Life 101

“Life 101 gets them ready for the big world beyond.”  This was the title of an article in the Chicago Tribune yesterday.  It’s about courses that many universities are beginning to offer to help their students be able to manage credit cards, make a plate of pasta, understand the difference between buying and leasing, and know how how to take care of a car.

My first thought was, “What a waste of $3000!”  They could have (and should have) learned all of these things for free.  Here are a couple of quotes from the article which are very telling:  “For many graduates these days, ‘their knowledge of the practical world is remarkably limited.’ . . . From an early age, many children, particularly from affluent homes, ‘don’t hang around the house.  They’re out playing soccer. . .or they’re doing music lessons’. . . . ‘The notion of learning from a tight-knit family community is just part of what has passed’ from American culture.”

A friend of mine just ordered Managers of Their Chores by Teri Maxwell (www.Titus2.com).  I had a chance to glance through it.  If you need help in this area, it’s a wonderful resource.   In it she describes many of the reasons why giving our children regular chores is so important.  One reason is so that they won’t need a course such as the above when they go to college.  Homeschooling is so wonderful in being able to impart all these neccesary skills to our children, while still having time to get a superior academic education and play soccer or take music lessons.  But I like the idea of having a “tight-knit family community” the best!