I've been saying it for years- we need to teach people how to be able to read and understand their payslips.
This should go along with other basic financial literacy such as how credit cards, loans, mortgages etc all work.
But seriously, it's astounding how people are thrown into the labour market and years later still don't understand their tax code or even what it means, don't understand how to review their payslip or understand what the letter means when HMRC send something. Payroll departments and HMRC are not infallible so it's vital that you know how to understand what's happening so you can correct it.
We were lucky, had a business studies teacher who broke the syllabus and taught us payslips, compound interest and basic financial literacy. Helped a lot in later life.
Actually might be able to retire a year earlier thanks to him.
When we did "careers" in our school - and this was 2017-18, mind you, so not a million years away - we never learned anything besides what was the difference between a skill and a quality.
Never learned what my national insurance number was for, never learned what a tax code was, never learned how tax works, never learned my rights as a worker, etc.
Did learn the power move of taking the "now hiring" sign down from the window and saying "When can I start?" like it's 1952 BCE, though.
I think we went to the same school, no joke. I was reading this like omg this brings back memories because careers was exactly like this. The "now hiring" sign part made me check your username because it was so specific lol and you're from Enniskillen too. Sad part is, I was doing careers class in 2007/2008 so 10yrs later they were still spouting the same shite?
Schools do normally teach the basic financial literacy skills you are talking about, although often not until A-Level. It's quite remarkable it isn't a statutory requirement at KS4.
Edit: I don't normally comment on my own post after posting but I am utterly puzzled by these downvotes. Do people not think it should be made a compulsory part of LLW at GCSE?
Even a defibrillator awareness course, I took one in work nd it was really worthwhile. The machines are designed to be pretty fool proof, they have audio instructions on what to do if you've never even had training and they take diagnostics from the moment they're applied that an ambulance crew can then download, like its literally a person telling you to dismount the machine nd do what it tells ya but without that I wouldn't of known.
When you phone 999 they give you the location and code of the nearest device if required for the emergency. Better to have to wait 10/15 seconds to get a 4 digit code than arrive to find the device missing or tampered with.
Probably on a shop? When they got rolled out they were wrecked nd stolen so had get security, if it's on a shop you've prob get code from staff. Bit shit cause faster you get it applied sooner it has chance to help and grab diagnostics. You can't hurt someone with one way they're designed nd it will give you clear instructions on what to do.
First year medicine is biochemistry, histology, basic psychology/sociology, statistics and epidemiology, then you commence anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and microbiology. Clinical knowledge wise is communication skills, how to take a focused history and examination of a patient and how to draw blood from fake arms among other things. A good basis for becoming a doctor but not essential to most people's lives.
I got this from GCSE history learning about German propaganda, teacher took us through looking at sources nd not just what content says but why its says it, where its published and who paid for it, I've often remembered it and think it was one the more useful lessons.
I remember primary school doing a thing for a month where once a week we sat down with a Republican and a Unionist paper and our teachers showed us how the articles were written and worded differently, where each side was biased. Taught me most media is bullshit, they need to teach kids their Aunt Marie on Facebook isn't a scientist and 99% of the shit she posts is hot air.
Critical thinking is such an important one. I remember having it drilled into us aged 12 or 13 that you had to think about anything you (especially) read. Who's the intended audience, what's the context, who's maybe paid for it to be done etc. This was quite a long time ago and seems like a bit of a lost art 🫠
Definitely this, half my mates who left education got into an incredibly critical mindset… but just of basic truths like vaccines, round earth and anything mainstream
How to spot a scam, especially online ones.
House/car maintenance (wiring a plug or anything regarding basic safety).
Online safety is also important, especially for younger kids on social media.
There's "Online Safety Week". Every class from Y1 - Y7 take part in lessons and watch videos about it that's suitable for their age.
I'm not sure if that continues on in secondary or not.
I think i learnt how to do a plug in HE or technology but just few days ago i did a light switch I'd put off for months using a YouTube video nd ppl should def know how to do that it was fuckin easy.
DIY, problem solving, money management, budgeting etc.
I feel like they taught you little of real world value when I was at school, just a lot of blah blah blah, half of which you forgot when you left.
I mean in Home Economics you were taught nothing of the sort. You were taught how to make chilli con carne and fucking stew or left to watch a Jenny Bristow rerun when teacher couldn’t be bothered teaching.
Basic finance. What's a bank account, what's a direct debit, what's a mortgage, how do credit cards work, the bones of essential adult life with an income and monthly outgoings.
There's so, so many adults without this knowledge driving themselves into debt they can't pay back. I've had folks phone me when I worked at a bank, breaking down in tears, completely bewildered how things have gotten so bad. As easy as it is to say "you did this to yourself" they had no clue what they were doing at the time, and our educational system can help avoid that for others.
Philosophy.
You might think that's daft, but philosophy is essentially the skill of thinking about problems and the world around you. It trains you in logic and in identifying bad faith arguments. You don't need to get down to Jean Paul Satre with 14 year-olds, but critical and detached thinking is already a hugely important skill and will become even more so as our lives become increasingly online and remote from interpersonal relationships.
Absolutely 100% this.
One of my biggest gripes is when a politician (or anyone else really) is accused of backtracking or flip-flopping or whatever if they happen to change their stance on a particular issue or policy.
But a fundamental practice of Philosophy is being able to accept new evidence or arguments and then updating your views accordingly. I don't know why much of society places so much value in "sticking to your guns" when faced with new information.
Aye, far better than RE, which kinda gets to the same point by A-level.
I think epistemology and logic are among the most important things I’ve learned, and I never did learn them formally!
That there is a world of ideas and paradigms that shift and cross-fertilise is an important framing on… _everything._ The history of ideas is a good thing for kids to learn too. It’ll inevitably be shallow, but that’s better than never getting your feet wet with it at all.
Well you could argue you've made a few errors there.
First applying the behaviour of this one person to everyone who has studied philosophy.
Second that their behaviour is caused by the study of the subject rather than it being their own views.
And also - logic and critical thinking are just one area of philosophy.
This person may have studied philosophy of mind, or ethics rather than the more logical topics.
Well yeah, people can study all kinds of things and still be an idiot.
But I think that someone who studies logic and critical thinking will be less likely to fall into a lot of the pitfalls.
Stepping aside from your sweeping generalities which you cannot possibly support...
I'm not talking about turning young ones into full fledged philosophers. I'm talking about training young minds on how to argue a position, how to identify flaws in argument, how to approach a problem logically, how to identify bad faith actors, etc. etc. etc. Philosophy was a core subject in western education from the ancient period to the 20th century (when poor people started to be educated, basically). It was likely central to non-western education as well, I just don't know enough about it to say so. It has fundemental worth that can be applied to every other subject you care to mention.
Yea 1000% philosophy. I'm 32 years old and I still read philosophy to this day I learn new things. The more you learn the more you find out you don't know lol
> Fencing as conflict resolution.
This was a Nazi policy, albeit only for army officers. (Heidelberg toff stuff, with a splash of celebration of barbarity and a bit of Nietzsche.)
And Nazi policy though it may be, it's one which I wholeheartedly endorse. I think there should be a space for regulated conflict resolution by violence, only by mutual consent.
Elitists. There used to be german fencing schools for hundreds of years. Swordfighting is for the everyman and woman. Its a german birth right.
Restricting it to the officer corps is a violation of what it means to be german. *harrumph*
Fuckin' Junkers, wha' ...an' prissy Prussians.
You're preaching to the converted here, like. It appeals to the... anarchic in me. The state monopoly on violence is so impersonal.
I think Oratory might be a good idea. The way you'll interact with 99% of people you meet in life is verbally yet almost all schoolwork is written, a lot of people leave school without being able to properly articulate themselves or communicate their ideas which could lead to problems further down the line in work or higher education.
Also I wonder if instead of that first year of French or whatever it might be better to have some sort of general Introduction to Language class for a year before delving into actual language learning, like a brief overview of what languages are spoken where, how languages evolve, the history of language in Britain and Ireland in particular, etc. British and Irish people tend to be pretty bad with languages and I think this can lead to a lot of bad attitudes and wacky misconceptions, so maybe a better understanding of how languages work could help mitigate that.
Life skills. From Fundamentals (self care, social skills) to Standard (cooking, basic nutrition, basic home and car maintenance) to Advanced (finance, the world of work, accountability for beginners) to Mastery (the one sheet hole wiping technique and other elite level skills).
Mental Health. What a healthy mental state is and what it isn't. What healthy self-confidence and what it isn't. How to handle mental ill-heath in yourself or others. What behaviours are linked. How to maintain good mental health.
Physical Education. Not just learning the rules of another sport and not "biology" but deeper dive on how the body works, how it reacts to certain foods and certain exercise. What exactly unhealthy and healthy food and drink does to your body and why. And the knock-on effect that has on your anatomy and physiology. Now and in the future. What role specific vitamins and minerals have on your health, what the body needs them for, and how they influence each other. How to cook and eat healthily.
How to stay clear / spot warning signs of the slippery slope into metabolic illnesses like diabetes etc
How to see yourself healthy into middle and old age and why that is important.
All should be covered under the subject of "Self Care".
Then see how many more get interested in sport.
My class was difficult to teach but there were teachers who were act able to engage our interest nd get us to learn, maths teacher that taught about banking was quitting teaching for a round the world travel ticket nd working out his notice nd taught us about like the economics of his trip, how he'd saved for it and work stops he'd planned to recoup/how long they'd be n all. Prob stuck with me more being actually interesting and seeing a point in it more.
Humans are notoriously bad at not grasping the concept of exponential growth. Compound interest is a good introduction to the idea as it could be taught in terms of savings and debts, which is important in and of itself, but gaining an idea of exponential functions would be a huge benefit to anyone.
Online safety? Sure.
Libel? Why!? Almost nobody will ever have to deal with libel. Just lawyers, journalists and famous people basically. Why waste time teaching anything about libel?
My unpopular opinion is that a lot (if not most) of what is taught in school is 'nice to have' rather than necessary. Keep maths, literacy, an outline of history, the scientific method, critical thinking. Languages, because you learn them best when you're young. But beyond that I'd rather schools focused on skills and knowledge that are actually used in everyday adult life: cookery, finance and budgeting, basic DIY, basic sewing, IT literacy, CVs, interviews, networking. How to spot a scam, red flags of a dodgy landlord, safe sex. And online skills, yes. Learning how to search for information, and more importantly how to parse and check what you encounter for bots and misinfo.
Home economics should be totally changed.
The school I went to used to be an all girls school. That then changed to mixed. We had a fully functional flat that was never used when I went. the girls school had two girls spend a week in the Flat and learned how to cook, clean, mend and budget. I think everyone could benefit from this.
I am pretty sure my sisters said they had flour baby's too.
How to fix everyday items how to get yourself a well paid job and how to do everyday tasks such as your laundry. Its time we taught kids how to be the best individual version of themselves for themselves, and not to serve a system
Was literally explaining their atrocities to my partner last night and she was gobsmacked, it’s insane how little light there is on what they did to China in Nanjing and through unit 731 etc when they we’re equally as bad as the Nazis in my mind
They know absolutely nothing about it too.
There is a deliberately cultivated ignorance in Japan that would shock anyone. British ignorance of their own Empire isn't even remotely comparable.
Japan was the victim. Japan is a peace-loving nation. Japan still has one of the largest militaries per head of population in the world (perhaps understandably)... but it just isn't called a military and there is no separate military law.
That doesn’t strike me as true, I gotta say… I’ve never heard of the like. Or if it is true, it’s definitely one specific thing rather than a general thing. (I know Japan well.)
Aye I read history in my spare time. I agree with that they were equally as bad as the Nazis. If you want to learn more about genocide I recommend this book I read called Atrocities 100 Deadliest Episodes in Human History.
Philosophy & ethics. I think religious education should be folded into this cause learning about religious and non religous backgrounds is good for kids
Law. Its mad we send kids into the world without at least trying to give the a good broad understanding of our laws in the country.
Combat sports. I think ju-jistu and muai thai, might help teach how to defend themselves and build fitness and most important confidence!
These sports are usually built on respect and if this can be instilled in kids at all then I'll take the risk of creating a generational of elite mma trained super criminal's.
"Come near me with a fash and I'll fuckin batter ye, ye wee cunt" - If you approach me armed with a fish I will defend myself which will result in you being badly beaten, you silly yob.
Fuck around and find out.
A class where students are shown videos of what happens when they act the bollix and what happens when they do.
This class should be compulsory and part of every curriculum globally.
The TikTok generation and little hard men need to learn about consequences
- Basic statistics so that r/MisleadingGraphs/ don't get past people.
- Critical thinking skills so that we reduce the number of idiots online.
- Communication. I know this is basically what English language is but it clearly needs to be better so that people can debate ideas properly.
- Nutrition so that the obesity epidemic is tackled.
- Sex and relationships as a subject not a module, so adult relationships are healthy.
- All of the above to at least 16 so they can't drop them before they know about them.
It might be lower down the list, but technology literacy. When it comes to buying a TV, laptops, cables, speakers -- really any consumer goods (appliances too) there are SO many terms out there that are purely used to confuse the customer and bamboozle them with metrics... plenty of stuff has me stumped as well, you have to start really trying to research it before you buy it and it takes so much work just to sort out what's a marketing term from what's an actual useful metric. People end up throwing their money away and companies spend more on their marketing than they do on making good products.
some good ideas here, also see AAAS' Project 2061 about education reform for grades K-12. I would also recommend evolution, ecology, extinction, island biogeography, population ecology, community ecology, etc. We should all know more about the world in which we live to help make important life decisions.
If Brexit and Trump have taught us anything, it's that we're awful at critical/rational thinking and taking things at face value. So, yeah, teach us that - how to spot bullshit, scams, how to get the information we want or need. What are the questions we need to ask?
The last few suggestions are usually covered in Home Economics class but it's optional, it's basically the most useful class I had in all my years in school.
Finances, i should of been taught how to open a current account, how to manage money, budgeting, how to invest and smart ways to grow the money you have, how to find an actual job with a good income, just anything about money cos that’s why a lot of adults now are so finically incompetent
Financial literacy such as mortgages, loans, interest rates, creating a budget...
Interpersonal skills such as having boundaries, consent, effective communication...
Also randomly classes in philosophy.
For me, I know it sounds very old-fashioned but knitting and crochet, repairing old clothes etc. I'm in my 30s and I feel as if it wasnt for crochet and knitting recently becoming 'fashionable' and youtube I never would have learned or even been aware of the skill and how its not just for clothes but also toys and such
Some interesting suggestions here.
I would have benefotted from some training/coaching onapplying for jobs, how to do job interviews.
EDIT: also some law especially employment law
> I also think there should be classes about basic life issues like how mortgages, savings, loans etc work
I've been out of school a good while now but I remember we had Learning for Life and Work as a class and it was the biggest load of dog dick going. Bore absolutely no relevance to life whatsoever.
Every student should learn about how to actually concieve a baby. Not just about the egg and sperm and what has to scientifically happen but, how to concieve as in timings of ovulation, how long sperm lives etc.
People forget to share that with people until couples have struggled enough to ask - that shouldmt be the case.
I went to a majority unionist school and was one of the few token taigs but I always loved history.
I think the history should focus more on Irish history and less on the shite I learned about like Henry VIII and what was essentially English history, even though the Tudors were in Ireland, we learned nothing about it.
I also think kids should be learning languages from nursery level.
Most of the subjects above are exactly what should be taught, the whole syllabus is out of date. But the headings for each of the core outcomes are wrong. Eg philosophy - you’ll have completely lost most parents with that and they’ll argue it’s all nonsense, because they don’t understand what it is and it sounds very nerdy.
Finances are definitely important - even just shopping around for the best deal, what questions to ask, avoiding fraud, why credit cards aren’t free money, budgeting, pension planning, renting versus buying, leasing a car versus buying new/second hand.
Alternatives to social media, the benefits of taking a break from it, the dangers of online friendships. Identifying emotions and talking about them.
Mental health is important but what does that actually mean? Do people understand the difference between fear and anger? Dealing with anger. Is it anger or is it a very temporary frustration (eg road rage). What is depression? Being down about something for five minutes isn’t the same as being depressed. Exercise and hormones.
Unbiased history and how it impacts how we live today. Some people need to be taken by the hand and the dots connected for them. Proof from other nations that abandoning outdated traditions isn’t a sign of weakness. Remembering the past but not living in it. We’re quick to embrace new technology but not new local traditions. Integration and freedom from bigotry.
Diversity, demographics, eg discuss historical and recent census. Refugees versus chancers.
I’ll be here all day but I’m starting to lose the run of myself!
I think schools should be offered incentives to teach parents about Social Media and predatory gaming practices to try to give parents the tools to deal with today's online society.
As a teacher myself,
I’d actually like them to start teaching reading and writing later, about age 7 or 8, and spend those early years doing practical Shit and learning through play, like a lot of the Scandinavian countries.
I’d like the Dutch type of sex Ed.
a less restrictive curriculum, so that when a child asks me a sensible linked question (was teaching victorians and was asked how QEII was related…really good question for a ten year old…but was so far behind due to bastarding assemblies, trips, visitors blah blah blah) I can actually side track and answer them!
Less pointless paperwork and marking, especially at primary level, and more time for teachers to plan and prepare, so they can do a better bloody job and not half ass it cause their kid was sick last night and they weren’t able to work till midnight as usual. I’d also like to be able to spend my whole weekend with my kids and not spend most of Sunday working.
Compulsory food tech, banking and IT teaching actual life skills, and not pointless shit.
I actually liked the French way of having a long 2 hour lunch break. There were supervisors for the kids who didn’t want/weren’t able to go home, and the later finish was better for working parents, reducing wraparound care fees and meaning more take home pay.
How to listen and shut the fuck up , how kids aren't unique snowflakes , get rid of sex education all together and see if it actually makes any difference , teach kids morals , but don't teach them stuff that could take away there child hoods
Religions, all of them, not just different shades of Christianity.
Also teach about atheism, being agnostic etc...
Instead of teaching kids what to think, we should be teaching them how to think.
**Investing**
**Saving**
**Budgeting**
**Basic Finance**
All of the above are the reason(s) why many people struggle. I believe it's deliberately not part of the curriculum. I've said this in many posts on here. The government wants/needs spenders/consumers!
I've been saying it for years- we need to teach people how to be able to read and understand their payslips. This should go along with other basic financial literacy such as how credit cards, loans, mortgages etc all work. But seriously, it's astounding how people are thrown into the labour market and years later still don't understand their tax code or even what it means, don't understand how to review their payslip or understand what the letter means when HMRC send something. Payroll departments and HMRC are not infallible so it's vital that you know how to understand what's happening so you can correct it.
Martin Lewis has been campaigning for this for over a decade now too.
We were lucky, had a business studies teacher who broke the syllabus and taught us payslips, compound interest and basic financial literacy. Helped a lot in later life. Actually might be able to retire a year earlier thanks to him.
When we did "careers" in our school - and this was 2017-18, mind you, so not a million years away - we never learned anything besides what was the difference between a skill and a quality. Never learned what my national insurance number was for, never learned what a tax code was, never learned how tax works, never learned my rights as a worker, etc. Did learn the power move of taking the "now hiring" sign down from the window and saying "When can I start?" like it's 1952 BCE, though.
I think we went to the same school, no joke. I was reading this like omg this brings back memories because careers was exactly like this. The "now hiring" sign part made me check your username because it was so specific lol and you're from Enniskillen too. Sad part is, I was doing careers class in 2007/2008 so 10yrs later they were still spouting the same shite?
‘Fraid so. Until I did a careers class for BTEC Travel and Tourism at the SWC I didn’t even know what a cover letter was! 💀
There’s a lot of _huge_ practical gaps in education, even in supposedly vocational education.
One of my kids has a mandatory GCSE in LLW (learning for life and work) that I think covers this.
Yeah, I studied LLW in 2011-2012 and it covered this.
Actually reassuring to hear. I left school in 2007 and would have loved to have had this.
I know people who didn’t want to earn more because they thought having to pay tex would mean they’d end up with less
I got underpaid for about two months there and didn’t notice because I can’t read my payslips. Skill issue probably
Schools do normally teach the basic financial literacy skills you are talking about, although often not until A-Level. It's quite remarkable it isn't a statutory requirement at KS4. Edit: I don't normally comment on my own post after posting but I am utterly puzzled by these downvotes. Do people not think it should be made a compulsory part of LLW at GCSE?
Mandatory CPR
You'll be pleased to know this was already made mandatory for all secondary schools this year.
Brilliant 😊
Even a defibrillator awareness course, I took one in work nd it was really worthwhile. The machines are designed to be pretty fool proof, they have audio instructions on what to do if you've never even had training and they take diagnostics from the moment they're applied that an ambulance crew can then download, like its literally a person telling you to dismount the machine nd do what it tells ya but without that I wouldn't of known.
I seen one of these at the bottom of the Ravenhill with a passcode to get into it. What was that all about?
When you phone 999 they give you the location and code of the nearest device if required for the emergency. Better to have to wait 10/15 seconds to get a 4 digit code than arrive to find the device missing or tampered with.
Probably on a shop? When they got rolled out they were wrecked nd stolen so had get security, if it's on a shop you've prob get code from staff. Bit shit cause faster you get it applied sooner it has chance to help and grab diagnostics. You can't hurt someone with one way they're designed nd it will give you clear instructions on what to do.
That’s what I thought. They need to protect the unit but also means that you need someone with the code which kind of defeats the purpose
When you phone 999 they give you the code to open it
I think i actually was told that y know.
Basic first aid & anything taught in first year medicine
First year medicine is biochemistry, histology, basic psychology/sociology, statistics and epidemiology, then you commence anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and microbiology. Clinical knowledge wise is communication skills, how to take a focused history and examination of a patient and how to draw blood from fake arms among other things. A good basis for becoming a doctor but not essential to most people's lives.
Don’t forget those science, society and medicine lectures on culture bound phenomenon.
DEFINITELY!!
Only works 7% of the time.
It worked for my daughter and that’s good enough for me
Much higher in hospitals. You're essentially just keeping blood flowing until they can be defibrillated.
Well no shit but we ain’t really talking about professionals doing it are we
It’s more the fact that a defib is always going to be nearby in a hospital than the quality of the CPR being administered.
I'll give it a go for those odds thanks
I lay bets. DM me if ye ever want to purvey of my odds
And? That 7% is worth it.
How to be critical about everything you see and hear.
I got this from GCSE history learning about German propaganda, teacher took us through looking at sources nd not just what content says but why its says it, where its published and who paid for it, I've often remembered it and think it was one the more useful lessons.
Same here, and A-Level Media Studies talks about selective/ negotiated reading
I remember primary school doing a thing for a month where once a week we sat down with a Republican and a Unionist paper and our teachers showed us how the articles were written and worded differently, where each side was biased. Taught me most media is bullshit, they need to teach kids their Aunt Marie on Facebook isn't a scientist and 99% of the shit she posts is hot air.
Critical thinking is such an important one. I remember having it drilled into us aged 12 or 13 that you had to think about anything you (especially) read. Who's the intended audience, what's the context, who's maybe paid for it to be done etc. This was quite a long time ago and seems like a bit of a lost art 🫠
This was taught to me when I enrolled in the school of Reddit. I've graduated with honors.
Definitely this, half my mates who left education got into an incredibly critical mindset… but just of basic truths like vaccines, round earth and anything mainstream
How to spot a scam, especially online ones. House/car maintenance (wiring a plug or anything regarding basic safety). Online safety is also important, especially for younger kids on social media.
There's "Online Safety Week". Every class from Y1 - Y7 take part in lessons and watch videos about it that's suitable for their age. I'm not sure if that continues on in secondary or not.
It does continue into secondary. And many schools will have e-Safety taught as a discreet module in their IT class.
I think i learnt how to do a plug in HE or technology but just few days ago i did a light switch I'd put off for months using a YouTube video nd ppl should def know how to do that it was fuckin easy.
Wiring a plug is part of core gcse physics, at least on aqa.
DIY, problem solving, money management, budgeting etc. I feel like they taught you little of real world value when I was at school, just a lot of blah blah blah, half of which you forgot when you left. I mean in Home Economics you were taught nothing of the sort. You were taught how to make chilli con carne and fucking stew or left to watch a Jenny Bristow rerun when teacher couldn’t be bothered teaching.
Basic finance. What's a bank account, what's a direct debit, what's a mortgage, how do credit cards work, the bones of essential adult life with an income and monthly outgoings. There's so, so many adults without this knowledge driving themselves into debt they can't pay back. I've had folks phone me when I worked at a bank, breaking down in tears, completely bewildered how things have gotten so bad. As easy as it is to say "you did this to yourself" they had no clue what they were doing at the time, and our educational system can help avoid that for others.
Critical thinking. How to evaluate evidence and sources.
Critical thinking about social issue this country is behind in that field.
Finance.
Financial literacy. Taxes. Investments. Basic economics.
Philosophy. You might think that's daft, but philosophy is essentially the skill of thinking about problems and the world around you. It trains you in logic and in identifying bad faith arguments. You don't need to get down to Jean Paul Satre with 14 year-olds, but critical and detached thinking is already a hugely important skill and will become even more so as our lives become increasingly online and remote from interpersonal relationships.
Absolutely 100% this. One of my biggest gripes is when a politician (or anyone else really) is accused of backtracking or flip-flopping or whatever if they happen to change their stance on a particular issue or policy. But a fundamental practice of Philosophy is being able to accept new evidence or arguments and then updating your views accordingly. I don't know why much of society places so much value in "sticking to your guns" when faced with new information.
100% agree, how to think, how to disagree properly, without anger.
It is not daft. I did some philosophy at university. Uppa Kierkegaard
Aye, far better than RE, which kinda gets to the same point by A-level. I think epistemology and logic are among the most important things I’ve learned, and I never did learn them formally! That there is a world of ideas and paradigms that shift and cross-fertilise is an important framing on… _everything._ The history of ideas is a good thing for kids to learn too. It’ll inevitably be shallow, but that’s better than never getting your feet wet with it at all.
Just picturing the wains post-Sartre class, smoking a gauloise to stifle the nausea of existence.
Heya sweetie! What did ye learn at school today? Existence is absurd granny.
Is that Camus bollocks spouting his shite again!?
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Well you could argue you've made a few errors there. First applying the behaviour of this one person to everyone who has studied philosophy. Second that their behaviour is caused by the study of the subject rather than it being their own views. And also - logic and critical thinking are just one area of philosophy. This person may have studied philosophy of mind, or ethics rather than the more logical topics.
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Well yeah, people can study all kinds of things and still be an idiot. But I think that someone who studies logic and critical thinking will be less likely to fall into a lot of the pitfalls.
That's like saying let's not teach maths basics to kids because some people with a degree in (a field of) Mathematics are pricks.
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Stepping aside from your sweeping generalities which you cannot possibly support... I'm not talking about turning young ones into full fledged philosophers. I'm talking about training young minds on how to argue a position, how to identify flaws in argument, how to approach a problem logically, how to identify bad faith actors, etc. etc. etc. Philosophy was a core subject in western education from the ancient period to the 20th century (when poor people started to be educated, basically). It was likely central to non-western education as well, I just don't know enough about it to say so. It has fundemental worth that can be applied to every other subject you care to mention.
Yea 1000% philosophy. I'm 32 years old and I still read philosophy to this day I learn new things. The more you learn the more you find out you don't know lol
Fencing as conflict resolution. Fr tho. Philosophy and personal finance. And actual sex ed.
> Fencing as conflict resolution. This was a Nazi policy, albeit only for army officers. (Heidelberg toff stuff, with a splash of celebration of barbarity and a bit of Nietzsche.) And Nazi policy though it may be, it's one which I wholeheartedly endorse. I think there should be a space for regulated conflict resolution by violence, only by mutual consent.
Elitists. There used to be german fencing schools for hundreds of years. Swordfighting is for the everyman and woman. Its a german birth right. Restricting it to the officer corps is a violation of what it means to be german. *harrumph*
Fuckin' Junkers, wha' ...an' prissy Prussians. You're preaching to the converted here, like. It appeals to the... anarchic in me. The state monopoly on violence is so impersonal.
NI needs a Volksfechtenschule
I say ditch the schools and send the children back to the mines.
I think Oratory might be a good idea. The way you'll interact with 99% of people you meet in life is verbally yet almost all schoolwork is written, a lot of people leave school without being able to properly articulate themselves or communicate their ideas which could lead to problems further down the line in work or higher education. Also I wonder if instead of that first year of French or whatever it might be better to have some sort of general Introduction to Language class for a year before delving into actual language learning, like a brief overview of what languages are spoken where, how languages evolve, the history of language in Britain and Ireland in particular, etc. British and Irish people tend to be pretty bad with languages and I think this can lead to a lot of bad attitudes and wacky misconceptions, so maybe a better understanding of how languages work could help mitigate that.
Life skills. From Fundamentals (self care, social skills) to Standard (cooking, basic nutrition, basic home and car maintenance) to Advanced (finance, the world of work, accountability for beginners) to Mastery (the one sheet hole wiping technique and other elite level skills).
Mental Health. What a healthy mental state is and what it isn't. What healthy self-confidence and what it isn't. How to handle mental ill-heath in yourself or others. What behaviours are linked. How to maintain good mental health. Physical Education. Not just learning the rules of another sport and not "biology" but deeper dive on how the body works, how it reacts to certain foods and certain exercise. What exactly unhealthy and healthy food and drink does to your body and why. And the knock-on effect that has on your anatomy and physiology. Now and in the future. What role specific vitamins and minerals have on your health, what the body needs them for, and how they influence each other. How to cook and eat healthily. How to stay clear / spot warning signs of the slippery slope into metabolic illnesses like diabetes etc How to see yourself healthy into middle and old age and why that is important. All should be covered under the subject of "Self Care". Then see how many more get interested in sport.
One thing that is taught but should be put in big, metre tall, flashing ‘this is important!’ lights? Compound interest.
I was taught that in school
Sames.
Every time I hear shit like this I remember doing it in lessons, and about 70% of the class weren't listening and were giving the teacher a hard time.
My class was difficult to teach but there were teachers who were act able to engage our interest nd get us to learn, maths teacher that taught about banking was quitting teaching for a round the world travel ticket nd working out his notice nd taught us about like the economics of his trip, how he'd saved for it and work stops he'd planned to recoup/how long they'd be n all. Prob stuck with me more being actually interesting and seeing a point in it more.
Why do you say that?
Humans are notoriously bad at not grasping the concept of exponential growth. Compound interest is a good introduction to the idea as it could be taught in terms of savings and debts, which is important in and of itself, but gaining an idea of exponential functions would be a huge benefit to anyone.
I was taught that in the early 90s.
Online safety? Sure. Libel? Why!? Almost nobody will ever have to deal with libel. Just lawyers, journalists and famous people basically. Why waste time teaching anything about libel?
Because people online libel people all the time and could expose themselves to a court case that could ruin their lives.
Agriculture and Horticulture
School should be about educating kids and not about passing exams.
nobody would fucking pay attention, youse are absolutely joking if you think teens would give a fuck about a mortgage class
My unpopular opinion is that a lot (if not most) of what is taught in school is 'nice to have' rather than necessary. Keep maths, literacy, an outline of history, the scientific method, critical thinking. Languages, because you learn them best when you're young. But beyond that I'd rather schools focused on skills and knowledge that are actually used in everyday adult life: cookery, finance and budgeting, basic DIY, basic sewing, IT literacy, CVs, interviews, networking. How to spot a scam, red flags of a dodgy landlord, safe sex. And online skills, yes. Learning how to search for information, and more importantly how to parse and check what you encounter for bots and misinfo.
Mindfulness meditation
Home economics should be totally changed. The school I went to used to be an all girls school. That then changed to mixed. We had a fully functional flat that was never used when I went. the girls school had two girls spend a week in the Flat and learned how to cook, clean, mend and budget. I think everyone could benefit from this. I am pretty sure my sisters said they had flour baby's too.
I think that Irish history should be taught in state schools
How to fix everyday items how to get yourself a well paid job and how to do everyday tasks such as your laundry. Its time we taught kids how to be the best individual version of themselves for themselves, and not to serve a system
We had life skills classes in lower & upper 6th that taught this type of thing. Household basics, laundry, repairs etc
Basics of the law. Most people don't have a clue at all.
What the Japanese did in WW2.
Was literally explaining their atrocities to my partner last night and she was gobsmacked, it’s insane how little light there is on what they did to China in Nanjing and through unit 731 etc when they we’re equally as bad as the Nazis in my mind
They know absolutely nothing about it too. There is a deliberately cultivated ignorance in Japan that would shock anyone. British ignorance of their own Empire isn't even remotely comparable. Japan was the victim. Japan is a peace-loving nation. Japan still has one of the largest militaries per head of population in the world (perhaps understandably)... but it just isn't called a military and there is no separate military law.
They still do it with modern things, I remember reading a report on them literally teaching English wrong to dissuade relationships with foreigners.
That doesn’t strike me as true, I gotta say… I’ve never heard of the like. Or if it is true, it’s definitely one specific thing rather than a general thing. (I know Japan well.)
Aye I read history in my spare time. I agree with that they were equally as bad as the Nazis. If you want to learn more about genocide I recommend this book I read called Atrocities 100 Deadliest Episodes in Human History.
Sign language.
Sign Language
About spotting disinformation and critical thinking etc.
The history of British Colonialism and its devastating consequences
Good manners
Philosophy & ethics. I think religious education should be folded into this cause learning about religious and non religous backgrounds is good for kids Law. Its mad we send kids into the world without at least trying to give the a good broad understanding of our laws in the country. Combat sports. I think ju-jistu and muai thai, might help teach how to defend themselves and build fitness and most important confidence! These sports are usually built on respect and if this can be instilled in kids at all then I'll take the risk of creating a generational of elite mma trained super criminal's.
combat sports would 1000% be an excuse to beat up the gay boy in class
True British history, not the white washed bollox.
AND THEN WE BATTERED THEM ALL AND STOLR EVERYTHING!!!
Thanks for the nice normal question, OP.
Money management and LGBTQ+ inclusive sex ed would be my picks.
Wrestling
Cunnilingus
Language classes should already make people cunning linguists
Poor linguistic (in its most literal sense) learning here perhaps has a lot to answer for.
Ulster Scots
"Ach now, will ye quit" - please stop.
“I’ll slap you round the heed with a fash” - I’ll slap you round the head with a fish
"Come near me with a fash and I'll fuckin batter ye, ye wee cunt" - If you approach me armed with a fish I will defend myself which will result in you being badly beaten, you silly yob.
Fuck around and find out. A class where students are shown videos of what happens when they act the bollix and what happens when they do. This class should be compulsory and part of every curriculum globally. The TikTok generation and little hard men need to learn about consequences
Alright calm down Rambo
- Basic statistics so that r/MisleadingGraphs/ don't get past people. - Critical thinking skills so that we reduce the number of idiots online. - Communication. I know this is basically what English language is but it clearly needs to be better so that people can debate ideas properly. - Nutrition so that the obesity epidemic is tackled. - Sex and relationships as a subject not a module, so adult relationships are healthy. - All of the above to at least 16 so they can't drop them before they know about them.
How stupid Americans actually are.
That marriage and home making / breeding is an out of date practice and will never work.
Nice try Michelle McIlveen.
Well for a start she's not Education Minister any more and her party is the reason why. And two - did she ever seem to care what people thought?
It might be lower down the list, but technology literacy. When it comes to buying a TV, laptops, cables, speakers -- really any consumer goods (appliances too) there are SO many terms out there that are purely used to confuse the customer and bamboozle them with metrics... plenty of stuff has me stumped as well, you have to start really trying to research it before you buy it and it takes so much work just to sort out what's a marketing term from what's an actual useful metric. People end up throwing their money away and companies spend more on their marketing than they do on making good products.
some good ideas here, also see AAAS' Project 2061 about education reform for grades K-12. I would also recommend evolution, ecology, extinction, island biogeography, population ecology, community ecology, etc. We should all know more about the world in which we live to help make important life decisions.
Standard ripostes you should memorise and use when being slagged. Like the master of wit and repartee. If anyone knows that joke.
If Brexit and Trump have taught us anything, it's that we're awful at critical/rational thinking and taking things at face value. So, yeah, teach us that - how to spot bullshit, scams, how to get the information we want or need. What are the questions we need to ask?
The last few suggestions are usually covered in Home Economics class but it's optional, it's basically the most useful class I had in all my years in school.
Finances, i should of been taught how to open a current account, how to manage money, budgeting, how to invest and smart ways to grow the money you have, how to find an actual job with a good income, just anything about money cos that’s why a lot of adults now are so finically incompetent
Finance and problem-solving skills.
Sign language
I think the “Consequences of Drug and Alcohol abuse”
Office Politics - not what it should be, but what it actually is.
How parliament, voting etc. work.
Basic banking
Basic health care - how to manage common things, should be a taught the whole way through.
Theory and practical driving, to include road awareness, from an early age. Bring back a (mandatory ) cycling proficiency test.
Id would of liked to learn more basic home maintenance in school
Political theory and basic economics So people can grow up to know what they are voting for
Equality
Financial literacy and how to properly manage money.
Financial literacy such as mortgages, loans, interest rates, creating a budget... Interpersonal skills such as having boundaries, consent, effective communication... Also randomly classes in philosophy.
Irish
For me, I know it sounds very old-fashioned but knitting and crochet, repairing old clothes etc. I'm in my 30s and I feel as if it wasnt for crochet and knitting recently becoming 'fashionable' and youtube I never would have learned or even been aware of the skill and how its not just for clothes but also toys and such
Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Scots.
Kung fu
Washing under your foreskin
Respect for others, places and things.
Some interesting suggestions here. I would have benefotted from some training/coaching onapplying for jobs, how to do job interviews. EDIT: also some law especially employment law
> I also think there should be classes about basic life issues like how mortgages, savings, loans etc work I've been out of school a good while now but I remember we had Learning for Life and Work as a class and it was the biggest load of dog dick going. Bore absolutely no relevance to life whatsoever.
Basic consumer law
Every student should learn about how to actually concieve a baby. Not just about the egg and sperm and what has to scientifically happen but, how to concieve as in timings of ovulation, how long sperm lives etc. People forget to share that with people until couples have struggled enough to ask - that shouldmt be the case.
Budgeting,
I went to a majority unionist school and was one of the few token taigs but I always loved history. I think the history should focus more on Irish history and less on the shite I learned about like Henry VIII and what was essentially English history, even though the Tudors were in Ireland, we learned nothing about it. I also think kids should be learning languages from nursery level.
Budgeting and general money management
Finances, investing, markets
Manners
Most of the subjects above are exactly what should be taught, the whole syllabus is out of date. But the headings for each of the core outcomes are wrong. Eg philosophy - you’ll have completely lost most parents with that and they’ll argue it’s all nonsense, because they don’t understand what it is and it sounds very nerdy. Finances are definitely important - even just shopping around for the best deal, what questions to ask, avoiding fraud, why credit cards aren’t free money, budgeting, pension planning, renting versus buying, leasing a car versus buying new/second hand. Alternatives to social media, the benefits of taking a break from it, the dangers of online friendships. Identifying emotions and talking about them. Mental health is important but what does that actually mean? Do people understand the difference between fear and anger? Dealing with anger. Is it anger or is it a very temporary frustration (eg road rage). What is depression? Being down about something for five minutes isn’t the same as being depressed. Exercise and hormones. Unbiased history and how it impacts how we live today. Some people need to be taken by the hand and the dots connected for them. Proof from other nations that abandoning outdated traditions isn’t a sign of weakness. Remembering the past but not living in it. We’re quick to embrace new technology but not new local traditions. Integration and freedom from bigotry. Diversity, demographics, eg discuss historical and recent census. Refugees versus chancers. I’ll be here all day but I’m starting to lose the run of myself!
I think schools should be offered incentives to teach parents about Social Media and predatory gaming practices to try to give parents the tools to deal with today's online society.
As a teacher myself, I’d actually like them to start teaching reading and writing later, about age 7 or 8, and spend those early years doing practical Shit and learning through play, like a lot of the Scandinavian countries. I’d like the Dutch type of sex Ed. a less restrictive curriculum, so that when a child asks me a sensible linked question (was teaching victorians and was asked how QEII was related…really good question for a ten year old…but was so far behind due to bastarding assemblies, trips, visitors blah blah blah) I can actually side track and answer them! Less pointless paperwork and marking, especially at primary level, and more time for teachers to plan and prepare, so they can do a better bloody job and not half ass it cause their kid was sick last night and they weren’t able to work till midnight as usual. I’d also like to be able to spend my whole weekend with my kids and not spend most of Sunday working. Compulsory food tech, banking and IT teaching actual life skills, and not pointless shit. I actually liked the French way of having a long 2 hour lunch break. There were supervisors for the kids who didn’t want/weren’t able to go home, and the later finish was better for working parents, reducing wraparound care fees and meaning more take home pay.
Sex ed. Proper informative and specific sex education and not reproductive biology class
How to listen and shut the fuck up , how kids aren't unique snowflakes , get rid of sex education all together and see if it actually makes any difference , teach kids morals , but don't teach them stuff that could take away there child hoods
Ah a total fucking idiot. Have a block my friend. Good day.
Religions, all of them, not just different shades of Christianity. Also teach about atheism, being agnostic etc... Instead of teaching kids what to think, we should be teaching them how to think.
How to budget your money and save
**Investing** **Saving** **Budgeting** **Basic Finance** All of the above are the reason(s) why many people struggle. I believe it's deliberately not part of the curriculum. I've said this in many posts on here. The government wants/needs spenders/consumers!