Things kids should learn in school

[Holeshot]

...that aren't taught (universally):

1. How to swim

2. (girls) self defense. Gym class for 1 year (or more)

3. Finance charges and how debt works

4. How to deal with government officers, what your rights are and how to file complaints/ civil action.

5. CRITICAL THINKING AND ANALYSIS

6. Drug and alcohol education. Pretty open about the format.

What are your lists?

 

[WoodsChick]

...that aren't taught (universally):

1. How to swim

2. (boys) Self control and how to be respectful to other humans.

3. Finance charges and how debt works

4. How to deal with government officers, what your rights are and how to file complaints/ civil action.

5. CRITICAL THINKING AND ANALYSIS

6. Drug and alcohol education. Pretty open about the format.

What are your lists?

FTFY

 

[Abacinator]

...that aren't taught (universally):

1. How to swim

2. (girls) self defense. Gym class for 1 year (or more)

3. Finance charges and how debt works

4. How to deal with government officers, what your rights are and how to file complaints/ civil action.

5. CRITICAL THINKING AND ANALYSIS

6. Drug and alcohol education. Pretty open about the format.

What are your lists?

Could probably just narrow that list to number 5. Don't need to know how to swim if you avoid water

 

[Holeshot]

Could probably just narrow that list to number 5. Don't need to know how to swim if you avoid water

Do some research on drownings, etc within the country. Anyway, Probably should add a Self control techniques and methods to #5.

 

[Abacinator]

Yeah, yeah. I can't quit you.

 

[cfives]

Good FTFY Woodschick, imprinting the idea of being respectful to other humans at an early age, would be much more useful to society, than instruction in physical self defense. Holeshot, your highlighted point number 5 about critical thinking, is the most important thing that is sorely lacking and jumps to my mind.

K-12 does give some useful education, but is mostly just state sponsored daycare, that is best at providing hands on socialization with peers. Using the large span of time, why not try to foster analytical skills, and logical reasoning, over rote memorization and confirmation.

 

[TylerW]

4. How to deal with government officers, what your rights are and how to file complaints/ civil action.

Maybe we could teach police officers to be good civil servants so we don't need to teach kids about how to interact with them without their rights being violated?

Also, boys should be taught about consent twice as hard as as girls should be taught self defense.

 

[eBay Mike]

Critical thinking.
Proper manners.
Extreme income/wealth inequality is bad.


Maybe more later….

.

 

[Eldritch]

Maybe we could teach police officers to be good civil servants so we don't need to teach kids about how to interact with them without their rights being violated?

Also, boys should be taught about consent twice as hard as as girls should be taught self defense.

You are not being realistic. Every free citizen must be trained on what their civil liberties are and how to ferociously defend them within the boundaries of the law. There is no position of authority that will ever exist that will not be abused.

 

[bojangle]

Maybe we could teach police officers to be good civil servants so we don't need to teach kids about how to interact with them without their rights being violated?

Also, boys should be taught about consent twice as hard as as girls should be taught self defense.

Many things are not a violation of a right if that right is voluntarily given up. Obtaining consent for things often furthers the goals of the police. Nothing wrong with teaching others what their rights are, and how to uphold them.

 

[YogaJeni]

First on my list is critical thinking. Second is understanding financial planning. I think shop classes for boys and child rearing for girls would help a lot preparing young people for life as well. And last but not least basic understanding of fire arms training.

 

[motomania2007]

K-12 education should not issue a diploma unless the students are ready to be freshmen in an Ivy league school taking that college's freshman level reading and math and history
They should also teach:
1) civics - understanding our political system
2) civil rights, bill of rights, US Constitution and how it works
3) career planning - how to choose a career path that is self-supporting and not necessarily college bound
4) domestics: cook, diet, clean, laundry, personal hygiene
5) personal financial management including taxes
6) basic tools and how to use them in typical repairs around the home and car
7) critical thinking
8) reading comprehension equal to meet entrance levels of freshman college in ivy league schools
9) economics including history of economics and economic systems
10) self respect and respect of others in color, sex, sexual preference, ... the value of different perspectives and WHY those different perspectives are vitally important so they can understand and participate in "the marketplace of ideas"

 

[lizard]

1. How to ride a motorcycle.
2. For young men, how to stand up, greet someone by name and shake their hand like a man and not a weak suck.
3. Speak 5 languages.
4. Nutrition.
5. How to build a campfire and cook over it.
6. The Golden Rule.
7. Gun safety.
8. How to train a dog.
9. Joys of drinking black coffee.
10. How to fish & clean/cook your catch including eating the fish head.
11. How to conserve and recycle.

 

[rodr]

In high school: parenting.

 

[kingmoochr]

People are veering away from education and highlighting lacking behavior in todays society. School can't be the only source of childrearing in society. It's become not only that to too many people, but also the scapegoat for society's failings. Most of the things highlighted here need to be affirmed and reinforced by the child's family unit to be learned. The teacher can say "be polite to people" until they're blue in the face, if the child comes home to their parents who tell them "fuck your stupid teacher", the teacher won't be the one to win that battle.

I have no solution to this problem... but listing useful information to be learned like compound interest and first aid can't be on the same list as "respect and manners".

 

[m0t0_ryder]

I saw this within with my grandkids (under 10) this last couple years and feel it could really be doing more harm than good.

That is, during early youth games "everybody wins" and gets an award. Apparently it's so as to "not" hurt the feelings of those not finishing 1'st, 2'nd or 3'rd.

I saw the happiness and glee of the little kids to have won an award, even tho they didn't "win", draw or place.
Cute, but IMO a poor lesson.

A better lesson...
One of my grandsons early moto races his big brother (8 at the time) got a trophy for top 3 but the younger brother didn't get a trophy.
He was crying and asking his dad to go get him a trophy. He pouted all the way home, and even after that.
At the track I told him that trophy's were give to the top finishers to award them for the hard work they put in getting to that level.
And ya know what, he took that little lesson to heart.
He now super applies himself to excel. He no longer "expects" to get an award for participation.
This is true for all the physical activities/sports he participates in.
No more cryin... just keep tryin!
THAT's a lesson!

Two things I remember from grade school in the 60's...
- We were taught how to think, not what to think.
- Hard work, physical and mental, were rewarded with advancement both personally and socially.

 

[Abacinator]

First on my list is critical thinking. Second is understanding financial planning. I think shop classes for boys and child rearing for girls would help a lot preparing young people for life as well. And last but not least basic understanding of fire arms training.

Yep, gotta force those heteronormative gender roles on children!

 

[lizard]

12. How to use a foot file and apply Shea Butter.

 

[berth]

5. How to build a campfire and cook over it.

There was this silly Kayakers book back in the 80s.

I don't know if it had any practical information whatsoever, or just comics and such about "kayak lifestyle".

There was one about how putting your kayak in a VM micro bus is a bad idea, showing how the kayak crashes through the front window when you close up the back.

But my favorite, was the illustrated instructions on how to build a campfire.

In there, illustrated and in glorious detail was the long list of steps and processes that Lee Stroud would be proud of. Talking about tinder, kindling, dry vs wet, adding large pieces, arranging the shape of the wood pile, etc.

The key point, though, was the last step:

"ADD GAS"

 

[UDRider]

I would settle for some basic history and science.
Civil war was primarily about slavery, and not states rights.
Evolution is how everything came about, and "intelligent design" is a pseudo religious bullshit.
Let's throw in actual standardized sex education, where parents can't opt out their children from, where it's not abstinence only idiocy, and things like birth control (condoms, pill, etc) are covered, and all other biological facts of how babies are made.