PawPaw reminds us...
...that "'Specialization is for insects.'"
I think we need to toss in to his list "Changing a tire."
Perhaps we should add in:
--Give a concise report of the meaning and subtext of a novel, and
--Handle weapons safely and competently.
Years ago, we would have said that these are things a man should be able to do. Nowadays, I believe that the bar has moved to encompass all adults.
Can your kids do these things? If not, why not? What's your schedule and method to train them to do them? Don't expect your school to do it-- if they cover a third of the items on the lists, you should count yourself lucky.
Labels: Adulthood, duty, education, Other blogs, philosophy
posted by Matt G @ 2:57 PM
2 Comments:
I've been kicking this one around for a little while--it started as "what should a high school graduate be able to do?". Here's what I came up with:
--Balance a checkbook;
--Read and understand a typical newspaper article;
--Write a coherent letter to the editor;
--Plan and cook a week's worth of healthy meals;
--Perform basic hygiene of person and clothing;
--Run a continuous mile;
--Identify the US and 20 other countries on an unlabeled political map of the world;
--Understand STDs and pregnancy and how to avoid undesired ones;
--Drive a stick shift, parallel park, jump-start a car and change a tire;
--CPR and basic first aid
--Find information on the internet and operate (not necessarily program) a modern computer;
--Basic self-defense (including situational awareness and non-lethal options).
I changed a tire AND handled weapons safely and competently today.
Went out to shoot some ground squirrels today with my brother and father. There weren't very many, but we got some rounds through the .22's, my Rem 870 12 gauge (just for kicks) and my father's Winchester 1886 in .38-56 (which we were mostly checking to see it if worked safely by propping it up on bench rest bags, tying a string to the trigger, backing off 20 or so feet, and pulling. Not the best way to check, but there aren't any gunsmiths in the area. Turns out the gun works just fine, though).
Then, as we were investigating another canyon for ground squirrels (we only saw two the whole day, which is unusual), we got a flat. Changed it out went home.
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