A Course for Parents

Words in Use (Lesson 34)

• candidate
• precede
• adolescent
• coeducational
• radical
• spontaneous
• skim
• vaccinate
• untidy
• utensil
• sensitive
• temperate

Read the following passage to see how the new words are used in it.
  
A Course for Parents
A course entitled "The Responsibilities of Parenthood" sounds as if it should be offered to students who are immediate candidates for parenthood. Not according to Dr. Lee Salk, who feels that teaching children about parenthood should precede the adolescent years. Dr. Salk, of the New York Hospital, teaches a volunteer* coeducational class of junior high school youngsters what it means to be a parent. He does not lecture* or present radical views. Rather, he conducts spontaneous discussions by encouraging* students to imagine that they are parents and asking them such questions as "What would you do if you found your child smoking?" or "How would you prepare your child for the first day of school?" The lessons skim over such topics as the need to vaccinate children against diseases or to teach them not to be untidy or to use utensils properly. The class is more concerned with preparing students emotionally to become better parents some day and with making children sensitive to the responsibilities of parenthood. The class members often express temperate and mature views. One girl said she would not approve of having a nurse bring up her child. Another felt that money earned through baby-sitting or other jobs should be shared with parents. When asked how his students rate, Dr. Salk retained* a hopeful outlook. “They are ready for this information," he declared. "I think they'll be honest parents.”