Comments on: 6 classes every well-rounded person needs

By: Dollarfrugal

Dollarfrugal — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:41:09 +0000

How about a nutrition class? Or maybe this could be incorporated into their P.E./homemaking class. So many kids these days (as well as adults) are overweight, and it affects everyone’s healthcare costs.

By: The Financial Blogger

The Financial Blogger — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:32:42 +0000

I don’t know how it is in the States, but in Canada, I only learned “typing” and I did sport at school. For everything else, I had to learn it by myself (personal finance and speaking being rougher to learn by your own!)

By: Lazy Man

Lazy Man — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 06:54:44 +0000

We were required to take cooking (or home economics) in school.

I’ve been thinking of doing Toastmasters as well.

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 03:21:24 +0000

No, speech class was just a high school speech class. I think I may do Toastmasters soon, though.

Home maintenance would definitely be another good one, and ethics/manners would be very good. I’m amazed by how many people have awful manners in this day and age, too. Time management and sales training would be good – I could use those myself.

And to an earlier comment by Mike – I have no idea whether typing is more common nowadays. My sister-in-law, who is just finishing high school, never took it, and I don’t think any of her classmates did, either. You would think they would be taking it, wouldn’t you?

By: guinness416

guinness416 — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:51:59 +0000

Where’d you do the speech class; was it a Toastmasters thing?

Mike’s suggestion of a home maintenance class is great too. I work in construction, which you’d think would help, but after many years of apartment living I still get blindsided by something I “should be” doing every so often with the house.

By: plonkee

plonkee — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:13:00 +0000

Yes, to typing. The amount of practice I’ve had means that I can practically touch type by now and at a good pace, it’s not super fast but it’s good enough. The number of men that I’ve seen that are still practically at the hunt and peck stage is pretty abysmal.

By: Pamela

Pamela — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:17:50 +0000

2 more I’d add – ethics and manners. I head up recruiting for a large company and I can’t tell you how many interviewees (AND interviewers) I have seen who don’t even know the basics of manners. Not taking a phone call during an interview comes to mind as does having a decent handshake (hate those dead fish handshakes), hand over your mouth when you sneeze or cough…and well I could go on and on.

By: fathersez

fathersez — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:17:33 +0000

I am also in agreement, and I would like to toss into the hat, time management and sales training.

Hope the educators are listening.

By: t h rive

t h rive — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:45:08 +0000

Alrighty, I see what you’re getting at.

I agree that the typing class is important; but I think a Business Writing course would be more fitting there. Formal and technical writing skills will take you far in the workplace.

Speech. Yes, nice one. Presentation skills are something that shouldn’t be neglected.

Homemaking, phys ed, and finance – though I wish I have more of em coming out of highschool (finance for sure) – can all be learning by personal reading on the internet and more. Especially with blogs like this, ya know?!

By: deepali

deepali — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 14:49:55 +0000

Completely agree! I’d add into the homemaking course a section on nutrition (or it could be part of phys ed). Now that would save tons on health care costs.

And a double yes on civics. Where I live, a good number of the people that actually show up for jury duty are naturalized citizens.