‘Adulting 101’ class teaches students how to survive in the real world after high school graduation

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - It seems like children everywhere want to grow up and be an adult, but when they actually do grow up and realize that they’re an adult, they want to go back to being a child again.

If you look up the word “adulting” in the dictionary, you will see it explained as “the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks.”

In an effort to prepare for the real world after graduation, seniors at Fern Creek High School took a crash course in adulting, with a class called “How To Adult 101.”

"The term ‘adulting’ has been a big thing lately,” College Access Resources teacher Sara Wilson-Abell said. “And I just kind of took that and ran with it.”

Seniors take three days and learn basic household tasks, life-skills, how insurance works, and how to save money for retirement, among other things.

“We had bankers come in and talk to our students about basic loans,” Wilson-Abell said. “We had State Farm here talking about insurance. We had representatives here talking about retirement.”

Ask many around WAVE Country what they think one of the main right of passages into adulthood is, and they’d most likely answer getting a permit, learning to drive a car, and getting a license. And with that, comes the responsibility of maintaining a vehicle.

Students headed outside where they learned how to check the oil in a vehicle and how to change a tire on the side of the road.

They also received instruction on basic home maintenance and doing laundry.

“I learned a lot about my laundry,” senior Lilly Farmer said. “I knew, like, some aspects of it but I never sorted my clothes or anything like that. Now I know it’s very important to do.”

Just last year, Bullitt Central High School had the same idea, preparing students in Bullitt County for the world beyond that of high school.

Seniors in the class of 2019 received one-on-ones with people from the community, teaching things like dorm-room cooking, changing a tire, how to manage a credit-cardand financing.

Police also came in and helped students learn how to interact with a traffic stop. Another professional talked about homesickness and the signs that it’s really something else and when to get help.

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