It is no secret that I am a family and consumer science teacher. I believe what I teach is not only important, but absolutely vital. But every so often I encounter a parent who says something like “I teach them that at home.” I smile and try to be polite when I hear that.

So… let’s see. That means you have taught your teen:

* that the milk most teens should be drinking is not 2%

*what vitamin is needed at the very beginning of pregnancy to prevent birth defects

*where to check their credit report for free each year (Hint: It isn’t freecreditreport.com or freecreditscore.com.)

*how to enhance brain development during their baby’s first year of life

*how to repair clothing so it doesn’t need to be thrown out

*the difference between monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat on cholesterol levels

*the provisions of the Credit Card Act of 2009 and how they will be affected

Oh, you haven’t taught them these things yet? Do you know them yourself?

This is just the beginning of what I teach. Yes, it is true. There are many things I teach that could be taught at home. Then again, you know how to read. Why not just teach them English at home? You know at least a little about history. Why not just teach it at home? You know how to add and subtract, for goodness sake. Why bother with algebra and calculus? Who uses it anyway?

We encourage them to take these classes because we don’t want our children to just know what we know. We want them to go farther in life than we have. We want them to be successful, even more successful than we are.

So, let me ask you, do you want your children to be less healthy than you? Do you want them to be worse off financially than you? Don’t you want them to go farther in these areas as well?

Maybe it is time to make room in your teen’s schedule for a family and consumer science class.