The joys of going back to basics
How to fix a leak or balance a budget part of continuing education
For their first wedding anniversary, Lauren Chender and Greg Judelman marked the occasion by exchanging unique gifts — they signed one another up for continuing education courses at George Brown College in Toronto.
“The idea evolved from: We could either take the same course together and enjoy the pleasure of each other’s company or take two courses and expand our knowledge by double,” says Judelman of their gift exchange.
In trying to decide which courses to take, they focused on the skill sets they were lacking.
With the purchase of their first home on the horizon, Judelman identified a need for a better understanding of mortgages, investments and general budgeting, so he enrolled his wife in the Fundamentals of Financial Planning.
Chender, with do-it-yourself projects on her mind, signed Judelman up for Basic Home Maintenance and Repair.
For Diane O’Shea, a member of the Ontario Home Economics Association and a family studies teacher at Oakridge Secondary School in London, Ont., the desire to participate in continuing education programs for decidedly practi- cal purposes — rather than for academic or career advancement — hardly comes as a surprise.
“It’s no wonder that there’s an interest in continuing education in these areas,” she says. “I’m very biased, but it’s pretty bad that we have forgotten about the most basic skills in terms of living.”
While financial literacy is integrated into Ontario curriculum from kindergarten to Grade 12, she says that young adults are still missing fundamentals — from basic budgeting to food preparation and nutrition.
“I’m not going to turn you into a plumber. I’m not going to turn you into an electrician. But what I’m trying is to get them at the stage where they understand their house.” BOB BANKS HOME MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTOR AT GEORGE BROWN
For individuals in their 20s and 30s, continuing education programs are filling a knowledge gap that may have previously been met by mandatory high school curriculum. “Both of the courses we took are basic skills that people should be learning in school,” says Judelman, an innovation consultant.
But Bob Banks, a home maintenance instructor at George Brown, believes that television programs, such as those shown on HGTV, are also a factor in the growing popularity of his course. “There’s so much emphasis on real estate and the value of a home and improving your home,” he says. The majority of Banks’s students are in their 20s or 30s and have just purchased a house or are about to buy property. However, Banks says he’s also seeing an increase in the number of widows, divorcees and couples who are enrolling in the program. “A lot of people are beat before they start because they just don’t know the absolute basics,” he says.
“I’m not going to turn you into a plumber. I’m not going to turn you into an electrician. But what I’m trying is to get them at the stage where they understand their house.”
For Judelman, whose previous experience with continuing education had been limited to a night course on the music of Bob Dylan, attending the George Brown program proved remarkably more useful.
After the couple purchased their first home, he not only completed minor repairs, but also felt more equipped to hire contractors.
“I can estimate how much time things should take and how much it should cost, even if I’m not doing it myself,” he says.
Chender, for one, is impressed by her husband’s new skill set.
“He’s so handy now you wouldn’t believe it,” she says with a laugh.
And although Chender, a program manager at a non-profit organization, was in the minority in her respective program — the majority of her peers were on track to become financial planners — she says that it helped her gain a better understanding of insurance, RRSPs, real estate, wills and income tax.
“I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but I have a basic knowledge in all of it,” says Chender. “I feel like I’m generally more knowledgeable and know which questions to ask.”