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Original poster

Surprising things pupils don't know?

252 replies

letsgomaths · 19/05/2019 20:06

Usually, we adults are surprised when the younger generation do know something we don't expect. But are there any times you have been surprised by a child or teenager being quite unfamiliar with something you thought they would know about, or have had to shift your expectations? Here are some I things I have had to explain unexpectedly, come and share yours!

Pin the tail on the donkey. I used it in a maths question about probability: a pupil had never even heard of it! I didn't get them to play it though. Wink

Also about probability, I've sometimes had to explain playing cards to teenagers who have never used them.

I once had to explain to a teenager what a microscope is used for: it was news to them.

I was going to add the Millennium Bug to this list (it seems like only yesterday everyone was terrified of the impending doom), then I realised most of my pupils hadn't been born then! Blush

I quite enjoy telling pupils about old technology, such as looking things up on microfiche, or TVs that were not flat screen.

OP posts:
Piggywaspushed · 19/05/2019 21:00

My (top set) had to find a map of Scotland and trace it/ draw it . Two of them googled the map and STILL drew me a map of England...

joyfullittlehippo · 19/05/2019 21:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Ces6 · 19/05/2019 21:01

I have found out (thanks to Brexit) that a lot of people (and not just children!) are confused about Ireland/Northern Ireland/UK!

peanutbutterismydownfall · 19/05/2019 21:01

Another one... when DS was about 3.5 he was having SALT. As well as delayed speech, there were concerns about his hearing, possible processing issues etc so they were checking his understanding as well as just working on his speech. The therapist showed him pictures & he had to name them. I could tell there were several that he couldn't do and, at the end, the therapist commented that his knowledge was inconsistent. I asked if I could see the pictures so I could have a understanding of how many there were and quickly spotted a theme - at least half of the ones he didn't know were tools (hammer, drill, screwdriver), others were make up (lipstick, nail varnish) or jewellery (bracelet). It hadn't occurred to the therapist that he might not have come across them in everyday life but DH & I very rarely do any DIY (and, if we did, it would be when the DC are in bed) and I don't wear make up or jewellery.

hidinginthenightgarden · 19/05/2019 21:05

I have the same problem with teens not knowing what playing cards are in a pack. One didn't know how to put 1/2 in a calculator.
More worringly, I also teach adults and alot of them don't know how many cm are in a metre and one who wasn't sure how many minutes were in an hour! She was around 26 yrs old.

borntobequiet · 19/05/2019 21:06

It’s not new. We used to have a quiz at school in (the equivalent of ) Y6 at the end of the day. If you answered correctly, you could go home.
Q: What is the capital of France?
A: Scotland
This was the 1960s. Said child subsequently correctly answered something like “How old are you?” and was allowed to leave.

TreadingThePrimrosePath · 19/05/2019 21:06

I do think there’s a difference between general knowledge such as surnames, geography and identifying common objects such as trees and birds, and time-specific knowledge like 80s pop stars and tv series.

hidinginthenightgarden · 19/05/2019 21:07

Butter we had similar issues. Clock was one of them that DD didn't know. Not sure many 3 yr olds would to be honest.

ManchesterBorn · 19/05/2019 21:07

I have seen a child who didn't know how to use a dictionary, he had never seen one in his life - his parents "google".

Taking reception kids in a bus is one of my great joy, half are as excited as if it was a spaceship Grin
They've been in boats, planes, cars , but BUS! Amazing

cliffdiver · 19/05/2019 21:07

@sallud but do they know the difference between 'their' and 'there'? Grin

woodhill · 19/05/2019 21:07

Yes the time telling is very apparent.

It's a shame as obviously they are losing out.

Is it no longer taught in primary

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 19/05/2019 21:08

I recently taught Cubs text messaging using the number key pad... They were amazed at how fast the adults could do it... But that is likely the only time they will do it (badge criteria may need updating!)

TrotEsio · 19/05/2019 21:08

*Yes the time telling is very apparent.

It's a shame as obviously they are losing out.

Is it no longer taught in primary*

It is taught in primary - it's part of the NC.

ThatCurlyGirl · 19/05/2019 21:11

I feel terrible now (as someone who LOVED school, did that weird me me me hand hand up complete with pained noise) as I never realised until my mates became teachers that they had to do lesson plans!

And that if none of the more experienced teachers would share theirs or even offer advice or a second pair of eyes, they had to plan every single lesson from scratch! I feel like I want to say thanks to them all again.

Only one of the ten girls at my school (now 31/32) is still in teaching, its a brutal and often thankless job. So THANK YOU from me!

I cried at the weekends and was told this was silly but I explained it was because I get to learn every day and see all my friends"

God I hope a kid like me and not a little shit.

DrMadelineMaxwell · 19/05/2019 21:11

That yellow dandelions are the same plant as the fluffy white dandelions. Year 6.

BelindasGleeTeam · 19/05/2019 21:11

Yes time telling is in YEAR 1!! Basics of half, part and o'clock

And year 2. And three. More complex then. But it is taught.

TeuchterTraveller · 19/05/2019 21:13

Yes the time telling is very apparent.

It's a shame as obviously they are losing out.

Is it no longer taught in primary

Yes it is, my 6 yo is currently learning to tell the time (analogue) in Primary 2 (Scotland).

MeMeMeYou · 19/05/2019 21:14

How many legs many common animals have. I made addition problems adding the number of legs on a cow and a chicken together and they had no idea. Year 2, so age 6-7. Thought a chicken had 4 legs. Not sure about cows etc. Admittedly they were the lowest group ability-wise but several of them were quite chatty and good at general knowledge, so I was pretty surprised.

Also, knowing what 'change' is at the shop. As a new teacher I was so surprised kids had no idea. I was trainee or NQT and realised no one was getting the answers right. Went back a step to find out what they thought it was and had answers like "it's a present from the shop keeper to make you want to keep coming back." Lesson learnt to never assume anything, and always start from the very start!!

woodhill · 19/05/2019 21:14

Many of them are still struggling post 16 and adults not being able to work out gaps in time e.g if some thing starts at a certain time, when is the end time and subtraction of minutes

HagridsBigToe · 19/05/2019 21:14

Until recently, I didn't know that a pony was not a baby horse...

Jaspermcsween · 19/05/2019 21:15

It’s PASTIME !

coconuttelegraph · 19/05/2019 21:15

Manchesterborn - you must live in a very unusual place and mix with only the aging literary if you are surprised that young children don't know about dictionaries.

I'd be more surprised if a child under 10 DID know how to look something up in a dictionary

tinytemper66 · 19/05/2019 21:16

Our school recently invested in a digital wall clock for exams due to pupils being able to tell the time with an analogue clock!

GeoffreyEatsPancakes · 19/05/2019 21:16

I volunteer in a primary school, we started to teach analogue time telling this term.

Only 1 child in the class had an analogue clock at home. Some of them even wear fitbits to school so have a digital watch on their wrist but still don't know that lunch is at 12.15. This is year 3.

I believe this is generational, I wear a watch (born in the 70s) lots of people rely on their phones to find the time. So children don't wear watches either. Just fitbits. Hmm

SarahAndQuack · 19/05/2019 21:16

I teach university students.

The one that always shocks me is that they don't know marital rape was legal within my (and most of their parents') lifetimes. They always assume it must have been a crime for hundreds of years.

I have also had to explain quite carefully that male homosexual sex was a crime within living memory, and that there are plenty of adult men who remember this quite well. In connection with this, a lot of students do not believe 'queer' was a slur within the living memory of anyone under about 80.

I suppose these are all good things in terms of showing how far we've come, but I have my doubts.

The one that makes me feel really ancient is explaining to them that, in the past, when people encountered a word they didn't understand in a story, they simply had to live with not understanding that bit of the book, find someone to explain, or wait until (years later!) they eventually found out what the mysterious word was. I teach this in the context of readers in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and students 'understand' it was like that because there was no such thing as the internet, but what they don't understand in a real, palpable way is that it was exactly the same for me (and anyone older than me) growing up. If we read a story that used a word we didn't know, and we couldn't find it in a dictionary/learn it from an adult, we were just stuck waiting to figure it out.