Gem State Adventist Academy students have many opportunities to learn family living skills. For a few weeks senior Bible class focuses on marriage and family. In one activity the seniors care for babies. They take pretend infants to class, work and church. The computerized dolls respond just like newborn babies. Seniors have to support the babies' heads; they feed and burp the babies; and they make sure the babies have clean diapers and are soothed to sleep. If they don't care for the baby, the computerized life-size dolls cry.
Samiu Moala says, "I learned that if you're going to have a child, you need to be very responsible. At first I was excited to get my baby. But after the first couple of hours, I was ready to get rid of it. The hardest part was it required constant attention. It was even hard to find time to take a shower."
Gem State also offers an elective helping students prepare for family responsibilities. In Living Skills class students learn principles of nutrition and fitness, healthful cooking, comparison shopping, and basic sewing. Megan Yarlott says, "Mrs. Davies is a cool teacher. This past fall we went to the orchard and bought some peaches. Then we brought them back to school and canned them. Later we made homemade applesauce."
The Living Skills class with Karen Davies (left), teaches students about nutrition and food shopping.
Samiu Moala learns babies need lots of attention.
