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?

How to manage your money. Cook a healthy economic meal. How to prepare and cook a variety of fruit and vegetables. Such an essential skill used to be taught in most schools. Now with all the emphasis on the academic sadly neglected even if it is taught you need to know all the science behind why a cake rises etc lots of written work around it as well. Sad because it was something that some of the less academic could excel at, not so possible now because of all the written work needed.

How much of unhappy teachers is down to demotivated/unruly pupils?

Perhaps there'd be fewer behaviour/disruption problems if the children were being taught different more relevant and accessible (in their eyes) stuff?

If pupils were happier, more engaged and less disruptive, I'm pretty sure many of the teachers would likewise be happier.

We can't go on doing the same thing and expecting different results.

Schools have barely changed in 50 years yet the World outside schools has changed out of all recognition.

I’ve been a teacher for nearly 30 years, schools have changed massively

Do we really want teachers dabbling in children’s mental health? Surely that’s for trained professionals.

Scaling back would be good, the UK seems to go into greater depth at younger ages in some subjects which can be good in some ways but leaves less time for other things.

My son went to a "strict" school where there was a lot of emphasis on behaviour and respect and it worked really well. The first year was pretty hard going, with most of the teachers "setting the scene" by being pretty strict, not particularly friendly, giving homework when not really needed just to establish the habit (and punishments for not doing it).
I remember when I started high school in year 9, first day of term, meeting our tutor, we were all a bit restless and excited in the corridor outside the classroom and she came out and shouted at us. I was terrified we were getting a really horrible super strict tutor, but then she turned out to be the nicest teacher I ever had. She let us know she could get angry and scare us, but never had to again. Pretty effective!

Might be missing the point (looking at other posts), but I see learning as the byproduct.

Hopefully, they learn to

• turn up on time
• be organised (need pens and books, PE kit, etc)
• dress appropriately
• sit still when required to do so
• listen
• not talk over the teacher or their classmates
• follow instructions
• learn that their actions have consequences
• get along with their classmates
• meet deadlines

With time, I'd hope they learn to

• start to take pride in the work they produce and gain pleasure from doing a job well
• develop genuine friendships with their classmates
• forge relationships with the adults who are there to support them in their journey
• gain an idea of what makes them happy in life / and what they'd like to do in the future to continue to build on that

So nothing that's explicitly 'taught'. Continually amazes me how many students struggle with the most basic of things.

Exactly that. It's setting boundaries from the earliest point in time. I remember a teacher similar when I was at school 40+ years ago. He was called Mr Cookson, an English teacher. We didn't have him at the time, but we came across him once as a cover teacher in the first year. He scared the shit out of us. A couple of years later, we got him as our English teacher for year 9 (3rd year as it was then). At first, he kept up the demeanor of a really strict/pretty horrible person. After a few weeks he seemed to mellow. After the Christmas break, he was really friendly/happy and we had loads of brilliant lessons, full of fun, learned loads, barely any classroom disruption. We realised it was all an act to set boundaries and establish discipline. I ended up with him again in year 10/11 for O level English. He was exactly the same at first as half the class hadn't had him in year 9. It was actually quite funny for us to see the other pupils squirm at first as we'd seen his "act" previously. He even gave some of us a little wink occasionally during his "act". Under the exterior, he was one of the nicest, friendliest, most helpful teachers, and despite appearances was really soft under it all. He became the "go to" teacher for us whenever we had problems as he was far more sympathetic and supportive than most other teachers. Pupils did well in his classes due to lack of disruption and poor behaviour.

@taxguru your example of the history lesson is interesting.
Do you think history should basically be dates and facts memorised in order to pass an exam or should it have lessons that teach more how learning about history could potentially be used in a future career (ie becoming a historian).
I remember doing module (6 weeks - or half a term) on Native Americans, pioneers and cowboys. We never took an exam it. But it's an era of history I am still very fascinated and interested in all these years (35 ish) later.

Hey, Teaching assistant here 👋

For mainstream I honestly think more can be done to help the pupils figure out what they would like to do for their career, help pupils get into college because I know a lot of family's just don't help with stuff like that!
Helping with how to create CV's for when looking for work and lessons in managing money! Like how to save up for a house and how to use your money wisely!
Teaching children these days about why some people are different than others.. could be autism, people being non-verbal, Down syndrome etc. And one major thing that should be taught is CPR!!!

But I honestly think more can be done and taught to kids about actually problems you can face in the real world and not some algebra crap!

Yes, honestly, I think some people equate “kids, teens and adults struggle in these areas” with “schools don’t teach it”. Schools spend ages on all this stuff. PSHE throughout school, appropriately at different ages, assemblies on these exact topics, discussions in class and form, etc. They have awards for inclusiveness, kindness, leadership, hard work, progress.

The problem is that just because you teach stuff doesn’t mean everyone is suddenly going to be great at all these things. Sometimes you need life experience before the lessons you’re learning sink in, or before you can become receptive to them. Many of these things need a lot of inward reflection - not many classrooms full of 13 year olds are great at that.

The early years ‘characteristics of effective learning’ should be woven through the whole curriculum.

These are applicable whether you are three or 103!

Leading a school in an area where children didn't play, the whole curriculum was set out to develop learning characteristics. Without them, children didn't have the attitudes to learning required. For instance playing with a basic construction toy means you try, fail, make changes, evaluate, adapt to solve problems. Without this problem solving in KS1/2 maths is just about impossible because children don't have the right attitudes to try and solve anything.

https://birthto5matters.org.uk/overview-characteristics-of-effective-learning-and-areas-of-learning-and-development/

Aren’t life skills what parents/carers are for? Teachers have too much to do already.

@F1boxbox careers guidance definitely needs improvement - not just for the students but their parents.
It's amazing how many parents on Mumsnet believe "they have to stay at school until 18 now" (they don't!) and how many have never seem to have heard if btec qualifications despite the fact they've existed in one form or another for about 100 years.

No, I don't think it should revert to the old fashioned rote learning of nothing but facts. I fully agree with it being a skill/logic based subject.

What I don't agree with is using the same core event (a pretty irrelevant one that is short on actual fact) for an entire term to practice different types of skills. There's so much more history out there that could have been used to help practice the skills. As it was, the entire class were bored stupid from "yet another" text book passage on exactly the same topic, that was barely any different from the passage they did the week before.

I actually think it was more damaging that useful, as after the first few weeks of it, they were wrongly using information they remembered reading about somewhere else when they should have been comparing two source documents, so were "reading between the lines" rather than the point of the comparison task which was to identify where the sources agreed and where they differed, identify the facts underlying the sources, identify any bias etc. When performing that kind of "compare these two source documents", it's better to use a topic they've not studied previously so they can concentrate on the words/pictures in front of them without "baggage" of what they've already been taught!

You can do the same type of skills/logic based work on different subjects which would make the lessons more interest and broaden the knowledge. Or you can do less of it and do something else instead!

It's also "how" they teach stuff. For example, compound interest on loans/savings is taught within Maths as an equation. The school can tick the box that they've taught compound interest. But for an average or below average pupil, they may not have understood the equation, may not have even been able to complete/solve the equation. They probably didn't teach the real life implications of compound interest in terms of a real life scenario that weaker pupils could identify with, i.e. that the interest on your loan, whether a mortgage, student loan, credit/store card, can actually end up more than you borrowed and you may end up only ever paying off the interest for decades and never actually start to pay off the capital (particularly for student loans).

@taxguru that does sound it wasn't being taught that brilliantly if what you say is true - but you never know. It may have activated interest in one of the students and they end up becoming a historian and they discover what the truth about what happened to the Princes.
Or write an award winning novel about the event.
You just really never know where a school topic will lead.

@MrsSkylerWhite it should be a bit of both really.
Schools and parents working together.

Budgeting
Basic First Aid
'How to Do it' one hour a month topics to include: planning a wedding including options, planning a funeral including options, bereavement, improving MH and wellbeing, plan for a baby.

Maybe some parenting skills so their children's upbringing isn't the sole responsibility of the school 🙄

Curiosity, self reliance, research skills

They need to be teaching about current affairs and politics. I was having a conversation with my 19 year old GD who said that she didn't vote recently as she had not registered and did not understand what it was all about. Didn't know whose manifesto she felt aligned with most and probably worse - didn't seem bothered!!
This is a student doing a degree in engineering - I can't help but wonder what colleges and universities are teaching nowadays. These youngsters are expected to take charge of the future and don't have a clue how they can impact and shape their own futures.

My y9 student recently (just before the uk election) had English homework to go and research the different parties manifestos and summarise their policies on a list of topics. They then held a mock election in school. This is just a normal state non selective comprehensive.

Applied practical maths. Like how to read an invoice and add VAT and how a pension works over time.

More debating and publuc speaking practice routinely incorporated into education as confidence in this makes a real difference.

Sustainability - some will be getting better education in this than others as its a bit ad hoc at the moment but it's something that all the future generation needs to be aware of in their lives and work.

Not as vital but I would like to see more access and availability of subjects like Latin and classical civilisation available to children in state schools so they are not the preserve of the rich.

Consequences.

Children need to see more consequences of horrendous behaviour if they choose to display it.

My DCs state comp also ran mini elections based on manifesto pledges not parties.

To be honest I would say that it's your granddaughters family that have failed her if they have not talked to her about the importance of using her vote. There are plenty of student societies aligned with political parties or causes but it would not be the job of the engineering dept to talk politics to the students. My DC certainly knew who I was voting for and why and they also knew who I wouldn't be voted for and the many reasons for that!