What do you wish you had learned as a child?

Question

I am thinking about the next 3 1/2 years of my son's homeschool education.

I think we have the bases pretty well covered but started thinking about the little "big" things that may get overlooked.

Here are some examples of what I mean:

- How to balance a checkbook

- Saving vs. spending / borrowing

- Many people put more thought into purchasing a car than who they marry

- Be careful what you wish for... you may just get it***

- A good education is something no one can ever take away from you***

- Just because someone says the sky is blue does not necessarily mean that it is blue. Learn to think for yourself.***

*** These last three are from my grandmother - who, by the way, was a lifetime first grade teacher.

So... what do you wish you had learned earlier in life?

Answer 1

Honestly, I think these are all things parents should teach their children, regardless if they are homeschooled or not.

Answer 2

I wish I had learned more patience my life wouldn't be so stressful

Answer 3

How to properly use credit and that life isnt always fair!

AND Good manners get you far! NO one likes dealing with a rude ignorant adult!

Answer 4

a second language.

Answer 5

I wish I had learned how to control my temper, the truth about American history, a second language and music.

Answer 6

I wish i would have learned how to be a wife. When i got on my own and met someone I never really understood the sacrifice that it takes in order to be a good wife. I was so used to be independent that i almost drove him away. I think that in itself is the reason why most marriages fail young and old. So he should learn how to treat a woman and also what to look for in a good woman so that he won't have to go through the horrors of divorce.

Answer 7

"That those who stick with you are worth sticking with" also "friends are important" and "lifes love is painfull"

Answer 8

I wished i had learned how to play the guitar

Answer 9

I wish I was stronger in math as a kid. I'm slow at mental math sooo I know if I practised as a kid more, I'd do mental math faster....I'm too lazy to do anything to help it now

Answer 10

piano

Answer 11

physics theories

Answer 12

I wish I had learned that my parents were almost always right! Too bad you can never teach that one!

Answer 13

That the world isn't always a friendly place... I never watched the news much as a child or read the paper, and when I did, the stories were never thoroughly explained to me... so when I got older and started to see all the things that happen in the world... war, hate crimes, scandles, problems with government, economic problems, rapists, terrorists, illness, child abuse, etc... and that it wasn't all saving kittens from burning buildings and so on... Well, it hit me kind of hard and it was a challenge (it is even now) to not become very sinical. I think children should be taught that their world isn't perfect... That there is a lot of good in it, but there is also bad, and they need to understand what's going on around them.

An instrument would have been nice as well, and I DEFINITELY wish I was exposed to more "grown-up" literature, and to more complicated scientific concepts.

Answer 14

i wish to know swimming. Its so important becaase you can use it also to save lives. I lost a job in a cruise for dont know swimming. Also if you are by boat or planes and something wrong happen in the middle of the ocean, i'd help know swimming.

Answer 15

That life hurts once you get to the eight grade.

Answer 16

How to be more political and social.

I was socially inept when I started my professional career.

Homeschooled kids are socialized to be socially inept.

Socialize the more, and I don't just mean at church.

You are also potentially really compromising their ability to be admitted into college.

Answer 17

I wish I'd have learned more about music and foreign languages, had more time for art and science.

Answer 18

Most people are a**holes versus just some....and always watch your back...

Answer 19

I wish I had learned how to pronounce words correctly.  I have a large vocabulary because I read extensively but do not know how to pronounce many words.  Maybe reading a page from the dictionary out-loud would be a good idea.  I mispronounce so many words but here are a few that have embarrassed me:  lapel, etiquette, naive, faux, adequate, Yosemite, grandiose  .....   The list could go on forever!!!!

Answer 20

I was lucky enough to have a really good schooling. All the schools I attended were pilot schools, what meant that they were testing projects and methodologies, and had the most motivated teachers. They encouraged free thinking and thinking outside the box, at the same time, they pushed us beyond our limits, what meant a good challenge for me. I couldn't wait to the next school day!

Socialization was another thing: I was ALWAYS different. I only made boy-friends (I was a girl), because girls my age were already occupied with fashion, church and gossip.

I wish I had learnt:

* That there were other options in life and not only to go with the flow. (different ways of living, different cultures and languages, different religions and philosophies of life, different professions from those of lawyer, physician and teacher, different types of families, etc.)

* That life is change and that what we have now may not be there tomorrow...so it's better to be prepared, and the best to be prepared is education.

* That is better to know the process that the results, because we learn doing the process, and not only learning the facts about the results.

* That there are some basics that we really NEED to know, no matter what. For example, there is no point to know all the "boolean" laws to do research using Internet, if we don't know the basics for that research: How are we going to research about philosophy and know nothing about Plato, Nietzche or Aristotle? We could end up reading about "new age" instead and don't realize that there are much more about philosophy than that.

* I would liked to know about how to guide and teach my own kids (parenting).

* I would like to know more about my parent's philosophies of life, beliefs and motivations.

* About animals and the relationship with them.

* How to survive if we are lost in a forest, island, or if a natural disaster (or war) happens and we have only what we have at home.

* How to drive and how to swimm

* How to cook

* I would liked to travel more and to talk to many different people, from a grocery store man to a scientist. From a Nepal monk to a Christian priest.

* How to exercise and eat healthy and what to do if I become ill.

* First aid.

* How to care for a sick and/or an old person

* How to help someone who is depressed or thinking about suicide

* How to behave in emergencies

And many, many more things that I had to learn, sometimes taking courses, sometimes just clashing here and there.

Answer 21

1. Common first aid such as CPR, the Heimlich maneuver, and what to do if you get attacked by an animal

2. How to mow the lawn

3. That instead of trying to cheat people who are cheating you to just be your own person and let them mess up by themselves

4. How to be either assertive or gentle depending on the situation

5. Everything that you have stated above:-)

Answer 22

I wish that I wouldn't have started smoking at 16 to be cool. Knowing all the risks of cancer and breathing diseases you can and will get.

Answer 23

please teach to your child ou to be kind .respect. caring.

and to believe in our good GOD. to have fate in GOD because GOD is good . to repect you etc. because all the others things they come natural.may GOD BLESS YOU

Answer 24

Even though they do teach about politics in school I wish I paid more attention.  With the election coming up in the fall, there are many things I don't remember.  For example, what is a causus?  an electoral vote,?  How do candidates receive their money?  and the process to getting elected.

Your grandmother was a smart woman.  Those are some really good life lessons.  

How about there is no such thing as a free meal.  Everyone expects life to be given to them on a silver platter these days.  Hard work and determination are usually forgotten.