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qwlauren35

(6,112 posts)
Sat Feb 6, 2021, 08:37 PM Feb 2021

My second letter to the President - I'm on a roll.

Hello Mr. President, please route this letter to your Education Secretary. Their website didn't have a link like this.

There are two things I want to write about. Trade schools and home economics.

When I went to the US Dept. of Education web site and searched on Trade Schools and Vocational Education, I saw nothing recent. That should not surprise me - I am sure that it was not a priority for the previous Education Secretary. However, I am hoping that it will be a priority for you. We desperately need young people to go into the trades. We need technicians who can fix robotics. We need technicians who can fix cars, trains, airplanes. We need plumbers, carpenters, electricians. We cannot do without these people, and we need to have a plan for the next generation of young people to enter these trades. I'd like to know what the plan is. Within the first 100 days would be nice.

Second, is home economics, or adulthood preparation. I have a niece who finished high school without any adulthood preparation. And she is a basket-case. She doesn't know how to register a car. She doesn't know how to register to vote. She doesn't know how to find a doctor. And this is at age 24. We won't even talk about whether she knows how to save money. I briefly taught at a high school and encountered a child who didn't know how to make change. I tutored her. How else would she ever get a job in retail. I know that it would be one more burden on teachers... so maybe we can have afterschool programs that teach it. And the US Dept. of Education could provide guidance and grant money. And a curriculum. I am okay if this doesn't happen in the first 100 days, but maybe in the first year?

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My second letter to the President - I'm on a roll. (Original Post) qwlauren35 Feb 2021 OP
Kind of Rebl2 Feb 2021 #1
"We need to teach critical thinking period!" handmade34 Feb 2021 #2
By example qwlauren35 Feb 2021 #3

Rebl2

(13,311 posts)
1. Kind of
Sat Feb 6, 2021, 09:46 PM
Feb 2021

think learning to register a car and finding a doctor should be a parents responsibility. My parents taught me that kind of thing, not school. I also figured out on my own at 18 back in the 70’s how to register to vote. Back in the 70’s we had civics class and we learned about how state and federal government works. They don’t seem to have that in many school districts these days. That needs to change. We also need to teach critical thinking possibly.

handmade34

(22,755 posts)
2. "We need to teach critical thinking period!"
Sat Feb 6, 2021, 10:24 PM
Feb 2021

there should be no maybes (yes, and Civics)... parents have differing levels of ability to teach their children... schools are supposed to be the great equalizers so there is a better chance of all/most starting out on the right footing

qwlauren35

(6,112 posts)
3. By example
Sat Feb 6, 2021, 10:54 PM
Feb 2021

My parents didn't "teach" me, but I saw how important choosing the right doctor was, and I figured it out.

If your parents don't have a car, they won't be able to teach you.

Here's the thing. The number of things we have to know how to do in order to be adults is very long. If our parents are doing these things, we pick up on it, and then we get into the world and we might say, "Hey mom, how do I do X"... and you have them as a resource.

We have young people in America who don't have strong parents. And if you don't have strong parenting, it's a crap shoot whether you figure these things out or not. And if you don't figure these things out, there are people who will take advantage of you.

I think I am saying this because there are young people coming into my life who did not have strong parents. And maybe that's unfair, and perhaps there are people whose parents didn't have: the self-awareness or the education or the background or the knowledge or the time or the interest to teach their children how to make it in the world. It could be any one of those holes. I don't want to judge.

I just want to help those children.

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