eroticohio asked:
Be sure to offer some thoughtful reasons for your answer. If your answer is yes, then what are some of the things that you think should be taught in such a class?
Be sure to offer some thoughtful reasons for your answer. If your answer is yes, then what are some of the things that you think should be taught in such a class?
Since a lot of people might not have considered this idea, here is a brief argument in favor: Parenting is certainly among the most important job in the world, and it is not something that everyone is just naturally good at. We teach every child to do math problems (or at least we attempt to), even though a lot of them will end up doing very little beyond basic arithmetic in their adult lives. Why? Because they might need these skills at some point. And besides, it is good for young brains to be exposed to certain ways of thinking. Couldn’t this same argument be applied to parenting – especially since most people will actually become parents at some point, and parents literally have children’s lives in their hands?
Tom
Anthony
No, I don’t think it should be required, because not all students will become parents. Instead, it should be offered as a strongly recommmended elective.
Jose
I don’t think that it should be a required course because some may choose not to be parents in their adult life…and also you have to take homosexuals into consideration because they will naturally not have children and may choose not to adopt a child.
Francisco
You make a good argument, but I would still have to say no. Parenting should not be a required high school course, for the following reasons:
1) Public schools have enough trouble teaching the things they actually exist to teach; reading, mathematics, science, history - the basics. Partly this is because we load them with too much else. Adding a parenting class requirement would distract them further from their main mission.
2) HS students would largely regard parenting class as another blow-off class like health or DARE. Kids know when they’re being indoctrinated. Few would take it seriously, and neither would the teachers if the kids weren’t.
3) As previously mentioned, schools have enough trouble teaching the basics. There’s no reason to believe they would do a good job teaching parenting.
4) Even if the previous three problems did not exist, there’s still this: government oversteps its boundaries if it tries to promote a certain set of family values, through the schools or any other way, even if its intentions are good. The “parenting skills” taught in these classes would inevitably conflict with the values of many families.
5) The politics surrounding public schools being what they are, the parenting courses would immediately become the target of huge loads of political correctness and attempted social engineering, further aggravating the situation in point four.
So, although I sympathize with your desire to help young people become better parents, I don’t think the public schools are the place to do it. Best regards to you just the same though.
Jesse
Yes- parenting or at least some kind of child development or child psych… combined with a sex ed- at least the part about efectiveness of various kinds of birth control and info about STD’s…. like “Abstinance is the only sure way to avoid all STD’s, including pregnancy…” or “A 5-yr-old is egocentric. She thinks that her behavior and actions are the cause of everything else happening…” and so on…
Another answer mentioned homosexuals lack of need for this type of education- if they choose to adopt, aren’t they still parents? Aren’t they still responsible to love and teach those children?
Many people are placed in a parental role, not always by choice. I don’t think anyone can get through life without contact with children- their own offspring, nieces/nephews, grandchildren, the neighbor kids, babysitting, etc. Understanding how kids at different ages think is vital for these relationships.
I am not a parent, but my church has asked that I care for and supervise the little ones while their parents are in their classes. These children are between 18 months and 3 yrs old. I am grateful for what I know about children. Because of my college human development classes, I know what to expect from these kids- behavior, attention span, etc.
No, the public school system is not very well equiped to, nor should they teach ethics, but they can teach statistics, trends, and the typical development of infants, children and teens.
Allen
Absolutely. Having been involved in foster parenting and seeing the results of unequipped parents in the public schools, I would have to say yes. Somewhere along the line, we have to make people aware of/ responsible for their actions especially when it involves children. I know the public schools are bursting at the seams with requirements, I teach in one, but something has to change for our children. Maybe we should require classes prior to registering for a birth certificate or SSN. Whatever we do or don’t do, children are the ones who have to live with the effects.
Jerome
Yes parenting skills are a prerequisite and should be required. But who teaches them is very important. They should be taught by people who have demonstrated parental skills, people whose self taught children grew up well taught.
Gladys
The high school my son attends has a course that deals with healthy living. This includes teaching “life skills” such as exercise, diet, environment, etc. It goes beyond a regular health class. Perhaps parenting skills could be put in with such a course. I remember seeing on the news when I was a teenager where some schools actually had teenagers toting flour bags around and treating it as if it were a baby. The people who participated in it loved the idea. It made them think twice about getting pregnant. Maybe that’s what we need today as part of a health course or a life skills course.
Brandon
At that age students have enough internal resolutions to do over the environment, their body chemistry, relating with others, issues of identity and acceptance, peer pressure. I can go on and on. A formal course in parenting be an added stress on an already loaded existence. Even for mature adults parenting basics become useless because no two children are alike. You cannot use the criteria for one on another.Even twins would not accept being treated the same sometimes.
What impacts on our children..electronic as well as the print media (pushing violence, outrageous fashion, dance/music, sex, drugs, the occult etc etc) already create a strong current through which each child has to swim praying he/she will come up safe. There is more to parenting than what can ever be taught in a class. Unconditional love, compassion, discipline, companionship..just being there at every stage of life, building confidence sense of worth cannot be taught in class. Besides its only when you have a handle on yourself that you can be useful to another. High School is definitely not that time.
Tyler
I think ya because you have to learn how to be a good parent. The parenting classes could just be the fine line of a perfect parent and a abusive or neglectful parent. If all students were requier to learn it no one would have an excuse for being a poor parent. I just finished a parenting class and I learned alot! I think it could make a BIG difference if it was requierd!
Marlene
yes it is very importtion for that education because there is alot of teen pregency and young teenagers don’t have a clue about what a new born baby is all about so that program will help with that
Glenn
no two kids are alike, so classes aren’t that good. my parents have been to classes in highschool and ever since they had children. it doesn’t work when you have one bipolar child, and one with a rare form of autism. there is no class that can prepare you to cope with my brothers.
on the other hand classes are good because if you can cope with the stress of a child, you are less likely to beat them like my parents do to me. i don’t know, but i think it should be up to the kids
Troy
the class should be offered, but to the parents themselves, not the students. parents are quick to defend their children against teachers, no matter what the situation. let the parent go to school and see how their child acts all day, then send the parent to class.
Laurie
I don’t think so. Some ppl don’t wanna be parents and they could be taking classes they need toward the career or lifeskills they want.
Cheryl
It would be much more sensible to ensure that teachers have all been properly trained and taught something about how to look after children.Since they spend more time at school than being parented,children learn most of their child minding skills from watching how teachers deal with children. Parental responsibility and influence is always looked at unfavourably by people in authority.
April
i think it should be there!because in future in any part of life it is needed!it helps to manage the young people.may be we are gen X but somwhere in life we have to play the role of parent…..and for today’s generation it must be….to lead a better life……….
Angela
No. Just a single word to say so!!
Well, that, it depends, you know?