Well, I guess you can learn the basics of CPR on a live person, but you can't actually practice it. In my Wildlife class in school, they taught us where to place our hands, breathing techniques, and the like - they wanted to show us that because we were going camping and you never, ever know when that skill will need to be used. That said, we didn't really LEARN the procedure. We learned the theory behind CPR, but we didn't learn how to actually do it. Would we be able to save a life using theory? Probably not, but we'd have a better chance than someone who absolutely refused to learn.
In my first high school, there was actually a section in our Health class that involved learned CPR. They brought in nurses from St. John's Ambulance who brought their plastic friends along to help. The class itself didn't allow us to become certified, but it gave us a leg up if we ever wished to certify. My place of work offers this as Professional Development course. They pay for it completely, pay you for the day and in the end, you have a fancy certificate that says you're qualified to save lives. Every department is required to have at least 2 certified individuals.
It's not hard to become certified. It's much harder to live with the fact that you could have saved a life, but didn't because you had no idea how to help them. Even if you never have to use the training, it's helpful to have. One day... you might have to save your husband's, child's or parent's life. Suddenly, the money spent on training won't seem like such a big burden.
