What would you like to see studied at school?

[changedmyname24]

We have just been having an interesting chat as a family, about what we think should be taught at school.

I am in favour of a Life Skills subject for all students, incorporating:

• Growing fruit & veg in a garden, pots or an allotment
• Preparing said fruit & veg
• Cooking basic meals
• Basic car maintenance eg changing a tyre, checking oil etc
• Laundry - from sorting to ironing
• Mending clothes
• Budgeting
• Paying bills
• Basic first aid

I think that some of these would alleviate pressure on other services, such as the NHS, so would be of national benefit.

What would you add?

Driving.

Learning to drive should be on the curriculum. It's such a useful life skill, and everyone should be given the opportunity to do it. Many people can't afford to learn, and keep failing the test even when they can drive. Also, learning it young is a better idea, as young people are much more confident/less afraid, so all being well they'll be safer drivers.

IMO, no-one needs to learn Latin, it's been dropped from education for a reason. It's a dead language. No-one needs Theology, either, or 'gardening,' not as a school subject...

Agree with a pp that First Aid being taught in school is a good idea. Also Money Management.

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First Aid -
The biggest reason for the significant difference between survival rates for pre-hospital cardiac arrest between the UK and scandanavian countries is that they have had CPR on the school curriculum for 30+ years now, so every adult under 50 and every teenager is trained, therefore bystander CPR is the norm and the expectation. This is the first and most critical stage in the chain survival.

Finance / money management. Would’ve really helped me

If you can afford it PGL do week residential holidays for 13-16 yo where they do half day driving lessons/ half day multi-activity.

Philosophy, it's like a workout for the brain and teaches analytical reasoning skills. Moral Philosophy is relevant to much of what is happening in Politics and government today.

Most of your list op and ....investing in stock and shares and philosophy

It also gives us the background and context of why we do what we do and think how we do.

Dd's primary already do cooking/ prepping food, growing veg, simple sewing and basic first aid. Some of that comes under D&T. I think parents have a responsibility too, especially regarding laundry, cars etc, that is not a school's responsibility.

Life skills, more vocational or arts subjects, schools are turning into exam bootcamps, not all kids are academic & really every kid should be able to take at least one subject purely for enjoyment that they look forward to every week, it may help with attendance as well.

Religious studies. Ridiculous class.

Of course. I mean Christianity is totally irrelevant to the understanding of European history, literature, art, architecture and music, isn't it? And you don't need to know the origins of St Valentine, Pancake Day, Easter, Hallowe'en, Christmas and 'Santa'.

And Islam has nothing to do with the history of SE Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and with current affairs.

Totally agree with philosophy and critical thinking. Sorely lacking. Agree with your other suggestions too.

How to paint a room
How to use a drill
Basic plumbing
Car maintenance
Nutrition
Meditation and yoga

People keep saying this and it's good to hear but it's not taught in any meaningful way

Learn to swim enough to save your life, so many people have drowned this year because they either couldn swim or were weak swimmers.

Teaching cookery, food and nutrition like it was taught before the National Curriculum was introduced.
So many people who are clueless and an ever increasing obese population with a knock on effect to the NHS.

Parents should be teaching all this stuff. Absolutely pathetic what people now expect the state to do for them. Your kids you bring them up. School
is there to teach English maths etc

Because we had enough trouble fitting in everything in the curriculum without losing 2 and a half hours per week doing something that's a parental responsibility.

@PrettyLittleRose IMO, no-one needs to learn Latin, it's been dropped from education for a reason. It's a dead language

I understand that they are now teaching it to trainee doctors !
It certainly helped me when I chose a medical speciality at Uni
It also forms the basis of the modern "Latin Languages" ie French, Spanish, Portugese and Italian.
Lots of Latin words in Welsh (the Romans were in Britannia for 400 years) and also in English.

Yes this is the problem, retention and behaviour are both some of the lowest ever and much of this is due to the bombardment and rushing of the information as so much is to be taught, especially at Primary. The curriculum needs a massive overhaul and hugely condensing, slower, less and more thorough - quality over quantity.

Basic cooking eg how to boil an egg. Financial basics eg how credit cards work. Mortgages and overdrafts.

I totally understand teachers are really busy and you can’t fit everything into the week! I just wonder who DOES step in when a parent isn’t fulfilling that parental responsibility? I don’t think just repeating ‘it’s the parents responsibility’ is going to help that kid gain the life skills they need.

Im not sure it would take 2.5 hours a week to teach children how to clean their teeth. I think schools nurses etc DID use to come in and do a demo in the 90s.

Oh that's another one. Every child should be taught to swim. (Swimming should be on the curriculum.) When I was at school, (1980s,) we had swimming lessons.

It is on the curriculum.

Is it? I didn't know that.

Do all schools do it?

Another poster suggested this too. So I'm not the only one who thought it wasn't on the curriculum.

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Yes for primary.

Politics/Philosophy/ Economics
What councils do, what councillors are responsible for. Where they get money. What MPs do. Who elects MPs and Prime Ministers and when.
What Governments and Ministers do eg budgets, NHS, Taxation, National Insurance. Pensions etc. etc.
Role of Banks, Building Societies etc.

Some countries eg France have been doing this for 11 year olds for at least the last 70 years.

With all the wars and hatred that are based around religion and the amount of misinformation (and complete lies) spread about religion I personally think that Religious Studies is one of the most important subjects taught in schools.
Saying you shouldn't study religions (and other belief systems) is not good.