Kids can study all sorts of neat things in high school these days -- from how to make video games to the basics of a crime scene investigation. But one school is really changing the face of education with its newest slate of classes for teenage boys. Now these kids can turn to their male teachers to learn everything from how to shave to lessons on how to pick up girls.
And to think we had to learn those things the old-fashioned way: from our peers!
The classes at Chase High School in Essex, England, are certainly unusual. But the more I think about it, the more I like the sounds of classes where young boys are taught how to treat a lady.
In fact, I'd like to see more classes like this over here on this side of the pond, where one in three kids is being raised without a dad in the picture. This is not a knock on single moms; I promise. It's merely an acknowledgement that being a teenage boy is hard, and they can always use more role models to teach them what not to do ... especially when it comes to girls!
According to the folks at the Chase school, the classes were designed to help boys who don't have a male role model in their lives, and there's a lot more than just learning "how to pick up chicks." The boys also learn how to save money and take part in sports with their mentor. Essentially they're learning many of the things they'd learn from their parents ... only it's coming from an outside source, someone who they might be more willing to open up to during those tough teenage years.
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Any class of this type should be up to parents to opt their teens in or opt them out, of course. Parents' personal values won't always be shared by school staff, and when it comes to tough topics such as relationships, aparent should have first crack at the discussion.
Still, I can't imagine it would hurt for kids to have a second opinion, so to speak -- even boys who have a dad at home who throws the ball around and talks about dating or a mom who does the same thing. In a culture that has spawned the horrors of Steubenville, our teenage boys could always use MORE education on appropriate relationships with teenage girls, not less.
What do you think of these classes being offered at a school? Would you sign your son up?
Image via rafael-castillo/Flickr