121 people want more practical life skills to be taught in public schools.

Every student should know the basics about credit cards, balancing a check book, and general finances. They should also be encouraged to take courses about the stock market and real estate.

in addition to many of your comments, there are courses offered for free or little costs at libraries, community /REC centers and through the cities. If you want students to learn more about other stuff, such as diplomacy, courtesy, manners, etc. - there needs to be more time in the school day and/or a required calss - my school starts teaching in jr high - but there's so much more to cover and not enough time toteach it.

Life SKills/Home Ec, etc are usually elective classes student may select in high school - problem is too many don't select it, and those classes have dwindled greatly. I wanted to teach common Life Skills such as basic cooking, cleaning, and budgeting....no jobs avialable.

TRUE...THE MOST BASIC NEEDS ARE FOR EVERYDAY LIVING ARE NEEDED IN SCHOOLS. RESPECT, HONESTY, HANDS ON TRAINING.

True story.... I paid DOUBLE the amount in real estate taxes for 8 years because I didn't know that in my county after purchasing a residence that I was required to go to the Assessor's Office and say "I'm going to live in it." Of course, none of the overpayment was reimbursable because "ignorance is no excuse of the law."

No one ever really taught me how to properly STUDY!!!!!! This should be taught beginning at any earlier age in little bits! And I agree with everything everyone else said! OUR CHILDREN ARE IMPORTANT AND ARE OUR FUTURE!!!!!!!

Maybe manners could be a good thing to teach in school, since not a lot of manners are taught in the home like respect for the elderly, consideration of other peoples space e.g. loud headphones on public transport. Gee Manners cover a lot of thing in each day.

Everything Anne said below plus: learning how to deal with sales people, how to make a monthly budget, things to know to buy a car and not get ripped off, how to know if you are being scammed, obligations of a renter, and learning what other utilities you need to get such as electricity, garbage, water, etc....

How about teaching the kids life skills? LIke cooking, cleaning, sewing, shoping, balancing a checkbook or any financial matter, etc. The list is endless. Simple auto mechanics like changing the oil or tires, first aid, grocery shopping and not just junk food. Parenting classes and how to change a diaper or even how to make the baby clothes or their own. Crocheting is easy to learn, been teaching it to adults for years.

How about insurance, auto, health, life. I'm almost 40 and am still slightly confused. All these things that have been mentioned are the real things kids will use after leaving school.

In Alaska they teach all sorts of "surviving in the wilderness" classes. Each region should have this sort of education. How sad to have to reinvent the wheel in times of severe stress like natural disasters or long term power outages, when there are clever solutions people have forgotten over the years.

So true. Also, social relationships- personal space, topic maintenance, perspective taking, etc. I teach a lot of these skills in my social groups, since I'm a speech pathologist working with kids with Autism, but I think every child would benefit from these lessons.

How about just simple every day economics? Like how credit card interest works, how a mortgage works, how to avoid consumer debt, etc.
I knew a freshman in college who got his first credit cards and maxed it out but and didn't even know he had to pay it back.