shapes, sizes, looks etc.

However I do believe a lot of these things are topics that parents should cover. I remember my dad showing me how to check the fire alarm, I remember setting up insurance for my first car with my parents. I also remember learning about finance in school and discussing credit cards but I know that a lot of people will forget that it was covered.

Surely that is the job of parents.

Fml people really do think they can abdicate all responsibility to poor teachers