"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

10.16.2010

What I wish I learned in school

Hubby and I were discussing this the other day. I expressed my fear of Ty one day bringing home math that I can't remember how to do... I say 'one day', however I imagine this is likely in the near future. Perhaps 2nd grade. Math was not my thing.
Then it occurred to me that I don't remember how to do it because I don't use it. How many of us really use algebra on a day to day basis? Or even long division? I have a nice, handy calculator on my iPhone that takes care of those daily math challenges, such as halving recipes, or calculating sale prices.
This got me thinking about the stuff I do use on a day to day basis. The stuff I wish I had learned years ago instead of having to figure out on my own. So here is my somewhat complete list of classes I wish I had in high school.

1. Basic yard care- I never learned how to mow a lawn. I'm mostly thankful for this. But I also didn't know you had to deadhead rhododendrons every year. If I'd known this, I may not have talked Mike into buying our first house. The one with at least 4 giant rhodies in the yard. To this day I hate those things.

2. Laundry 101- Yes, it's true... I'm ashamed to admit I never did a load of laundry until my parents went out of town for 2 weeks late in high school and I ran out of clothes. I think Mike had to come over and teach me. I'm sure this is just because my mom, like me, is a control freak. My boys will probably never learn either.

3. Interior painting- Ok, I am awesome at this. Not ashamed to brag a little. I can cut in without tape like nobody's business. However, some people are not awesome at it and we should all learn so maybe there would be fewer stark-white walls in the world.

4.  Garage sale organization and execution- I love garage sales. I love shopping them, and I love having them. It's like playing store. I price everything with neat tags using a tagging gun. I use lots of tables with tablecloths and organized merchandising. No piles of junk on the lawn. Stuff is cleaned first. I hang all nice clothes for easier browsing. I have an organized bookkeeping system and always balance our cash box after the sale. But I've been to sales that are just a mess. The control freak in me wants to take over and reorganize peoples' sales for my own shopping pleasure.

5. Um, grammar? Perhaps some of us could use a little more of this subject? And maybe some more work on spelling? Preventative is not a word. There, their and they're are all different for a reason. Marshmallow is not spelled marshmellow. And it's 'supposed to', not 'suppose to'. Ok, end rant.

6. Parenting! Good grief, I could use some help on this. I imagine most high school students will end up as parents. Hopefully later, but sometimes sooner. A nice, printed manual would be great. And a trouble-shooting guide I could hang in my pantry.

7. Basic car care- My husband is not a car guy. He likes cars, sure. But he doesn't work on them. Nor do I. Nor do I really want to. However, it would be nice to go into Jiffy Lube and not get completely taken advantage of because the sales guy tells me I need 6 different filters plus this service and that service. All of a sudden I've spent $200 on an oil change and I have no idea why. I'm very thankful for a new friend who's husband is a car guy. He has saved me countless times. We all need someone like him, or perhaps just some basic car knowledge so we don't get ripped off.

These classes would have been much more useful than all that silly math. And chemistry. And I get (and support) the concept of physical education, but did we really have to play basketball so much? And why does everyone assume that if you're tall, you must be able to play well?

Wow. Anyone still there? What classes do you wish you had?

4 comments:

Becky said...

Love this. And it's so true. I very much agree with the grammar and spelling. My husband doesn't spell very well, but if he's unsure he asks for help instead of just looking like an idiot. Also, basic car care is good to know. I did take auto shop and it was kind of fun. In high school one class I did take and highly reccommend was how to balance a check book and budget your money. Believe it or nor, this was not a required class. Trust me, it should be. I learned many very valuable life lessons that I can't believe people still don't know. I couldn't remember algebrae if my life depended on it, but I can still balance a check book and budget our money so that our bills are paid...on time! Also, some basic cooking and cleaning would be nice. Stuff that will actualy help you through the day to day of life. I didn't learn how to iron a shirt until this year. (yes it's true, I had to ask my MIL for instructions) This would have been nice to know long ago, but I don't remember a single thing in chemistry and I took it in college too.
Good Blog article Genelle!

Marisa said...

Oh, the English problems. You'd think we could speak and write our OWN language. Like when people say "all the sudden" instead of "all of a sudden." READ, PEOPLE. All these tricky English grammar issues can be solved by READING BOOKS. Yikes.

And I definitely wish we'd had those crying fake babies when we were in high school. I think those might be the greatest invention ever.

Genelle said...

Hahaha, oh the books. Heaven forbid we crack one once in a while. 'All the sudden'... I knew there was another one that drives me nuts!
And Becky, I completely agree about personal finance! That actually was a required class when I was a senior.

Sharon Sheets said...

Genelle, I understand where you are coming from. Ya know we have our grandaughter living with us and she is 13....I can't do her math. They teach it a completely different way than I learned. We are lucky she does well in school and doesn't need much help from us. This is the 3rd year she has been with us.,an 8th grader...high school next year....I just hope she keeps doing well and understands things well, or we would be going back to school. Talk about feeling older than dirt...haha....... I remember short hand in high school,,,,not used at all....texting has its own shorthand.. They do have sex education which I think is important, but I think they should include the fake babies in that class.