Tag: education

If only I learned this in high school

Taylor BurianLeave a comment

What class do you wish was taught in high school?

https://thecoffeemonsterzco.com/blogs/midnight-blogging/journaling-prompts

I hate to think about it because it kind of makes me feel old now, but I graduated from high school almost 19 years ago (which means next year would be my 20 year reunion, yikes). Looking back at the years I spent in two very different high schools, and the class offerings, it’s hard to decide what kinds of classes I wish I had available to me. Of course, things have likely changed since my time.

I remember seeing people on social media bringing up this kind of idea many times before, and one of the usual requests/recommendations is that they wish they had classes for things like Personal Finance or something akin to Home Economics. While I agree that those would have been very beneficial, I also think that some of those topics should definitely come from parents because they would have a better understanding of how to handle their own unique living situations, and the classes would just be an extension of that knowledge to help improve things. (Personally, from what I’m hearing these days, parents need to be more involved in their children’s lives in general, but that’s a whole different rant.)

As for my own personal answer to the prompt, I’d have to say I wish there was a class focused on diet and nutrition. Home Economics classes might teach a lesson or two in cooking, and I was fortunate to learn a few things in the Catering classes that my first high school offered, but none of that covers diet and nutrition, or eating healthier and developing healthy eating habits.

Well, that’s just what I wish for, but again, it could fall in the category of Parental Responsibilities like I was touching on earlier. And who knows, maybe there are some high schools out there that do offer diet and nutrition classes. If there are, they weren’t anywhere near me.

Something learned in high school

Taylor Burian2 Comments

Describe something you learned in high school.

I think I’ve forgotten just about everything I learned in high school (which isn’t difficult to do considering I procrastinated, napped, and slacked off the whole time.) In some ways it’s a miracle I graduated at all.

However, there are still some things rolling around upstairs that I can dig out.

The opportunities I had in high school in Colorado were different from the ones I had here in South Dakota. For instance, Physics was a Senior only class out here but I had started it in my Junior year before moving away from Colorado. After we moved (and an additional few weeks or so off) and I was able to go back to school I found out that the curriculum was a couple months behind what it was in Colorado. Similarly, reading and English was a little behind. It had never occurred to me before then, but that’s when it dawned on me that educational standards varied across the country.

Another variation: small farm towns in South Dakota prioritized offering Agriculture and Farming classes, as well as some practical skills. I didn’t retain much from the Ag classes, but I do remember a decent amount from the Welding class. (Yes, we had an entire class dedicated to welding, and it was awesome.)

Thinking about it now, I’m curious to learn just how different the educational curriculum is in many parts of the country and the rest of the world. What kinds of information and skills are prioritized?

A wonderful teacher

Taylor BurianLeave a comment
Daily writing prompt
Who was your most influential teacher? Why?
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This is going to sound a little weird. I don’t know that I could qualify a teacher in my life who had the most influence on me. However, I can say that I know a teacher who qualifies beyond that on the influence she has had on the lives of my family and friends.

Roughly 20 years ago, when my family still lived in Colorado, Kelly Gibson was my teacher, and my sister’s teacher before me. She taught English and Theater. Sadly, I had other English teachers, so I had the amazing chance to have her as a teacher for one Theater and Improv class instead.

As I recall, my sister had started participating in theater before high school, and my mom helped with costumes and makeup, so if anyone could share more information about Kelly it would be them. If this leaves you wondering why I would bring her up as an influential teacher despite my limited time with her, it’s because of the reach she has managed to develop in the years since.

If you know who Guy Kawasaki is, you may have heard him talk with Kelly on his podcast Guy Kawasaki’s Remarkable People. If not, you can listen to the particular episode on Spotify here. (If you don’t use Spotify, I’m sorry, but you can look it up by title “Kelly Gibson: The Real World of a Public School Teacher”.)

So, while she may not have had the level of influence on me that I may have hoped for when compared to the time my sister got with her, you can hopefully tell just how influential she is even if I don’t have anything to provide as an answer to the prompt.