This article was written by guest writer, Nicholas Kwok
Today’s teenagers tend to focus on academics and extracurricular activities, often disregarding the importance of basic life skills. For example, they lack experience cooking a simple meal and even dealing with personal finances. In addition, with the growth of technology, home/life economics classes have become less sought-after. If students attended classes that taught these essential skills, they would be able to finish high school not only academically prepared but prepared for life.
Cooking is a vital life skill that can influence creativity, perseverance and encourage healthy eating habits. Creativity takes place in the collection of ingredients, the preparation of foods and the presentation of a plate. Each aspect of cooking enables the chef to experiment with what they like and dislike. As people appreciate the meals assembled by the chef, confidence is gained due to words of encouragement and progress over time. When cooking at home, the cook has the ability to make healthy food choices and teach their family about the benefits of eating vegetables, fruits and proteins. With cooking at home, future generations will be positively influenced by the exposure to healthy food choices and improve their long-term overall health.
With a home economics class in place, high school students would gain knowledge on basic finance skills like balancing a checking account, using credit cards or paying taxes. Students must learn to open, maintain and manage their accounts regularly. They are often easily entangled in unnecessary debt because they are unaware of credit card risks. Overspending and not managing their accounts based on their budgets can lead to severe financial problems. Moreover, learning how to pay taxes is a valuable skill because it helps during adulthood and demonstrates a sense of shared responsibility. When citizens pay taxes, it contributes to the greater good of the country, aids in paying for public accommodations and even supports the salary for police officers and firefighters. If there was a class that taught these critical finance skills in high school, future graduates would be much more prepared. Students would learn how to properly budget their money and acknowledge what they can and cannot afford while dealing with living expenses.
Providing these classes for students will benefit students worldwide. This will improve their college experience and life thereafter. Home economics classes that used to be a part of the high school program need to be reintroduced into today’s society. Subject matters should include curriculum ranging from cooking and nutrition to budgeting and personal finances. With the implementation of such classes, high school graduates will have a helping hand that guides them through their new life.
