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>We’ve got to do a better job of teaching financial literacy in this country. Reducing the complexity of every day finances would be a much better option. We c

>We’ve got to do a better job of teaching financial literacy in this country. Reducing the complexity of every day finances would be a much better option. We can't keep trying to cram more course work into high school/college to fix society's complexity (and maintain the same time frame). We can't even address teacher quality-of-life and pay for the regular course work. And also, RVs and mobile homes should not cost near what they do for the shit that they are, and there shouldn't be a rent/own situation with mobile home lots.

hollywood_court 4y ago
There used to be a class in junior high and high school called “Home Economics.” People will give you varied opinions on why we know longer have that class, but it certainly was useful.
- MaxDPS 4y ago
  Those classes are still around, in California (Los Angeles) at least.
- MonkeyMalarky 4y ago
  Wait, what did you learn in home ec? I had that class but learned things like sewing and baking.
  - hollywood_court 4y ago
    How to balance a budget and a checking account. How to plan purchases for the month such as grocery lists. And the other stuff like cooking and sewing buttons onto clothing.
    - MonkeyMalarky 4y ago
      That makes sense, I guess I got a watered down version. The amount of deviation out there is wild. At least with math you can have clear and translatable standards. For home ec, I've met people whose classes basically ran the school's lunch and breakfast programs. I don't think the kids where I'm from could've handled that responsibility.
Dalewyn 4y ago
For all the time and effort/money we invest into education, the education system never seems to teach students what is actually required in life. Personally, I never had so much as a single class/lesson on any of life's necessities: Taxes, credit cards, banking, and other financial know-how for day-to-day life; cooking; laundry; driving a car; fundamental electric and plumbing know-how; etc.; and I forever detest society for failing/ignoring me. We demand kids to spend at least a decade and a half of their lives in school. I ask you: Why the fuck are we teaching them worthless things like calculus and programming and world history and wasting their (and our) time? Their time would be far better served being taught how to crunch and file their annual taxes. How financial debt (read: loans and credit cards) works. How to operate a car so nobody gets runover. How to clean their own clothes and bedsheets. How to fix a leaky faucet or a faulty electrical appliance (Britons were once taught how to wire their electrical gadgets in school).
- imtringued 4y ago
  The point of school is to instill obedience and conformity.
  - Dalewyn 4y ago
    Sure, but you can't conform and pay taxes like an obedient plebeian if nobody teaches you how to file your taxes every year.
    - stocknoob 4y ago
      Why can’t they teach me very specific forms that change every year, instead of the general ability to understand a set of instructions?
- Dave3of5 4y ago
  Eek what a hot take. This sounds particularly like a US centric view of the education system. In Scotland we were taught a lot of the things you have mentioned although: * fundamental electric and plumbing know-how I disagree, these two things are dangerous when done incorrectly and are regulated industries in most countries. People with a little knowledge are dangerous. If you want to understand electrical you need to be full time on that for a while. School is for foundational things like can you read and do Maths. > Why the fuck are we teaching them worthless things like calculus and programming and world history How are these things "worthless" says a lot about you if you think world history is worthless ... > Their time would be far better served being taught how to crunch and file their annual taxes Again this is very much a US centric viewpoint in UK for example you don't need to know this as the government does it for you. > How to operate a car so nobody gets runover There is a whole industry that you pay money to do this. Operating a car is a dangerous activity and must be taught correctly. It also requires you actually drive in a car the practicality of teaching a whole school this just isn't there. > How financial debt (read: loans and credit cards) works You do get taught this at school I remember going through these types of examples. > How to clean their own clothes and bedsheets We had a course that everyone had to attend called "home economics" which taught this sort of thing. I think the name has changed. It also covered basic cooking. > How to fix a leaky faucet or a faulty electrical appliance Not sure you've thought that through but an incorrectly repaired electrical appliance can burn your house down and an incorrectly fixed leaky faucet can flood your house. > Britons were once taught how to wire their electrical gadgets in school They still are! In Scotland it was called technical studies and taught things like basic woodwork with handtools and how to wire a plug that sort of thing.

hollywood_court 4y ago

There used to be a class in junior high and high school called “Home Economics.” People will give you varied opinions on why we know longer have that class, but it certainly was useful.

MaxDPS 4y ago
Those classes are still around, in California (Los Angeles) at least.
MonkeyMalarky 4y ago
Wait, what did you learn in home ec? I had that class but learned things like sewing and baking.
- hollywood_court 4y ago
  How to balance a budget and a checking account. How to plan purchases for the month such as grocery lists. And the other stuff like cooking and sewing buttons onto clothing.
  - MonkeyMalarky 4y ago
    That makes sense, I guess I got a watered down version. The amount of deviation out there is wild. At least with math you can have clear and translatable standards. For home ec, I've met people whose classes basically ran the school's lunch and breakfast programs. I don't think the kids where I'm from could've handled that responsibility.

Dalewyn 4y ago

For all the time and effort/money we invest into education, the education system never seems to teach students what is actually required in life. Personally, I never had so much as a single class/lesson on any of life's necessities: Taxes, credit cards, banking, and other financial know-how for day-to-day life; cooking; laundry; driving a car; fundamental electric and plumbing know-how; etc.; and I forever detest society for failing/ignoring me. We demand kids to spend at least a decade and a half of their lives in school. I ask you: Why the fuck are we teaching them worthless things like calculus and programming and world history and wasting their (and our) time? Their time would be far better served being taught how to crunch and file their annual taxes. How financial debt (read: loans and credit cards) works. How to operate a car so nobody gets runover. How to clean their own clothes and bedsheets. How to fix a leaky faucet or a faulty electrical appliance (Britons were once taught how to wire their electrical gadgets in school).

imtringued 4y ago
The point of school is to instill obedience and conformity.
- Dalewyn 4y ago
  Sure, but you can't conform and pay taxes like an obedient plebeian if nobody teaches you how to file your taxes every year.
  - stocknoob 4y ago
    Why can’t they teach me very specific forms that change every year, instead of the general ability to understand a set of instructions?
Dave3of5 4y ago
Eek what a hot take. This sounds particularly like a US centric view of the education system. In Scotland we were taught a lot of the things you have mentioned although: * fundamental electric and plumbing know-how I disagree, these two things are dangerous when done incorrectly and are regulated industries in most countries. People with a little knowledge are dangerous. If you want to understand electrical you need to be full time on that for a while. School is for foundational things like can you read and do Maths. > Why the fuck are we teaching them worthless things like calculus and programming and world history How are these things "worthless" says a lot about you if you think world history is worthless ... > Their time would be far better served being taught how to crunch and file their annual taxes Again this is very much a US centric viewpoint in UK for example you don't need to know this as the government does it for you. > How to operate a car so nobody gets runover There is a whole industry that you pay money to do this. Operating a car is a dangerous activity and must be taught correctly. It also requires you actually drive in a car the practicality of teaching a whole school this just isn't there. > How financial debt (read: loans and credit cards) works You do get taught this at school I remember going through these types of examples. > How to clean their own clothes and bedsheets We had a course that everyone had to attend called "home economics" which taught this sort of thing. I think the name has changed. It also covered basic cooking. > How to fix a leaky faucet or a faulty electrical appliance Not sure you've thought that through but an incorrectly repaired electrical appliance can burn your house down and an incorrectly fixed leaky faucet can flood your house. > Britons were once taught how to wire their electrical gadgets in school They still are! In Scotland it was called technical studies and taught things like basic woodwork with handtools and how to wire a plug that sort of thing.