The Problem:

In one year, the average student in the United States spends an average of 900 to 1000 hours in school. In that time, a student will learn about the pythagorean theorem, the periodic table, trigonometry and many more things. In those 1000 hours a student may learn how to dissect a frog, but will not leave school armed with the knowledge and ability to perform daily life tasks they must know in order to succeed. We’re not here to discredit the importance of math, english, science and other essential core classes, because the curriculum in those classes have great significance. However, it’s hard to understand why the state would require students to take two credits of art when the majority of students will not use that information outside of high school. Instead, the state should be moving to a more reasonable and effective class that applies to every student,especially one that will remain of use outside the walls of Wayzata.

The Solution:

The solution is as simple as the problem itself. If we want students to leave school accompanied with the knowledge of how to do daily tasks in life we must start with creating a required class. It would teach everything from finances, to first aid, to basic car repairs -all wrapped up and taught in one class. An alternative to just taking one class, schools could offer four different required classes, one for each grade in high school. For example, ninth grade’s required class would teach career exploration, 10th grade would have car and house repairs, 11th grade would be college prep, and 12th graders would learn about finances. Each grade would learn about what applies to their life in that year the most.

Outcome/the effect:

By implementing this requirement, we would expect that students would finally be prepared to live the next stage of their lives. They would be armed with the knowledge to accomplish all of the challenges adulthood will throw at them, an invaluable lesson no doubt. To put the class into effect, the school would have to find the correct teacher to instruct the new curriculum. An appropriate teacher from the FACS department would be suitable. Moving forward, we hope that administration will hear the voices of Wayzata students pleading for a life skills 101 course.