Michigan State University Extension is offering a free online ‘Adulting 101’ course to teach high school students and young adults essential life skills, filling gaps left by shrinking home economics programs in schools.
Photo by Owen Widdis for Bridge Michigan
(Ed. Note: This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. Visit the newsroom online: bridgemi.com.)
By Janelle D. James
Bridge Michigan
Balancing a budget, building credit or even knowing what it takes to care for a pet are skills many young people may not learn in school. Now, Michigan State University Extension is stepping in to help fill that gap with a free, online “Adulting 101” course aimed at preparing students for independent life.
The program offers monthly virtual sessions for teens and young adults, covering practical topics from money management to everyday responsibilities. MSU Extension educators say the course responds to a growing anxiety among participants about the transition to adulthood and a lack of life-skills education in many school curricula.
“We were finding that it can be very stressful for young people when they think about transitioning to adulthood and taking that next step to be independent, thriving adults,” said Laurie Rivetto, an MSU Extension 4-H educator.
The program includes 11 monthly virtual sessions covering topics like budgeting and credit management, as well as less commonly discussed responsibilities like pet ownership, cooking “with confidence” and maintaining a healthy diet. Sessions are led by experts from a range of fields, including educators within the MSU Extension network.
Rivetto said many participants are relieved to learn they are not alone in feeling unprepared for adulthood.
“We’ve also gotten feedback that a (session) might have been about something that they haven’t been thinking about and now they know that there are resources out there or there is more information that they can find out.”
The first workshop of this year, which took place Jan. 21, covered fraud and give participants tips on how to avoid fake job offers, phishing texts and scams.
Michigan State University is not alone in offering “Adulting 101” courses. The University of California, Riverside, offers a similar program for college students who meet certain eligibility requirements. The course focuses on three areas: basic needs, career development and financial wellness.
The program spans two semesters and participants can earn a $600 stipend upon completion. To qualify, students must attend at least six events, including two from each focus area, as well as the program’s opening and closing ceremonies.
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A need for Gen Z
Skills like driving, cooking and child development, once commonly taught through home economics classes, have largely disappeared from many school curricula.
Bradley MacDonald, social studies and economics teacher at Melvindale High School, recalls taking home economics courses at Divine Child High School during the 1990s and those courses still being offered when he began his teaching career 20 years ago.
“I’ve heard a lot from kids, graduating seniors and really everybody that this is a huge need,” MacDonald said. Students would often say, “they don’t teach us things that are relevant in school.”
MacDonald believes the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 was one of the major reasons why some schools stopped offering those courses.
The act, signed into law by former President George W. Bush, aimed to close achievement gaps by focusing on core subjects like reading and math. The act also required mandatory standardized testing every year for students in grades 3 through 8.
Michigan does not require schools to offer home economics or similar courses. However, high school students must complete a personal finance course and a civics or government course to graduate, each amounting to half a credit, or one semester.
“With snow days, with testing, with all of the other macro and micro concepts you have to fit in as a graduation requirement, I think there’s a lot of gaps with tax preparation … and monthly budgets,” MacDonald said.
Michigan is one of 20 states that require a stand-alone economics course, according to a 2024 report by the Council for Economic Education, an organization that provides financial literacy to K-12 students. But the survey shows that Michigan’s financial literacy course is only required to be integrated into another course.
“I think having (a course), that’s relevant, that’s going to be interesting and applicable to the “real world” for kids … could even improve attendance because kids are going to see more relevance and value in school rather than just abstract knowledge that they can just use ChatGPT to cheat their way through,” MacDonald said.
By Janelle D. James
Bridge Michigan
Balancing a budget, building credit or even knowing what it takes to care for a pet are skills many young people may not learn in school. Now, Michigan State University Extension is stepping in to help fill that gap with a free, online “Adulting 101” course aimed at preparing students for independent life.
The program offers monthly virtual sessions for teens and young adults, covering practical topics from money management to everyday responsibilities. MSU Extension educators say the course responds to a growing anxiety among participants about the transition to adulthood and a lack of life-skills education in many school curricula.
“We were finding that it can be very stressful for young people when they think about transitioning to adulthood and taking that next step to be independent, thriving adults,” said Laurie Rivetto, an MSU Extension 4-H educator.
The program includes 11 monthly virtual sessions covering topics like budgeting and credit management, as well as less commonly discussed responsibilities like pet ownership, cooking “with confidence” and maintaining a healthy diet. Sessions are led by experts from a range of fields, including educators within the MSU Extension network.
Rivetto said many participants are relieved to learn they are not alone in feeling unprepared for adulthood.
“We’ve also gotten feedback that a (session) might have been about something that they haven’t been thinking about and now they know that there are resources out there or there is more information that they can find out.”
The first workshop of this year, which took place Jan. 21, covered fraud and give participants tips on how to avoid fake job offers, phishing texts and scams.
Michigan State University is not alone in offering “Adulting 101” courses. The University of California, Riverside, offers a similar program for college students who meet certain eligibility requirements. The course focuses on three areas: basic needs, career development and financial wellness.
The program spans two semesters and participants can earn a $600 stipend upon completion. To qualify, students must attend at least six events, including two from each focus area, as well as the program’s opening and closing ceremonies.
—————
A need for Gen Z
Skills like driving, cooking and child development, once commonly taught through home economics classes, have largely disappeared from many school curricula.
Bradley MacDonald, social studies and economics teacher at Melvindale High School, recalls taking home economics courses at Divine Child High School during the 1990s and those courses still being offered when he began his teaching career 20 years ago.
“I’ve heard a lot from kids, graduating seniors and really everybody that this is a huge need,” MacDonald said. Students would often say, “they don’t teach us things that are relevant in school.”
MacDonald believes the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 was one of the major reasons why some schools stopped offering those courses.
The act, signed into law by former President George W. Bush, aimed to close achievement gaps by focusing on core subjects like reading and math. The act also required mandatory standardized testing every year for students in grades 3 through 8.
Michigan does not require schools to offer home economics or similar courses. However, high school students must complete a personal finance course and a civics or government course to graduate, each amounting to half a credit, or one semester.
“With snow days, with testing, with all of the other macro and micro concepts you have to fit in as a graduation requirement, I think there’s a lot of gaps with tax preparation … and monthly budgets,” MacDonald said.
Michigan is one of 20 states that require a stand-alone economics course, according to a 2024 report by the Council for Economic Education, an organization that provides financial literacy to K-12 students. But the survey shows that Michigan’s financial literacy course is only required to be integrated into another course.
“I think having (a course), that’s relevant, that’s going to be interesting and applicable to the “real world” for kids … could even improve attendance because kids are going to see more relevance and value in school rather than just abstract knowledge that they can just use ChatGPT to cheat their way through,” MacDonald said.
Slagh Urges Supreme Court to Reconsider Proposed ICE Ban
State Rep. Bradley Slagh, chair of the House Corrections and Judiciary budget subcommittee, has sent a letter to Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Megan Cavanagh raising concerns about a proposed court rule that would prohibit the enforcement of federal immigration laws within Michigan court buildings.
The letter dated Jan. 22, signed by Slagh and 11 other House Republicans, warns that the proposal would undermine public safety, violate constitutional principles, and threaten the integrity of the judicial system.
“Courthouses exist to uphold the law, but this rule would choose to selectively ignore it,” said Slagh, R-Zeeland. “It would turn places meant for justice and accountability into safe havens from federal law enforcement. That’s not something the Legislature can simply overlook.”
In the letter, lawmakers argue the rule contradicts the fundamental role of courts and improperly places the judiciary in a lawmaking role reserved for the legislative branch of government.
“This misguided proposal seems to contradict the very purpose of the court buildings themselves, which is to provide a place where laws are enforced and justice served,” the letter reads. “The proposal could make our courthouses refuges for dangerous and unlawful individuals.”
The letter also cautions that transforming courthouses into “sanctuary buildings” could have consequences for court operations and funding, particularly given the Legislature’s constitutional role in appropriations.
Slagh emphasized that House Republicans want to continue working cooperatively with the judicial branch but warned that cooperation depends on respect for constitutional boundaries.
“We want to be constructive partners with the courts,” Slagh said. “But partnership requires transparency, respect for the Constitution, and an understanding that policy decisions of this magnitude do not belong in court rules that are rushed through with limited public input.”
The lawmakers requested further discussion on the proposal and offered to hold a public subcommittee hearing to allow information to be shared openly with lawmakers and the public.
The letter dated Jan. 22, signed by Slagh and 11 other House Republicans, warns that the proposal would undermine public safety, violate constitutional principles, and threaten the integrity of the judicial system.
“Courthouses exist to uphold the law, but this rule would choose to selectively ignore it,” said Slagh, R-Zeeland. “It would turn places meant for justice and accountability into safe havens from federal law enforcement. That’s not something the Legislature can simply overlook.”
In the letter, lawmakers argue the rule contradicts the fundamental role of courts and improperly places the judiciary in a lawmaking role reserved for the legislative branch of government.
“This misguided proposal seems to contradict the very purpose of the court buildings themselves, which is to provide a place where laws are enforced and justice served,” the letter reads. “The proposal could make our courthouses refuges for dangerous and unlawful individuals.”
The letter also cautions that transforming courthouses into “sanctuary buildings” could have consequences for court operations and funding, particularly given the Legislature’s constitutional role in appropriations.
Slagh emphasized that House Republicans want to continue working cooperatively with the judicial branch but warned that cooperation depends on respect for constitutional boundaries.
“We want to be constructive partners with the courts,” Slagh said. “But partnership requires transparency, respect for the Constitution, and an understanding that policy decisions of this magnitude do not belong in court rules that are rushed through with limited public input.”
The lawmakers requested further discussion on the proposal and offered to hold a public subcommittee hearing to allow information to be shared openly with lawmakers and the public.
Park Township Homeowners Sue Township Over Short-Term Rental Ban
By Jamie A. Hope
Michigan Capitol Confidential
Park Township Neighbors, a nonprofit group of short-term rental homeowners in Ottawa County, has filed a federal lawsuit against Park Township, saying its ban on short-term rentals violates the due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
The organization seeks monetary damages and a ruling to prevent the ban.
The township used a 1974 zoning law to ban short-term rentals, though that law had been neglected until October 2023.
The nonprofit organization has records of various township officials saying that short-term rentals were lawful. These communications go back to 2003.
“Park Township officials have repeatedly interpreted the Park Township Zoning Ordinance in effect from 2003 until March 2024 as allowing short-term rentals (STRs) in residential districts,” the group says in its federal lawsuit. Township administrators, including zoning administrators, have told residents that short-term rentals are allowed in residential districts, it added. “And most telling,” it said, “the zoning ordinance administrator in 2003 testified that the township amended the zoning ordinance of 2003 to ensure that short-term rentals could be used in residential districts.”
Park Township Neighbors say the township’s enforcement is unconstitutionally vague, depriving owners of short-term rentals of their property interest without due process.
The case has been assigned to Judge Paul L. Maloney in the United States District Court Western District of Michigan Southern Division, Jeremy Allen, president of Park Township Neighbors, told Michigan Capitol Confidential in a text message.
Maloney ruled on July 7 against Peninsula Township of Grand Traverse County in a zoning dispute involving business interests, filed by Wineries of the Old Mission Peninsula Association.
The wineries alleged that “decades of strife, arbitrary enforcement, and frustration” came from the township using zoning ordinances to prohibit weddings, live music, and fundraisers. This, the wineries said, limited business activities such as advertising tastings and selling merchandise.
Peninsula Township also restricted the wineries’ operating hours, the plaintiffs claimed, and dictated the share of grapes in various wines that came from within the township.
The judge ruled that the township ordinance was unconstitutional and awarded the wineries $50 million in damages.
Park Township Neighbors has also filed suit in state court, losing in Ottawa County Circuit Court. Judge Jon H. Hulsing ruled that statements by township officials are not binding because the zoning board is authorized to enforce the ordinance, as Michigan Capitol Confidential reported in December.
The association filed an appeal with the Michigan Court of Appeals on Nov. 21.
A township ordinance enacted in 2024 bans all short-term rentals in residential districts.
Usually when a new zoning ordinance is put in place, state law — the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act — allows for “nonconforming use,” or a “grandfathered” use, which lets existing properties remain in their current state. Grandfathering, as applied to Park Township, would allow current owners of short-term rentals to continue their practice.
Township officials say short-term rentals were never legal and thus will not be grandfathered.
Rental owners in Park Township told CapCon that township officials have invested a significant sum of taxpayer money in the fight.
“We recently learned the township has spent well over $400,000 just on this short-term rental issue alone in the last few years,” Allen told CapCon in an email.
“While I am saddened that we have had to file a federal lawsuit, property ownership rights are important,” Allen said. “And even more so, it’s important to me that the township look to decades of their own interpretations and choose to, hopefully, do the right thing.” Allen estimated that 1 percent of homes in the township are used as short-term rentals.
Township officials did not respond to an email seeking comment.
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Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.
Michigan Capitol Confidential
Park Township Neighbors, a nonprofit group of short-term rental homeowners in Ottawa County, has filed a federal lawsuit against Park Township, saying its ban on short-term rentals violates the due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
The organization seeks monetary damages and a ruling to prevent the ban.
The township used a 1974 zoning law to ban short-term rentals, though that law had been neglected until October 2023.
The nonprofit organization has records of various township officials saying that short-term rentals were lawful. These communications go back to 2003.
“Park Township officials have repeatedly interpreted the Park Township Zoning Ordinance in effect from 2003 until March 2024 as allowing short-term rentals (STRs) in residential districts,” the group says in its federal lawsuit. Township administrators, including zoning administrators, have told residents that short-term rentals are allowed in residential districts, it added. “And most telling,” it said, “the zoning ordinance administrator in 2003 testified that the township amended the zoning ordinance of 2003 to ensure that short-term rentals could be used in residential districts.”
Park Township Neighbors say the township’s enforcement is unconstitutionally vague, depriving owners of short-term rentals of their property interest without due process.
The case has been assigned to Judge Paul L. Maloney in the United States District Court Western District of Michigan Southern Division, Jeremy Allen, president of Park Township Neighbors, told Michigan Capitol Confidential in a text message.
Maloney ruled on July 7 against Peninsula Township of Grand Traverse County in a zoning dispute involving business interests, filed by Wineries of the Old Mission Peninsula Association.
The wineries alleged that “decades of strife, arbitrary enforcement, and frustration” came from the township using zoning ordinances to prohibit weddings, live music, and fundraisers. This, the wineries said, limited business activities such as advertising tastings and selling merchandise.
Peninsula Township also restricted the wineries’ operating hours, the plaintiffs claimed, and dictated the share of grapes in various wines that came from within the township.
The judge ruled that the township ordinance was unconstitutional and awarded the wineries $50 million in damages.
Park Township Neighbors has also filed suit in state court, losing in Ottawa County Circuit Court. Judge Jon H. Hulsing ruled that statements by township officials are not binding because the zoning board is authorized to enforce the ordinance, as Michigan Capitol Confidential reported in December.
The association filed an appeal with the Michigan Court of Appeals on Nov. 21.
A township ordinance enacted in 2024 bans all short-term rentals in residential districts.
Usually when a new zoning ordinance is put in place, state law — the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act — allows for “nonconforming use,” or a “grandfathered” use, which lets existing properties remain in their current state. Grandfathering, as applied to Park Township, would allow current owners of short-term rentals to continue their practice.
Township officials say short-term rentals were never legal and thus will not be grandfathered.
Rental owners in Park Township told CapCon that township officials have invested a significant sum of taxpayer money in the fight.
“We recently learned the township has spent well over $400,000 just on this short-term rental issue alone in the last few years,” Allen told CapCon in an email.
“While I am saddened that we have had to file a federal lawsuit, property ownership rights are important,” Allen said. “And even more so, it’s important to me that the township look to decades of their own interpretations and choose to, hopefully, do the right thing.” Allen estimated that 1 percent of homes in the township are used as short-term rentals.
Township officials did not respond to an email seeking comment.
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Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.
