I’m not sure when the push to do away with cursive writing or home economics class happened — sometime between my own hated days spent in middle school home economics class and my daughter starting school, apparently.

I think it was about the same time students started learning new ways to do math instead of the proper way to balance a checkbook.

While the latter may be a thing of the past, living on a budget isn’t and many people these days were never taught how — and it shows, as the meme goes.

Our home economics class melted into our career resources class, and so we were taught how to provide for a family on a budget, how to fill out withdrawal and deposit forms at the bank, even cooking basics. Additionally, we learned about several professions, giving us a surface-level understanding of different types of jobs and the skills and education needed for each one.

My reasons for disliking my middle school’s home economics class centered more around dislike for my teacher, but I must admit, I also did not enjoy traipsing around behind bushes learning how to read the school’s water meter. It may not have been fun- but it was necessary for students to learn the basics of professional life.

In elementary school I learned how to write cursive and I remember being proud to have the skill. I had a babysitter in the afternoons after school until I was old enough to become a “latch-key” kid and I enjoyed teaching cursive to the younger kids who thought it looked “neat.”

I am saddened to hear cursive is no longer being taught in most schools. My first thought when I heard this was “how will kids sign for themselves?”

We have come so far from the days when an X was meant to mark the name of those who did not know how to write — why are we as a society choosing willful regression?

Recently conducted workplace studies show Generation Z is being fired not only at alarming rates but sometimes nearly as soon as they put their toe in the doorway of their new job. Additional feedback indicates members of this generation are being deemed unfit for the workplace due to a lack of motivation, unwillingness to conform to workplace norms, lacking basic interpersonal skills, and an inability to receive constructive criticism.

Home economics and career resource classes teach skills parents either don’t know themselves or are too busy to share with their kids. It should start in the home — but what if it doesn’t?

Schools stand in the gap from child to adult and are our students last chance to graduate prepared to be successful adults who contribute to bettering society.

I think we can do better America and doing better definitely doesn’t look like churning out adults who lack the basic skills necessary to function in society in a progressive and contributing way.