Surprising things pupils don't know?

[letsgomaths]

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.

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!

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

I was nearly 4.5 when I started, the borough we lived in had the cut off as 31/3 at the time (early 1970s).

Seeing how frequently shoelaces are mentioned (I was late with this - wore Velcro until age 10) reminded me: how are children these days with skipping ropes, once a playground item seen everywhere? Are children taught to skip, and is it as popular as it was in the 1980s?

I never cracked it, and try as I might, I still can't do it!

am amazed at the clocks one, as every house I know has an analogue clock in it.

We don't have one

I've got at least 4 analogue clocks in my house.

Young people should be able to tell the time on one as it does impact on them in exam situations and it helps with working out timings in real life scenarios.

I agree about the bible for education as some students used to struggle to understand about Catholism and the Protestant angle in relation to the reformation when doing history.

Given the cohort in the school I work you can take absolutely nothing for granted. Pretty much entirely EAL, or very disadvantaged white British background- very diverse mix and many children who are recent arrivals to the UK. it’s actually been a real eye opener as to how difficult it is to really succeed or excell in GCSEs without the cultural capital and just general experiences that come with being from a more or less middle class, English speaking family. Everyday something takes me by surprise - eg. you reference something that seems like a total given - like the location of France, half the class have no idea where France is cos ‘France’ is about as random a destination as Khazakstan for most of them. It’s fascinating - I have thought up about 20 different phd topics working where I do now.

Also in the above I’m by no means saying the kids I work with are generally weak students - they just have a completely different set of references and experiences to me/most of the teachers.

Also counting change is good for maths skills.

I will be using cash for as long as possible, using other means of paying means you always can be tracked and to me it could have sinister repercussions. I do use cards but it is a point to consider

Pingu I've taught several children from middle class, English speaking homes who have been educated overseas eg in International schools. They still lack a lot of those references.

Reception age boys definitely often wore buckled shoes in the 70s- I've got a lovely school photo with everyone in those brown buckle up shoes (shaped like doodles but leather!).

I teach secondary and am regularly baffled at what kids do and don't know. My favourites are kids not knowing the Titanic was a real life event (yet surprisingly all knowing who Leonardo Dicaprio is and thinking he's "fit" which I find bizarre as I considered him too old for me!) and a girl telling me a couple of years ago that she didn't know anything about 9/11 because "history's a boring subject"!!

Noah's Ark had a few of mine stumped. Not an ethnically diverse school.

We used to go out of our way to take our two (now in their early 20s) down to the market and to the sweet shop on Saturday mornings so they could "pay the lady" with the correct coins.
Dh also used to drive from our house (walking distance to the town centre) to the Park and Ride so that they could catch the bus. That was a treat for them!!

'I was great at probability but had never been allowed playing cards at home as my mother thought they were 'evil'

My dad was brought up on a North American farm between the wars; and didn't often have the chance to deal with money (because he mostly didn't have any, not because they had credit cards then!) He was very good at maths in general, but remembered all his life that he was totally unable to do a particular school test, because it was all about how much people would get or spend 'in cash' and he didn't know what cash meant!

I came from a very un-jingoist family; but nevertheless was absolutely shocked at the age of about 8 or 9, when I looked at a map of the world and discovered that England wasn't one of the BIGGEST countries in the world.

I once took some year 8 students on a residential trip in the countryside. There were sheep I a field and a student asked me what they were. They were shocked when I said they were sheep as they didn't think they were so big! City kids so most had never seen farm animals close up.

Im a grownup and didnt realise we had new shaped pound coins as i use my card for everything.

Tying a tie. My ds school has clip ons.

6 of my year 6 class still cannot tie shoelaces. In September on our residential I set them the challenge to learn but none have.

I also realised on the residential that roughly half of them don't know how to eat spaghetti, make a bed with sheets or pack a suitcase.

I did a brief survey of what they could cook the other day in preparation for a few days cooking in July. Nothing. I just don't get this: my own kids could do several full meals and loads of quick snacks by 11. How hard is it to scramble an egg?

We are baking bread, making toast and ooking omelettes in July.

my own kids could do several full meals and loads of quick snacks by 11. How hard is it to scramble an egg?

do you know how many adults are too lazy to ever cook? I mean, I have seen ready-made omelettes in the frozen section! It must take longer to defrost than it would take to make one yourself.

If the kids are in a ready-meals only house, with a few take away as a treat, the poor sods have no chance.

I'm confused how someone can understand the concept of time without an analogue clock, it's a visual representation of time passing.

I'm dyslexic so I need to take a second to 'decipher' an analogue watch.

I got a digital watch at about 10 and I have several watches now but when I glance at my watch I might see 'three o'clock' but it is actually 9 o'clock.

One of the digital watches I had in my teens was in 24 hour format so I am a whizz at converting between 24 and 12 hour.

I don't have an analogue clock, I have the time on my cooker, my microwave, the TV, my computer.

But I understand time, students can sometimes not understand it ie they think 12:50 is half past 12.

I also remember at secondary learning to tell the time in french, at the time it seemed a silly exercise because if you asked anyone French on holiday they would just show you their watch.

How hard is it to scramble an egg?

If you have

an egg
something to mix it in and something to mix with, eg a mug and a fork
a pan
a heat source
something to eat it from - OK you could use a mess tin.
Somewhere to wash up.

If you are in a B and B with just a microwave it's not so easy. It can be done but it's probably as easy to buy a frozen omelette.

it’s actually been a real eye opener as to how difficult it is to really succeed or excell in GCSEs without the cultural capital and just general experiences that come with being from a more or less middle class, English speaking family

I completely threw a class of (RAL) adults by telling them to get out, 'the felt tipped pens' they only knew them as 'colour pens'.

For one module though they did make a recipe book between them of food from their home counties, Italian, Jamaican, Nepalese...

My year 8s really struggled to grasp that quarter to 9 (for example) was 8.45. They couldn't wrap their head around the 8.

Our textbooks are quite out of date, occasionally they'll come across a word like floppy disk or hifi or there will be a picture of a family watching TV but the TV has a huge back like from the early 200s and they can't grasp that 😂

Any phone numbers!

When my 16 year old lost his phone in a taxi and was staying at a friend's house overnight we were getting concerned the next morning when we couldn't contact him. Turned out he didn't know/ couldn't remember our home phone number, or either DH or my mobile numbers and since he'd lost his phone couldn't message anyone via social media either.
Made us (and him!) realise how vulnerable they are without their phones!

There are loads of things on here I didn't know. I've found this an interesting thread so thanks!

I remember asking my teacher in y4 what country galleons, sickles and knuts were from...not realising it was only in Harry Potter that they actually existed

Recently it came out during a family discussion that my 21 yo brother has no idea how to answer a phone or make phone calls. He can do it physically but he had no idea what to say when ringing up and making a doctors appointment for example...he's always done it online. Same goes for booking restaurants. How bizarre is that? He lives in London where I feel like this is easier to get away compared to our fairly rural town!

Taught a kid once who didn't know what an onion was. From a family where meals came from the local kebab shop or the cheapest freezer stuff going - had never seen a whole onion before.

School trip out to the countryside, for one student in the group it was the first time (aged 14) he had ever left his town. First time he had ever ‘seen a sheep or cow in real life’ or walked through a field. He wanted to stay close in case of bears.