A Kentucky high school held an 'Adulting Day', foregoing its curriculum for real-life skills like how to pay bills, change a tire and cook.
High schools might need to start focusing more on real-life issues like handling credit cards or how to behave during a traffic stop.
UTMB Health Behavioral Health and Research director and professor Dr. Jeff Temple is a psychologist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He said with seven teachers and different homework assignments, high school isn't really indicative of real life when in reality we only have one boss.
"I do think that we fail kids, oftentimes with practical issues, like changing a tire and learning to clean and cook," said Temple.
He said teaching adulting should be affirmative, like "you got this", not negative, like "adulting is hard".
"It's not a scary thing, it's a fun experience, and here's how to make it even better," said Temple.
Mainstream Mental Health psychologist Dr. John Huber said every high school student in this country should know basic life skills. Students might never use the science and math they're learning, but will need to know how to pay rent and read and pay their cell phone bill.
"They need daily functioning skills that used to be taught in home economics, but we're moving away from that," said Huber. "As we become more of a technologically-based society, our kids are losing contact with how to do those basic things," said Huber.
Huber said with all the current food delivery services, students should learn how to properly cook and store food safely and not cross contaminate raw foods like poultry with other foods.
Both agree younger folks need to be taught basic communication skills like: how to interact with one another in real life, realize when someone might be suffering, as well as how to act in personal and professional relationships.