The Wifely Duties

[jamespowers]

In California elementary kids are required to have 120 minutes of PE every ten school days. There aren't any minutes requirements for any other subject. Not for reading, science, history, mathematics, none of it. But PE? Oh, yeah, you gotta do that.

I know. It makes absolutely no sense. They should make that requirement for science and math at least.
I had far more than 120 minutes a week.

 

[scottyrocks]

I can't even begin to explain how much contempt I have for the very notion that sport is in any way consequential.

It always cracked me up to watch and listen to guys in dirty work clothes in a bar crying in dismay about how their hero got gypped this year because he’s only making a half a million dollars.

 

[Miss Golightly]

I loved PE and wish we had had more of it - I think I had a lot of energy to burn off as a child/teen - I would literally run myself ragged until the class ended. I was no good at playing netball or tennis or the likes - I found them really boring and had zero interest in them (the netball team garnered a lot of respect - perhaps a little too much - maybe I just wasn't a team player) but I could literally run for miles - in one afternoon I won the 200 metres, the 400 metres and the relay race - I didn't bother with the 100 as I thought it would be too easy!!!!!!

 

[C-dot]

...in one afternoon I won the 200 metres, the 400 metres and the relay race - I didn't bother with the 100 as I thought it would be too easy!!!!!!

Wow, that's what I call some serious energy! I was forced to run a 100 metre once and I thought I was going to keel over afterward!

 

[LizzieMaine]

I grew up in the days of the President's Council on Physical Fitness, so gym was compulsory at every grade level -- there was no sitting out for anyone, for any reason. If you didn't want to participate in a team activity you were expected to run laps, and there were tough, hardboiled gym teachers to make sure you did it.

There were no fat kids in my class. *None.* Quod et demonstratum.

 

[jamespowers]

I grew up in the days of the President's Council on Physical Fitness, so gym was compulsory at every grade level -- there was no sitting out for anyone, for any reason. If you didn't want to participate in a team activity you were expected to run laps, and there were tough, hardboiled gym teachers to make sure you did it.

There were no fat kids in my class. *None.* Quod et demonstratum.

We had that too but there were fat kids in my class---lots of them. lol lol lol

 

[LizzieMaine]

That's what happens when you eat too much paste.

 

[jamespowers]

That's what happens when you eat too much paste.

:rofl: I never could quite understand the draw of that stuff. Too minty.

 

[PoohBang]

maybe the train should get back on it's regular route... Doing a little site seeing in education land isn't it?

 

[jamespowers]

maybe the train should get back on it's regular route... Doing a little site seeing in education land isn't it?

[video=youtube_share;oShTJ90fC34]http://youtu.be/oShTJ90fC34[/video]

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

At my high school the coaches were also the math and science teachers. My science teacher was the tennis coach and one of my math teachers was the baseball coach. Not surprisingly most of the class were the jocks from their teams. And another one of the coaches from my time there is now the principal.

 

[Undertow]

Well, I still do chase women. Nowadays, it's just gotta be downhill.

ound:

 

[jamespowers]

At my high school the coaches were also the math and science teachers. My science teacher was the tennis coach and one of my math teachers was the baseball coach. Not surprisingly most of the class were the jocks from their teams. And another one of the coaches from my time there is now the principal.

Sounds like a conflict of interest there.

 

[sheeplady]

maybe the train should get back on it's regular route... Doing a little site seeing in education land isn't it?

Ok, how about this:
Do people think that the removal of home economics from the curriculum in primary and secondary schools has devalued the stay at home parent or housekeeping in general? Or is the removal of home economics just a symptom of a greater problem of the devaluing of home keeping in society?

I would like to see a general "life skills" curriculum introduced in secondary schools that includes some of the home economics, tech class, and health education I got in school, but really expands into other areas of "homemaking" such as budgeting, loans and credit, small engine repair, basic home repair, caring for children, first aid, etc. Ideally, I'd like to see enough depth in each of these areas that 3 years is required in secondary school, and maybe 2-3 years before entering high school as well. Perhaps it could even begin as early as 2nd grade (about 8 years old) with nutrition, simple cooking, first aid, and things like bike repair.

I think that caring for a "home" is more complicated than we give people credit for as a society.

 

[jamespowers]

Ok, how about this:
Do people think that the removal of home economics from the curriculum in primary and secondary schools has devalued the stay at home parent or housekeeping in general? Or is the removal of home economics just a symptom of a greater problem of the devaluing of home keeping in society?

I would like to see a general "life skills" curriculum introduced in secondary schools that includes some of the home economics, tech class, and health education I got in school, but really expands into other areas of "homemaking" such as budgeting, loans and credit, small engine repair, basic home repair, caring for children, first aid, etc. Ideally, I'd like to see enough depth in each of these areas that 3 years is required in secondary school, and maybe 2-3 years before entering high school as well. Perhaps it could even begin as early as 2nd grade (about 8 years old) with nutrition, simple cooking, first aid, and things like bike repair.

Household Finance should be a class all its own and EVERYONE should be required to take it.
The whole Home Economics is dead out here for the reasons you stated. It was on its way out years ago when I was in school but now it is gone forever so they can teach other worthless courses like underwater basket weaving or some such thing.
I think we have done women and men for that matter, a disservice by eliminating such classes without an equivalent course. Some guy friends of mine took home economics for spurious reasons but a new class like Household Finance could be used by both sexes. All the things I learned in college about finance could be useful to the average person because they finance home loans, get duped by consumer loans and interest rate bait and switch schemes like the difference between APR and the real interest rates.

 

[PoohBang]

back on track... just going a detoured route.

Not all schools have abandoned Home Economics. Many still teach it. It's where I learned to sew.

Not sure about bike repair though? Was that ever offered as a class?

 

[sheeplady]

Not sure about bike repair though? Was that ever offered as a class?

It wasn't where I lived- tech class (I needed to take 2 half year segments of tech) taught mainly woodworking and we did some very simple metal working. We never learned anything about engines or simple mechanical systems. I was thinking along the lines of simple auto maintance (for car bound populations) or bike maintance (for people who lived where bikes are more common).

I was bringing up bike repair for younger people as well, for areas where children own bikes. Something mechanical that could be taught at some level at a young age that would be interesting to children.

Needless to say, although I had a half a year of home ec, and a full year of tech, neither really prepared me for homemaking. And many of my fellow students who weren't taught the skills at home, never learned these skills.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Needless to say, although I had a half a year of home ec, and a full year of tech, neither really prepared me for homemaking. And many of my fellow students who weren't taught the skills at home, never learned these skills.

And there's the rub. In the end, it isn't the responsibility of the schools to teach the kids these sorts of basic life skills, and frankly, if you don't know how to sew a button or wash dishes or cook a simple meal by the time you're in junior high, your parents are the ones who need to be kicked in the backside, not the schools.

 

[PoohBang]

In all honestly, public schools main job is to prepare children for the workforce. The smarter kids can go on to higher learning, but the majority of them are taught how to listen, follow orders and how to read.

I agree it's the parents job or even the kids job to learn how to live day to day.

 

[jamespowers]

It wasn't where I lived- tech class (I needed to take 2 half year segments of tech) taught mainly woodworking and we did some very simple metal working. We never learned anything about engines or simple mechanical systems. I was thinking along the lines of simple auto maintance (for car bound populations) or bike maintance (for people who lived where bikes are more common).

I was bringing up bike repair for younger people as well, for areas where children own bikes. Something mechanical that could be taught at some level at a young age that would be interesting to children.

Needless to say, although I had a half a year of home ec, and a full year of tech, neither really prepared me for homemaking. And many of my fellow students who weren't taught the skills at home, never learned these skills.

We had more specialized areas that took care of those things. Wood Shop, Auto Shop, Metal Shop, Drafting etc.