Things you wish they’d taught you in school

[IrishJP]

Inspired by a couple of threads, and recent things that have happened in my life,
What kinds of things do you wish school had taught you that they didn’t?
I feel I learnt a lot of things I’ve never needed, like algebra (although I appreciate that’s relevant in some careers)
But I feel there should’ve been more ‘life’ lessons, that would have been far more useful.

i finished school mid 2000s and don’t have DC so appreciate that schooling may have changed and perhaps some of these things are being taught now.

Heres what I think they should’ve taught.

1. Budgeting and money management
2. information on benefits, tax, NI Contributions, employment rights etc
3. Useful cookery (I learnt to make random fancy dishes but didn’t know how to scramble eggs)
4. Basic DIY (I did some woodwork/metalwork but again made random things like a jigsaw and metal jetting) but couldn’t have put s shelf up or wallpapered a room
5. Everyday sewing (again I did some textiles where we learnt how to tiedye but I couldn’t sew a button on)

The academic side of schooling is absolutely vital but I just feel like there’s some stuff that isn’t needed until you go in to more specialised subjects at a later age, and some very ‘basic’ life skills would be a lot more useful.

Have I missed anything? Or for anyone who does have school aged DC are they teaching these things now?

Mortgages, savings, interest rates etc. - a practical perspective for everyday people (not just an economics lesson).

Basic first aid.

Where to go for support if you are homeless, being abused etc.

What a good relationship looks like.

Taxes/pension/budgeting

Repair work etc

That family planning wasn’t just about NOT getting pregnant when you’re young. Period management. Tracking your cycles.

easy meals and maybe a bit of meal planning.

Most of that is parenting and the rest is already taught in pshe, basic maths and then choices of gcse such as dt. School is for academics and socialisation, not every bit of life skills!

But not everyone is born into a situation where they're taught these things, they're born at a disadvantage.

Surely society would be better off for all if these were taught to everyone.

Pensions, compound interest, importance of starting a pension young

Nearly all these things are taught in schools, the quality and focus varies depending on your school.

Personally I can remember wanting more academic subjects and less time spent on pshe/learning to learn/ form time/assemblies/theme day stuff.

Also, it may have been a long time since some of us were at school. This is a fantasy “what would you have liked thread”?

also, if your parents don’t know it, you aren’t going to get taught it.

Much more about being able to spot catfishing
how porn is not real sex and how it is related to sex trafficking.
Better black history (not just in relation to white people: slave trade and colonialism).
Healthy relationships, how to spot an abuser and what to do.
Money handling (mortgages, savings, pensions, budgeting, business basics, scam spotting)
DIY skills (carpentry, electrics, sewing, )
Understand of politics and to see through propoganda.
Good understanding of the media, how it is bias, spotting misinformation, how to read basic research and see if it is bollocks.
Much more sport and fitness. Should be at least an hour a day.
How to cook healthily.

I would have loved to learn about practical skills, money, good relationships, healthy living. I would have loved to learn a language in a meaningful way and also all the different subjects joined up into one flow of learning.

I would have liked more sports for health, rather than only sports for team skills and competition.

What marriage actually is and the pros and cons.

Map reading/reading a bus timetable although probably less relevant now with smart phones.

Would schools really have the time to do it all?

It also takes responsibility away from parents who ultimately should be doing it

And before anyone says parents don't, that is not the schools fault

Ideally but you obviously don't know many of the parents I do! Fuck me find it hard to talk about sex let alone porn. They fell for the bollocks Johnson's government said and voted Brexit, though it harmed them, believe in anti Vax propoganda, stay in violent relationships, can't cook beyond a ready meal, have never done exercise ....

Inclusive PE. I'm dyspraxic/neurodivergent, from age 13 onwards I was told to sit lessons out as 'pointless teaching' me apparently, initially I sat on the floor watching, eventually I was allowed to go to the library with a book instead. PE should be inclusive for all abilities.

@WandaWonder
its not the schools fault, but it’s not the child’s fault either, and not the parents fault if they lack the skills themselves.

j don’t see how they wouldn’t have the time, they wouldn’t need new subjects
Just to change the way they teach them.

If you need to learn addition subtraction etc in maths, then relate it to real world examples like a budget. For % teach them about tax…

The woodwork/textiles etc can still be taught, but teach more every day things that you might do around the house

likewise with the cookery, you still have the same lesson but you start with the basic skills rather than some random recipie for a complex meal.

PHSE wasn’t a thing when I was in school, nor was pastoral care.

That it was ok to say no and that girls were just as important and valid as boys. I went to an all girls school in the late 70s and we were still expected to be deferential to men as they knew better than us . It took me 23 years of marriage to believe in me as a person .

How credit works! I was offered my first credit card from my bank when I was 19. It was the early 00's and I was really naive, didn't understand about interest, minimum payments or credit ratings. Learned the hard way!

I wish we had been taught more about practical money things to do with the economy like interest rates and inflation, the role of the bank of England. I suppose maybe this should be taught at home but my mother never bothered and my knowledge is so rubbisb I'd have to do a lot of googling to try and talk to my kids about what it all means.
Also i remember history lessons being very narrow, we seemed to spend years learning about World War 2 but all i can remember is learning about evacueess and rationing rather than anything around the politics of what happened IYSWIM

Basic First Aid and sign language.

These days, basic home economics. We were taught how to make the maximum use of putting the oven on. And the economics of using bloody deliveroo versus making yourself something at home.

That is absolutely disgusting, and I am shocked.

How long ago was this?

In your shoes I would be contacting the school or LEA right now, and complaining

The problem with all these ideas of teaching money management in schools is that it has been tried, and proven not to work. It is totally irrelevant to teens, and no one remembers it

MIG Welding and fabrication, no seriously!. I went to an all girls school. We did finance, social studies and how to put a Johnny on a banana but “ boys stuff” was off the curriculum.

Exactly.