High school students have a lengthy list of elective classes available, and some choose a class that helps them to become more knowledgeable and better prepared adults.
Appropriately called “Adulting,” the class teaches those “adult” life skills which some students may not necessarily have on their learning radars and which the “adultiest” of adults may have had challenges perfecting.
Like, for instance, how to write a check?
Or, why it’s important to have and how to manage a household budget?
Or, what’s involved with renting an apartment or buying a house?
Or, understanding payroll withholding?
And, how to make a very basic meal so your mother doesn’t think you’re starving?
Confidence for college and the workplace
Jeremy Beamon, one of teachers who instructs the semester-long class, was confident these skills will make life a bit easier for students for when they go to college and, ultimately, the workplace.
“As adults, we can still learn something every day,” Mr. Beamon acknowledged. “We talk about things that adults would have liked to have known about early on, like how to prepare for a job interview, how to deal with those crazy signals that appear on your car’s dashboard, the basics of finance, budgeting and payroll. We’ll soon be talking about basic concepts tied to parenthood and childcare.”
Mr. Beamon added having prior knowledge and awareness of concepts like these can save some stress and help maximize success.
“I think some of them (students) have an idea about some of this,” he added. “But, for other things they don’t, because they haven’t had the exposure.”
For example, one of the issues he’s found is that students need guidance about proper social interaction etiquette.
‘….It’s not okay to curse in public’
“We remind them of the right things to say, and the things you should not say in social situations,” said Mr. Beamon. “For example, it’s not okay to curse in public or talk negatively about someone in the presence of others.”
Proper etiquette extends into a variety of social environments. Next week, his class will take a field trip to the Old Erie Restaurant in Middletown for a lesson in public dining etiquette.
There, the concepts of what’s the proper attire to wear in a restaurant setting will be reinforced in addition appropriate table conversation topics and even the backstory of why a table is set as it is.
Needed life skills for after high school
And, of course, because adults need to eat, Mr. Beamon makes sure they have a lesson in basic meal preparation, since not everyone knows how to cook or is interested in taking a cooking class.
For this particular class, nachos were on the menu. Students were shown how to cut tomatoes and peppers, grate cheese and cook ground beef.
“I wanted to learn more life skills for after high school,” said junior Olivia Schuler, as she watched her friend cut up tomatoes. “I wanted to learn how to make something that isn’t hard to make. Life is all about the food.”
At the stovetop, junior Christian Settle was preparing ground beef for the nachos meal, making sure the meat was cooking evenly before adding a packet of spices.
“This is teaching me how to be an adult and to be responsible and not burn the house down,” he said, noting he was enjoying the basic cooking experience. “I’m learning life skills to prepare me in my life. My mother is going to be impressed.”