Article by Hazel Taintor
Video by Sofia Braz
In order to provide seniors with practical information as they begin preparing for the real world, Minarets High School has added a new “Living Pro” class.
The age-old argument stands that schools, while providing students with a large amount of information, do not adequately prepare students for the real world. Minarets High School has sought to remedy this. Living Pro, mandatory for all seniors, essentially teaches students skills they will need throughout their lives.
The class is taught by educator Mikendra McCoy, who explains the essential function of the curriculum.
“Adulting 101. It was intended to fill in the gaps of the things that have been taken out of the curriculum that need to be kind of put back into the curriculum that are necessary for people to function with.”
These include extremely practical skills such as cooking, cleaning, how to take out stains, and sewing. Students will also earn their CPR certification, food handlers licensing, and Microsoft certifications. McCoy says these are “skills that are necessary to survive life.”
The class seeks to not only teach students new skills, but also to relate what they’ve been learning throughout their school careers to their futures.
“Living Pro was designed to try and bring back practical use to the classroom. Because for far too long, classrooms have been isolated experiences of four walls where you’re learning math or science or English and this is a way to truly infuse PBL, which is project based learning,” says McCoy.
Many seniors taking the class are also excited about the topics they will be covering, including senior Jolene Anderson.
“It’s making us think about a lot of things, especially since we’re senior and going to be heading out into the real world soon.”
She is also looking forward to completing her senior legacy experience (SLE) that all must complete to graduate. The class will also be used for students to take these projects a step further and give back to the world and community in new ways.
It will be exciting to see how and in what ways the Living Pro class impacts the Class of 2022.