Free Republic

Five educators face charges after at least two of them forced a 7-year-old boy to eat his vomit, according to cops in Brownsburg, Indiana. The allegation stems from an incident in February when Sara Seymour, 27, a life skills teacher at Brown Elementary School, allegedly told the victim that if he vomited, he would have to eat it up, officials said. Life skills teacher Julie Taylor, 48, allegedly gave a tray for the child to vomit on. He vomited, and life skills instructional aid Debra Kanipe, 63, gave him a spoon, officers wrote. The 7-year-old was allegedly forced to consume...

There are some students who don’t really speak, who don’t really engage, who don’t show signs of confidence in the classroom. But when that particular child finds a special thing and is energized, and talkative, and proud of what they’ve made or what they’ve learned — a teacher knows he or she has made a real difference in that kid’s life. Anja Cleveland works with fourth and fifth graders to construct wood products at Danielsville Elementary School, and she said she’s seeing that happen on a regular basis, the brightness in the eyes, the silent child speaking, the energy that...

We all remember the endless hours spent in our school classrooms learning about declensions, trigonometry or the French future perfect tense. But it turns out that adults really wish they had been taught practical life skills such as how to change a tire, write a CV or plaster over holes and cracks. Money worries headed up the top 20 list of what parents wish they had learned at school — namely how to save cash, advice on budgeting and how to invest. The survey of 1,000 parents revealed that how to cook everyday meals and how to start a business...

It’s time for another new year, and many people have set their sights on resolutions—things to do differently and, presumably, better during the next trip around the sun. For a good many people, this means learning new homesteading skills to become more self-sufficient. That may lead to leaving the grid for some, but lots of folks these days are just looking to do more for themselves—whether by becoming full-on, self-sufficient homesteaders or simply gaining a little more control over their lives and finances by picking up some new skills. Are you among those people looking to gain some self-reliance this...

For some Americans, going out to dinner is a treat, planned and budgeted for. For others, it’s just another Tuesday night. And Wednesday. And Thursday. And that second group of people is becoming the majority. The number of Americans who enjoy cooking is declining, while the prevalence of food delivery startups, and culinary-centric television shows grows. In the Harvard Business Review, researcher Eddie Yoon shares data he’s gathered over two decades working as a consultant for consumer packaged goods companies. Early in Yoon’s career, he conducted a survey that determined that Americans fell into one of three groups:

Seniors in the class of 2019, however, received one-on-ones with people from the community - teaching things like dorm-room cooking, changing a tire, credit cards and financing. It was an event Christy Hardin, director of the BCHS Family Resource & Youth Services Center, organized for the students. “I think that the idea occurred to me originally, I saw a Facebook post that parents passed around saying they needed a class in high school on taxes, and cooking,” Hardin said. “Our kids can get that, but they have to choose it. And (Wednesday) was a day they could pick and choose...

Recently a UK paper published a survey of the top 30 “basic life skills” fathers are no longer teaching their children. The list, topped off with “building a tree house” and “making a catapult,” reads more like a lament on the invasiveness of modern technology than a realistic parenting critique. I know it’s British, but “playing Pooh sticks” isn’t exactly what I’d dub a “basic life skill” in the twenty-first century.There is, however, a point to be made about what parents aren’t teaching their children any longer. In the era of two-working-parent families with single motherhood on the rise,...

A Reddit user asked people to share life skills you can learn in five minutes Over 1,000 people submitted their suggestions on the thread Ideas include jump-starting a car, learning a magic trick and how to tie a knot From cooking a boiled egg to perfecting a firm handshake, some life skills don't take a lifetime to master. From changing a car tyre to cooking a perfect egg or tying a secure knot, there are useful traits that can be picked up in a matter of moments. When a Reddit user asked people to submit skills that could be learned...

President Obama has not fulfilled his pledge to close the detainee prison at Guantanamo Bay, but he has brought Skype, Playstation3 and "life skills" classes to the detainees at the island facility.

The issue of graduation from home-schooling is one that scares a lot of people. People are concerned that no "real diploma" is given with home-schooling. They think institutions of higher education, career programs or potential employers may look at one's resume and say, "You were home-schooled? What kind of diploma did you get?" Home-schooling families address graduation in various ways. In some, the parents create a diploma for their graduate. In others, the student takes a GED or other nationally recognized test for documentation. Some correspondence programs give a diploma when the student has successfully passed all applicable courses. It...

Tucson LINKS encourages students to get involved in after-school activities. Here, Eli Medvescek, 10, and teacher Laurie Burrell work on a project in Lulu Walker Elementary School's science club. The school found such programs cut problem behaviors. They can be saved, these children who come from homes of addiction and chaos. Schools are helping children to rise above the disarray in their lives, with some of the most basic tasks of parenting falling to teachers. "Kids used to come with life skills, with empathy, with understanding. We have many more kids arriving at the school doors who have not learned...

It's no joke: Young girls in stitchesBy JACOB BENNETT As they tried to thread the needles on their sewing machines, many of the girls raised their hands to ask for help. The 12 young females were at the Hardin County Extension Office in Elizabethtown on Monday as part of a camp to learn what Liz Kingsland considers to be an old-time skill with a new-age twist: sewing for fun rather than to keep clothes on their backs. That twist keeps sewing lessons in big demand these days — both this week's camp and another next week are full with waiting...