Life lessons that could be taught in high school

Scott Schmeltzer, Thanks for Listening

Published Thursday, September 17, 2009

With school back in session last week I started to think about classes that should be taught in high school. You know the classes that would help the kids out in the real world. I thought what classes would have really helped my children who are now adults cope in the real world.

The first class that needs to be offered is checkbook/check card/credit class. We could call it CCC class. CCC would teach you how in the real world credit card companies will come after you and offer you free money, but it is not free. Beware of things that are too good to be true.

This class will show you how an Abercrombie and Fitch T-shirt bought on credit at $29.95 will eventually cost you $7,345. The CCC class should also teach you that balancing your checkbook is a good thing. The goal of a checkbook is to keep more money in it than you spend. If you have $200 in your checkbook, and you spend $300 then you will be $100 short and the bank will charge you $35 to $50, thus starting a really bad circle that usually ends like this: “Dad, the bank really screwed up, and I need to borrow like $300 from you so they don’t charge me anymore.”

First, it is not the bank’s fault. It is your fault for overspending. Secondly, who is this? Not my 16- to 23-year-old offspring that knows it all and is about to take over the world? OK, so you see that this CCC class is really needed. A major CCC prerequisite should be called, Here Is Your Cell Phone. Now You Pay For It. It should be mandatory for the student to buy, take care of, and work for there own cell phone, texting, etc without any help from the parents. It would be a good starting out point to CCC class.

Scott Schmeltzer

The next class I think would be helpful is about how high school is not the end of your life, just the beginning. It could be called Get Over It class and be taught by people who were taunted and teased in high school but are unbelievably successful now. Too many kids get wrapped up in the high school angst and games that take place. Too many kids only see a week in front of them and not the big picture.

High school is just a blip on your map of life. Have fun and do not take things so seriously. I cannot tell you how many times I heard my kids say, I will just die if I don’t pass this test, or, I will just die if this girl doesn’t go out with me. Really, I have never seen some child explode and die right on the spot after getting either rejected or failing a test. It just does not happen. It may be a set-back, but get over it!

A third class I would like to see offered is Scared Straight. This was a show many years ago about bringing high school kids to jail to show them what it is really like. The class would be taught by ex-convicts in the following areas: drugs, drunken driving, rape, arson and other crimes. This class would be a really good deterrent to the arrogance and cockiness that goes along with the age of teens and the no-fear syndrome that they show.

I think if more kids saw real life consequences of actions that other kids have gone through, it would trump any book you could have them read.

The final class that would be good is Bullying 101. It would be taught by a combination of adults who when they were kids were bullied and adults that when they were kids were the bullies. It would be interactive, and role playing should be a big part of this class. It should teach kids that bullying is never to be tolerated and how hurtful it can be. The point of this class should be sharing ideas and opening children’s minds to how to get along despite differences they will face. Civil rights for all would be included in this class and all the students would have to do a pay it forward project to pass this class.

Well, that concludes my stroll down the high school aisles and my thoughts on what classes should be taught. Feel free to add your own as I am sure every one has one or two true lessons they would like to teach kids.

Tribune Publisher Scott Schmeltzer’s column appears every Thursday.

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