To think school is just crap

[moanymoaner]

I mean why in 2019 are we still teaching children the same generic subjects , making them choose what they want for a future at 14 when they care about nothing and making them sit exams at 15/16 that they will have to rely on for jobs for the rest of their lives!!

As time goes on the more appealing home Ed is becoming , if nothing else than my children being victims of other people's horrors!

I'm genuinely interested in people's thoughts around it . Also I'm not by any means dissing teachers , it's government policy not teachers .

[Bobbiepin]

Teaching them subjects that they could become passionate about is not a bad thing. Everything else I agree with (although I wouldn't home school). The exam culture is dangerous and is forcing children who would do perfectly fine working in offices or better still, as mechanics or plumbers through meaningless exams, pushing them into endless debt through higher education to not be able to get a job at the end of it. Sending everyone to university makes it meaningless. Get rid of courses like travel and tourism and business and let those who want to work in those industries start at entry level and work their way up. Those who want to be doctors/midwives/lawyers etc should continue to do their degrees as they have skills that need to be taught.

[PlainSpeakingStraightTalking]

My levels never reflected my career choice, They were picked to be rounded. Most people have 3 careers in their lives. It isn't set in stone at 14.

What do you want to teach them if you think the generic subjects of English, Maths, Science and language are pointless? (I agree French is pointless) . What job doesn't need English and maths to a certain standard?

[moanymoaner]

@Bobbiepin yes absolutely if they're passionate but when I was at school I spent hours in lessons I hated and wasn't learning in and it's the same now. My son is in high school , spends hours in lessons he has no interest in and is generally miserable about the whole experience (except friends!) I just feel it needs a shake up. I also HATE exams!

[moanymoaner]

@PlainSpeakingStraightTalking ok so they need a certain level of maths and English , I don't think science. I don't use anything like what they teach at school in my current role , never ever have I used algebra or Pythagorus in my life. I just feel a GCSE in maths and English doesn't necessarily mean a lot for a lot of job roles yet it's still asked as a "level" . They need to be able to read and write , do maths to a certain degree and even if I argue they need them . It's all the other subjects they spend hours every week in and don't really learn anything.

[Bobbiepin]

I can see merit in exams, but not in this way. The system does need a shake up. I teach BTEC so I know that relying on coursework is not failsafe.

Ending subjects children have no interest in is tricky. I remember sitting through geography classes I had no interest in, thinking "when will I ever use this?" when I started teaching at an awful school and had to teach geography it seems but kids are fickle and they need a good experience of things before they decide they don't like them. Kids will drop subjects because they don't like the teacher. There's still a lesson in sticking with things you don't like because it's good for you.

[YeOldeTrout]

Moany, how do you want them to spend their time instead of studying math, English & science?

Cooking, Planting potatoes, Painting & decorating? Plucking turkeys & Scrubbing toilets maybe.

[TacoLover]

I definitely see benefits in learning science. Its good to know what your body does and how different processes work. I think the units on global warming, digestion, reproduction and IVF, and diseases are particularly useful.

[Bobbiepin]

Science is important. To be honest I believe more so than maths. People need a basic understanding of their bodies and the earth.

[BackforGood]

But you do learn to debate, to listen, to construct a case for people changing to what you you think would be better. Many people need to learn to present reports or findings, or a sales pitch. All skills learned through different lessons at school.
Also, as has been reiterated already, as well as you mentioning it in your OP - the overwhelming majority of teenagers have no clue, at 13 or 14, what they will be doing at 26, let alone at 40 or 55. You can't narrow down their learning even further - IMO, it is awful how narrow the curriculm has become, compared with previous generations. You would be doing them a terrible disservice not to introduce them to a variety of areas of learning.
Of course having a smattering of a MFL or two is important. MFL teaching has been dire (I'm talking about the curriculum, the exams and the way it has had to be taught, not the teachers) for some time, but the 'new' GCSEs have improved that considerably, but well taugh, a smattering of a couple of lanugages should be compulsory for all but those that have the most difficulty with learning, IMO.

[Walkingdeadfangirl]

So essentially you are saying secondary school should be optional. Children should be able to go to a 'college' and learn how to be plumbers or hairdressers.

[moanymoaner]

I don't think they don't need numeracy and literacy it's what they're being taught . I'd like to see them being taught budgeting , managing an income , tax returns , good research techniques (I'm talking KS3 not junior school here) . I would quite like them to be taught about food and ways of growing it yes , just general life skills. Hundreds of children every year leave high school with no GCSE's above C and no life skills either . School can be such a miserable experience for many.

[moanymoaner]

Oh yes science is important ,sorry I didn't mean that I mean how they only touch on the importance of stuff , no time for in depth learning. I have learnt about science since leaving school, at school it totally by passed me I had no idea what the teachers were on about .

[BobbinThreadbare123]

You don't think science?! Jeez this is how we get to anti vaxxing idiots...or people who believe you pee out of your vag etc. I despair.

[missyB1]

It’s not so much the subjects that need changing but the content of those subjects. I was totally put off maths at school because of struggling with complicated concepts that I didn’t need to know!

I personally think exams at age 16 are pointless and just cause loads of stress at a tricky age. They also result in a lot of children feeling “written off”.

I don’t know what the answer is but I feel our education system is stuck in the dark ages.

[PerpetualStudent]

So they should learn about ‘food and how it grows’ but not ‘science’ uh huh...

[cardibach]

There’s a lot wrong with education. I’m a teacher of 30 years seriously considering leaving my job.
The things you identify are really, really not the problems though. Knowledge does fall into subject areas. Choices at GCSE are so wide they don’t limit anyone. As an adult, nobody cares about my GCSE (O level actually as I’m old) results. They really don’t affect your life for ever.

[ShaggyRug]

School is so much more than the subjects they study though. They learn life skills every day just by being in that environment and dealing with all the people (students, teachers and others) that they meet along the way. It’s more than just learning subjects, the social side is a massive part of it too. The good and the bad.

[moanymoaner]

@BobbinThreadbare123 my apologies , I didn't mean I don't think science , I love science . I meant they are not given enough in depth information to actually learn about science properly . They move across topics so quick they don't often pick enough up, or retain enough to gain a real interest .

[OddBoots]

Have you seen the BBC series Back in Time for School? This week was the 70s and you might find it interesting.

[moanymoaner]

@OddBoots no but I'll try and find it!

[moanymoaner]

@ShaggyRug yes I would have agreed with you at one point , but now I just think it's hard work. Kids learning resilience by being bullied doesn't wash anymore. It's heartbreaking to see and a child can be made to be less sociable because of their experience of school.

[Calzone]

Teaching first aid
Budgeting
Cookery
How to manage finances

Would be a much better use of time than Citizenship which is compulsory at ds,s school.

[FudgeBrownie2019]

I agree that children in schools should be taught many more life skills, but not at the expense of vital subjects like sciences; essentially everything we know and want to know about humanity past and present can be found in science. There's not much more that tops science in terms of things we need to teach!

[moanymoaner]

@Calzone agreed

[starzig]

I was better choosing early. Because of the spread of subjects required I couldn't do 2 languages and 3 sciences. So doing 1st picks early at GCSE allowed me to do night school for the gcse I couldn't pick at high school before doing A levels.