DR. WALLACE: I'm a high school student and I'd like to tell you that my fellow students and I are bored with the same old subjects we have to learn in school. Our curriculum is mundane, and we feel there are many more subjects that are more relevant to today's world that are not covered at all in our classes.

Since you have vast experience as a teacher and coaching administrator at the high school level, what classes or subjects, if any, would you recommend that we be allowed to take as elective courses if our local high schools were to offer some more modern classes? — Would Like To Study More Relevant Subjects, via email

WOULD LIKE TO STUDY MORE RELEVANT SUBJECTS: To start with, I'll tell you that I agree with your perspective, up to a point. I can understand why today's teenagers would like to have a broader and more varied curriculum, but many of the core, fundamental courses that you likely find boring are indeed quite necessary for you to master in order to prepare you for potential future job opportunities and for life in general.

Having said that, here's my list of "broader subjects" that I feel schools and school districts could consider in order to modernize and expand the curriculum going forward: composting, first aid, food preservation & ways to forage for food in case of emergency, growing food in a sustainable manner including effective seed saving, planning and storage, medical herbs and plants and their usage and value, best waste management practices including recycling and repurposing, water conservation and global water supply management.

WHY SHOULD HE BE HOMESCHOOLED?

DR. WALLACE: My older sister and I both attended public schools our entire academic career, but now our younger brother does not want to go to a physical school, so my parents decided to let him be homeschooled.

We can't believe that my parents are letting him do that, and we both feel he will not pay attention to his studies, he won't do his work and he'll become a miserable failure. Do you agree with us that our parents are crazy to let him stay home all day? — Two Doubtful Sisters, via email

TWO DOUBTFUL SISTERS: Homeschooling any child is a personal decision to be made by a parent or set of parents. In your case, there must be some good reason why your younger brother is going to be homeschooled. Feel free to speak to your mother directly about her reasoning for this, as I trust she will tell you honestly why she's opting for this avenue regarding your younger brother's education.

There are some benefits and drawbacks to homeschooling. For example, homeschool kids usually finish their formal education in less time; therefore, they have more time available for other activities.

This can provide time to include some form of social interaction that public-school children have no access to because they are trapped in classrooms with teachers and their peers for many hours per day.

Homeschool children have the opportunity for social interaction with a much wider variety of people in many more venues than just the school's population on the actual school grounds.

However, homeschooling requires a great deal more discipline to start classes on time in an uninterrupted manner. It can be tough to avoid the distractions that are often present when working inside a family home environment.

In addition, public schools have facilities that just can't be replicated in most homes. It's unlikely that gymnasiums, running tracks, band rooms, chemistry labs, and theaters will be anywhere near the standard that most public schools enjoy.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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