What would you like to see taught in schools that currently isn't?

[EllieRosesMammy]

I'd like cooking to be taught, when I was in school it was taught till year 9 and then optional after that. Plus when it was taught we were making something like scones or bread - not something you'd make every day.

I've met so many grown adults who can't cook and waste a fortune on crap and takeaways, I think teaching people basic cooking skills throughout school would help to prepare them for when they move out :)

In the UK this stuff is pretty much all taught. Reality is however, that there isn't enough money to staff schools properly to prevent chair throwing, so having fully working kitchens and qualified sign language teachers probably isn't a priority.

My DC did cookery at school clubs. The problem was they learned how to make brownies and other sweet treats. It really is something best taught at home but I do agree that more time should be spent in the teenage years teaching healthy eating - perhaps the biology syllabus should be tweaked to include more about keeping the body healthy and less about cell structure.

Likewise I have taught maths at GCSE in recent years and think there is a case for modifying the syllabus to include more practical applications and less pure maths. I appreciate that everyone needs to understand basic algebra but I do agree that without context it is a fairly pointless exercise for many students.
The first time I saw someone using simultaneous equations in real life (I was in my mid-twenties) I was shocked as I had no idea they could be so useful.
Not applicable now as the solution would have been readily available through a quick Google but they are still being taught in an abstract way.

Natural sciences are sadly not considered important. One of my DC was lucky enough to do gardening at school but unfortunately it is not that common at secondary level. I wish more children could identify common trees and flowers, know how to grow their own vegetables and take care of our natural resources. Again I think teaching about the local environment at secondary level is now less important than learning about the wider world. There needs to be a better balance. Everyone can help to improve the environment in their local area, fewer people are going to be able to change the world.

Part of the problem is that we now teach the same syllabus to all children. Back when I was at school there were different syllabus for GCE and CSE so for each subject there was a choice between an academic syllabus and a more practical syllabus. Pupils were streamed and taught to the appropriate exam and could either do all GCEs, all CSEs or as I did, a mix of the two. I completely understand the principle of allowing all the chance to sit and pass the same GCSE but sometimes wonder if it has been counter-productive. Now all are judged on their academic GCSE grades and are competing for univeristy places.

I think it is fairly obvious from a young age which pupils will be academic and which would do better in a more practical career.
Although a controversial opinion, I still think the old system of grammar and technical colleges had some advantages although I do think the same can be achieved within a single school if the focus is less on exams and more about encouraging individual talents, aspirations and abilities. How we achieve this with such low staffing levels in the state sector is the main issue.

My daughter started learning about this stuff this past year (4th grade) in Finland, starting off with talking about not believing everything you see on the internet, with examples of various internet hoaxes, as part of her social studies class.

Although a controversial opinion, I still think the old system of grammar and technical colleges had some advantages

Perhaps not the old UK system, separated too young, but having academic and vocational tracks are good, that's what we have in Finland but they don't separate until high school which is at 15/16 years old, which gives plenty of time to figure out which you're better suited towards (but its not completely separate either, you can do both at once too) and allows enough time for everyone to learn the essential academic stuff.

My kids go yo a school where they do non curricular Fridays, so they will do forest school, gardening, photography, business studies etc on rotation but they are fortunate their school does this. The only place they have learnt to identify the trees in the forests around them is from cubs/scouts and from my limited knowledge/Google lens.

I think much more importance should be placed on this at a young age so it just becomes part of your inherent knowledge.

I'd be up for them learning this in place of fronted adverbials!

They should take out handwriting in primary school to accommodate more foreign languages imo.

But agree with PPs that a lot of things being posted actually are taught in school already and in some cases always have been.

Basic life support.

That school sounds good, love the idea of doing different special things on Fridays. They are doing something similar in my DD's school for 5th and 6th grade, rotating through different special subjects though I expect its just for one (extra) lesson a week. They got to vote on what things they wanted to cover.

They spent quite a bit of time in environmental science learning about nature, had a big exam on it where they had to identify a lot of trees, flowers and animals and fish from silhouettes or drawings.

They spend time on things like this, and quite a lot of time on handicrafts, but then less time on other things (hah like fronted adverbials, though they probably don't exist in Finnish), they haven't even started learning history yet for instance.

Exactly, KS2 is too late. We should start in EYFS. Most countries start learning foreign languages in preschool.
But I totally agree with everything you’ve said here.

To be honest I think the issue is that a lot of stuff mentioned here just won't be relevant to teenagers so the class will just go over their head. I remember our school bringing in someone to talk about nutrition and healthy eating and myself and my friend trying to use the time to discuss an outfit for our trip to town on Saturday and we were very well behaved girls who never messed about in class but we still treated that time as a bit of a break as it wasn't an exam subject. Likewise another time a lovely lady from the Samaritans came in for a talk and en route to the talk two lads from our year were seen being marched to the principals office so we spent the hour speculating on what had happened

I agree which is why I suggest something like healthy lifestyles should be a core part of the biology exam syllabus not an extra. In my opinion it is far more important that learning about cell structure which only a few will need to know for their future careers.

I've worked in the hospitality industry for 11 years and I've served many people who rely on sign language, never have I served someone who was French speaking 🤷‍♀️

Clearly schools should be teaching children how to do their own research.

All these people complaining that they can’t cook, budget or understand pensions and mortgages, did you not learn to read and use a library or the internet?

That sounds brilliant Natsku! I'm sure you do have fronted adverbials in Finland but nobody ever, anywhere, needs to know what one is.

Shocking imo that british kids know about conjunctions and clauses at the age of 7, but can't identify a the most common of flaura around them.

My kid learned some BSL in school. He also does French and taught himself some Spanish in lockdown on an App. We go to France and Spain so he has used those languages.
Hes never had a chance to use sign language remembers none of the signs now. BSL is actually really hard to learn, and unless it is taught consistently and effectively it is likely to be mostly useless (how many qualified BSL teachers are there? definitely not enough for every school in the country)
Although in theory it would be great if everyone in the country knew some BSL it’s just not practical to have it on the curriculum for many reasons.

Actually not sure we would have them, can't really switch around sentence structure like in English. Certainly not something you need to actively learn in English lessons anyway, it's the kind of thing you learn as you go, though reading and talkin. Definitely time better spent on something else more useful, like recognising poisonous berries and mushrooms so children don't poison themselves!

Sewing saved me at school - it was the only thing I excelled at and I am training to become a teacher in the hope that I can pass some of my knowledge on.

Also car mechanics - ds8 would like to be one when he leaves school.

In fact, generally, schools don't cater for people like my son and I.

Basically we are really good at working out how stuff works - practical skills which used to be the focus of the old comprehensive school system.

It would be my dream to have gone to a school which focused on Maths and English then every other lesson could be practical. Living the dream

A lot more detail on female biology. My mum died when I was 13. When giving birth (and after) I still didn't understand what a cervix was. I was also ignorant about breastfeeding, I had no idea that milk was alive like blood and adjusted its makeup depending on the age of the baby. PCOS, endrometriosis and other common gyny issues should also be discussed. Women can feel so alone and not understand how common these conditions are. If we talk about STDs with kids then we should talk about other common medical issues.

And in my dream school we would wear dungarees and a tool belt everyday and there would be huge workshops filled with exciting machinery...

What consent means.

History in a thorough and chronological approach.

They get taught consent, they get shown that cup of tea video. So often that they say ‘not that bloody cup of tea video again’.

Oh of course, because that's all you ever hear in the news, little kids dying from eating random berries.

So when do kids learn to write?

We have that too.

Past 16 you can go to traditional A Level route, or through BTEC, apprenticeship etcebeen at 15-16 GCSE there's note practical options available.