Students Learning How to Sew, Tie, Wrap in Life Skills Class

Kids are taught many things in school - Math, English, Science, Geography. But what about the little things? Students at New York Mills Public Schools are being taught the real skills needed in life.

Ninth grade students are required to go through a 6-week Life Skills course where they learn, at their own pace, things like how to sew on a button, tie a tie and wrap a present. Students must also set a table, sort laundry, iron a shirt, write a thank you card and fill out a job application.

In addition to life skills, students are taking Career and Personal Finance classes. All three mini-courses are now required for ninth graders at New York Mills Public Schools in Minnesota, not New YOrk.

But there is a school in Central New York teaching kids life lessons. Canastota Central School 7th graders are learning the ins and outs of owning a home and a car in their Life Skills and Career Exploration lab. Business teacher Jacob Smith is teaching students how to check their car’s oil, jump-start a dead battery, understand the dashboard symbols, repair holes in sheetrock, change a doorknob and install an outlet cover - lessons they'll need and use in the real world.

More schools should teach kids these life lessons. That way they wouldn't have to rely on a kind stranger to stop and help change a flat tire. They won't have to look up what those dashboard lights mean in the car manual, or ignore them hoping they'll go away. Which, by the way, never happens.

Kids should learn about managing money and how to live within their means. How to shop on a budget, how to cook a meal, and how to do laundry. These are the lessons they'll take with them when they graduate.

If anyone has a course on how to fold those darn fitted sheets, sign me up.