×

Bridgeport High School holds ‘Life Skills Day’

TOP LEFT: Auto Mechanic Phil Murad teaches students basic car maintenance skills; including, how to change a flat tire, changing oil, jumping a car, checking tire pressure, among other maintenance skills.

BRIDGEPORT–Bridgeport High School held a “Life Skills Day” on Friday, to assist students in obtaining fundamental skills for day-to-day living.

The Life Skills Day was meant to give students experiences and training in mundane skills such as carpentry, cooking, sewing, laundry, childcare, finances, taxes, household electricity, and car maintenance.

Principal Tom Daley explained that many students miss out on acquiring functional abilities in the academic process, and hoped that Life Skills Day would help educate students outside the textbook.

“Being able to iron, doing laundry, being able to figure out their finances and taxes, working on their car, whatever it might be, those are kind of lost in the shuffle of all the different academic things that have to be done,” Daley said. “We started thinking, we need to schedule specifically a life skills day where we kind of step away from the academia. … We surveyed the kids at the beginning of the year, and asked them ‘what are some things you would like to learn, that you don’t learn in school?’ And naturally they came up with the same kind of ideas, coinciding with the ideas we had.”

Faculty decided to hold the event towards the end of the school year, once all testing was complete, Daley said. Both students and teachers were very excited for the event, he added.

The school was able to get members of the community to assist them with the Life Skills program. Murad’s Auto Repair, Softite Credit Union, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Ohio Means Jobs, and Wheeling Hospital all volunteered their time to help out and participate in the event. Each business taught a specific course pertaining to their business in order to educate students in important life skills.

Daley said that reaching out to these businesses and industries was very easy, and that everyone was more than happy and willing to help out.

Faculty members also instructed some of the courses.

There were a total of 12 Life Skills courses offered. Each high school student, grades 9-12, were able to fill their daily schedule with their choice of six classes. The students were able to choose classes that most interested them. The students then rotated classes throughout the school day. Each class lasted about an hour.

Wheeling Hospital Registered Nurse Cara Gazdik instructed a childcare course where she taught students how to change an infant’s diapers, how to swaddle, and how to administer the heimlich maneuver on an infant, in which you must face the infant face down and smack his/her back five times, with an open palm, in order to dislodge any obstructions. Gazdik also instructed students about having “secret words” in order to alert parents and adults when they feel uncomfortable in situations.

Auto Mechanic and owner of Murad’s Auto Repair, Phil Murad, instructed students on basic car maintenance skills, such as the proper use of jumper cables, checking tire pressure, and changing a flat tire. Murad spoke to students of the importance in knowing these skills.

“At some point, one of you will come outside and your car won’t start,” he said.

Knowing basic automotive skills will help students solve the problem and knowing proper auto maintenance care will help prevent those problems from happening.

Faculty members Mindy Sears and Patty Joseph taught a sewing course allowing students the opportunity to learn how to thread a needle, hem, and sew on a button. Felicia Porter and Georgeann Canter taught an ironing course, where they instructed students on how to wash and separate loads of clothes, fold laundry, fight stains, and how to iron clothes correctly. Jim Swaton taught basic home carpentry.

“There’s always something to do around the house, outside, or in the garage,” Swanton said.

” It’s sad that schools no longer provide programs such as these anymore,” Daley said. “Hopefully similar programs will catch on and more schools will begin to adopt courses that allow students to obtain basic life skills.”

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today