Besides knowledge, what do you think they should be teaching children in schools?

[ShreeVishu]

Is the modern education system fit for purpose? Is it equipping children with the skills to be happy and successful in life? What additional skills do you think we should be teaching children in school?

These are all skills that parents should be teaching.

Most things parents say they want their children taught, first aid skills, finance etc are all taught in schools nowadays even if they weren't when we were at school.

Children are massively unengaged and the current school system hasn't moved with the times and doesn't prepare students for the world of work, or for following pleasurable pursuits.

Personally if I had a magic wand I would restructured the school system, still teach core academic skills but in a more functional way.

Reception to year 5 - play based, physical learning with lots of creative options alongside academic learning in core subjects at First School,

Year 6 - year 9 skills learning, DIY, Home Economics, Motor Skills, Outward Bound, first aid, theatre / public speaking, personal physical and mental wellbeing, community volunteering, alongside academic subjects at Middle school.

Year 10 - year 13 - academic learning and independence and work skills at High school

I'd get rid of linear exams that require you to regurgitate large quantities of information from the previous two years into some form of project coursework assessment.

But I don't have a magic wand or a magic money tree so we will all continue as is.

@MightyGoldBear I completely agree with you

I love this. Right skills for the right age

If there's an easy way to teach kids these skills at home, I am all ears. Especially teenagers.

It’s way too late if you don’t start until they’re teenagers.

@Toolittletoolatehmm - I don’t say parents should abrogate their responsibilities; I’m simply pointing out that the school environment / being immersed in a community of peers naturally offers an entire childhood’s worth of mostly unconscious learning through experience. Which is a good thing.

Critical Thinking for me

It's far too complex to say parents should teach these skills, ofcourse they SHOULD but many simply don't have those skills in the first place and it is often an intergenerational issue going back decades or longer.

It isn't necessarily a money issue either, although money helps both to access things and to alleviate stress and provide resources. It's also an adult attitude issue, my DD loves Shakespeare, she loves walking around galleries. I don't particularly love either of those things but I've always taken her to both as I think exposure is important.

We went to Hampton Court and DD was engrossed in looking at a painting, teacher with a school group walks in, sticks his head around the door and says "Oh, just more boring art" instantly closing that figurative (and physical) door to those students in his group, that boring art was by some of the greatest painters in history and whilst you might not 'get' art at a higher level and I certainly don't you can still enjoy it for what it is. Many parents also have that attitude, "ugh Shakespeare how boring" have clearly never seen it performed well. Those attitudes will stretch to other things too, financial and data literacy, or even something as simple as reading etc.

I agree with these. I have lost count of the number of threads I read on mumsnet from women trapped in abusive relationships because they don't recognise that their partner is abusive.

Often these women haven't had a decent role model at home so the abuse perpetuates itself. It's all very well saying that this should be taught by the parents but this means that children from dysfunctional family backgrounds never escape the vicious circle of abuse.

money management

Nutrition
Ecology

A lot of parents weren't taught it themselves. And that's on the generation before us

We already teach all those things from reception

Perhaps we need to educate parents in these skills, just a thought.

These are future parents.

No I don’t think it is fit for purpose anymore. I don’t think it equips young people for the real world. It is too overly focused on the academics. Maths, English, Science and the humanities are given too much importance. The curriculum isn’t much different to what it was 50+ years ago and yet the world has changed exponentially in that time.
Creative topics such as music, art, design, textiles etc and practical skills such as woodwork, joinery, metalwork, plumbing, cooking, mechanics, building and construction etc should be given more importance as many young people will go into these types of industries.
Also digital skills should be prioritised such as programming, web design, skills such as how to negotiate AI and keeping safe online. Also how to build a business online and work digitally. These are crucial skills for our digital native kids.
Financial literacy should be as important as actual literacy and communication and social skills could be practiced more.

In terms of happiness I think the message that only academic success will lead to success in life is damaging. Especially these days when it’s easier than ever to set up your own business, to make a living online/digitally. The old fashioned route has its place for those who want to become doctors, dentists, lawyers, teachers/academics etc but the vast majority of people won’t become those things so pressuring them down the same route as those who want to us illogical.
We need more plumbers, electricians, care workers, builders, manual workers, nurses and so on. We don’t need those people to have 9 GCSEs. Yes basic literacy is important but there is so much more to adult life than oxbow lakes, analysing the land use in a town, Chaucer, Henry the VIII, Pythagoras and trigonometry (no shade to those who love those niche things but they are very pointless today).

The whole system needs an overhaul for the digital 21st century.

Then maybe it's the parents who need the lessons too?

In order to make space to teach additional skills, what would you like to remove from the current curriculum?

I think a lot of people are ignorant of what schools already teach.

Basic healthcare. When and how to self treat. . When to see GP/A&E. How antibiotics work and how they don’t work on viruses. Vaccines.
Basic knowledge about temperatures, paracetamol/ibuprofen, sore throats, headaches, URTI, allergies, childhood illnesses, wound care, conjunctivitis, cold sores, etc.

I would just shave little pieces off the curriculum for each subject.
This is just a fun MN thread though, it’s not really about the organisational details.

i think there is an advantage and justification to specifically teach financially literacy skills. My school did this to an extent back in the 80s, but I think it could be much more detailed.

I don’t think schools are responsible for soft skills or emotional skills. The should not cause harm in those areas. As long as they manage that, I am happy.

How antibiotics work and how they don’t work on viruses. Vaccines.

This is part of the curriculum in GCSE biology.

Both are taught at KS3 - KS5 biology.

I think it would be unreasonable to expect teachers to do much more. Some of them seem to be under siege by their own pupils as it is. The only one I would probably add as an extension to maths is financial literacy, interest rates, compound interest, inflation, directly linked to personal finance examples. Apart from that people need to take more responsibility for their own kids. Can’t keep pushing stuff onto the schools. I remember a post from a mum who delayed her childs start to school on here and was then horrified that she would have been expected to do any phonics with him.

In an environment where you have increasing numbers of kids starting school who can’t manage basic skills I think we need to start really having a hard look at parents tbh.

Cooking and nutrition
Financial literacy - investing, how interest rates/mortgages work etc
Healthy relationships (I’m sure that is taught already)
Early years psychology and parenting - how to NOT fuck up your kids when you have them. Might break some cycles.