As debates about the direction of educational systems take place in the US and other countries, it’s worthwhile to take into consideration the possibility that we’re teaching the children too much theory and too many arcane concepts rather than practical things which will prepare them for real life.
There’s nothing wrong with knowing physics or calculus or biology, but if you have a child, wouldn’t you rather they leave compulsory education knowing the following practical things?
- How to speak and write properly
- How to balance a checkbook
- How to budget their money
- How not to fall prey to scams or predatory financial practices
- How to maintain proper bodily hygiene
- How to protect themselves from STDs and how to respect each other’s bodies
- How to respect others and their beliefs
- How not to fall prey to peer pressure
- The importance of individuality and of having a backbone
- How to put fashion second and budgets first
- How to keep their homes clean and organized
- How to avoid a consumerist mindset
- How to respect the environment
- How to recycle
- How to purchase sustainable, highly recyclable, durable products
- How to cook and wash dishes
- How to garden
- How to build things
- How to paint
- How to fix things
- How to change a flat tire
- How cars work
- How to buy quality furniture
- How to eat healthy
- How to stay in shape
- How to have fun without a TV or a movie
- How to play sports
- How to camp
- How to explore the wilderness
- How computers work and how to service basic hardware like memory, cards or hard drives
- How to avoid viruses, spyware and other crap you find online
- How to find true love and how to keep that love
- How to take care of babies
- How to find a job and how to do a good job
- The importance of honesty and being forthright
- How to accept responsibility
- How to finish something they’ve started
- How to investigate politicians and vote according to sound moral and ethical principles
- How to drink responsibly
- How to take care of pets
- How to travel light
- How to respect other cultures
- How to draw
- Basic art history
- Basic anatomy and first aid
- Basic preventive health
I believe this list of practical things is much more worthwhile for a child to know when he or she leaves school than other, more esoteric things, like what books a 19th century writer published, or the strength of the magnetic field generated by some electric motor. They’ll be much better equipped for life this way. Let’s leave the more advanced, the more scientific topics for those children who are interested in them, and for optional education, like college and graduate programs.
When a child finishes high school, they ought to know how to live as an adult, and that means knowing how to face the real world. I’m afraid we’re not equipping them to do that. That’s why we have so many people who fall prey to predatory scams, or who don’t know how to organize their homes, or who end up in abusive relationships or abuse others, because they don’t know better.
Raoul Pop 