dstieger wrote:The devil's advocate in me is suggesting that those 'life skills' are more YOUR responsibility to teach than the school's.
For those that accept the premise that some exposure to the liberal arts mentioned are of some import.....well, then a school might be better positioned to provide that instruction than most parents...
This is the way I feel. . .
Having, culture to the curriculum helps make our students more well rounded and teaches to appreciate things they can't do with a calculator(and this is coming from an engineering major. . . )
Additionally, multiple studies have actually shown that students who take some time to learn some of the "arts" actually go on to perform better in the core classes that teach how to write and multiply and stuff. . .
BTW, I freaking love the rule of 72 and didn't need a special class to learn about it. I learned it as 1 small par of a basic math class in jr. high. .
Oh, and the art of "balancing a checkbook" is way over rated in today's electronic banking world. More appropriate is "how to create a budget and live within it", which I'm afraid is best taught by example. . .