High School purports to teach teenagers all sorts of things, fundamental to their development into vital and effective citizens of their country. However, given the many subjects that are mandatory or taught throughout high schools, one might think, that one of the most vital of these subjects would be about parenting, a role that the vast majority of people in this country, will take on, by design or by accident, in some form of another. Unfortunately, most schools, do not have parenting classes, do not see the value in them, which would be perfectly fine, if society could honestly say that parenting in the whole has never been better, a statement that is false in all of its many aspects.
High school should be about practicalities, that is to say there has to be core knowledge that all teenagers should be knowledgeable of and competent at. Our teenagers need to know how to properly read, write, and do arithmetic, along with a strong moral code, and an understanding of what America is and what it represents; but so too do teenagers need to understand that generations come and generations go, so that one day future generations will be the new children, and today's children will be the old generation.
When one buys medicine, or a high-tech device, or many other things, there are instructions that are included for the proper function and usage of such an item, but when it comes to making children, having children, with the possible exception of sex education, which only essentially deals with the sexual and diseases, there isn't room or time to discuss the vital parenting aspect. The thing is that newborn babies are not self sufficient, and thereby they need caring parents and a skilled parental team to aid in their proper development as well as to protect them, supervise them, and to show demonstrative love to.
Each teenager in high school has a parent or parents in one form of another, of which, many of them probably take what these parents do, what their parents tolerate, how their parents interact with them, for granted, for better or for worst. The opportunity to learn about parenting, enables one to have empathy for parents, to understand the importance of good parenting, of right and wrong; all critical for the development of the right mindset, and of good decision making in general.
It is, and always has been, in the best interest of the State, to have good citizens, and as many good citizens as possible, of which the attributes of a good citizen are very similar to the attributes of a good parent which includes: compassion, responsibility, forgiveness, fortitude, selflessness, dedication, and love. Perhaps your parents are great parents, courses in parenting will help you to understand why; perhaps your parents are poor parents, courses in parenting will help you to avoid their mistakes and encourage you to do better as a parent when that time arrives.
There are many things in school that students do not relate to, or have no interest in, and quite frankly won't make a material difference in their life, and then there are things which are of a lifetime of importance, of which parenting is one of those things, which should be taught and learnt well.