Education Subjects in Schools (High School)

[80watts]

Education is a provincial responsibility.
Its also a continuing responsibility for ourselves to educate ourselves as society advances.

I'm middle aged and think back to the subjects in elementary school. Mainly reading, writing and Mathematics.

In high school there were Sciences (biology, chemistry, physics) and electives for home economics (cooking, sewing), shop work (wood, metal, electronics), art, law, consumer education (budgets etc), computers (dos programs on a apple)

Looking back I can say it gave me a limited basis of education, but didn't touch on stuff I learned from people at work. Investing, banking, RRSPs, mortgages, taxes, buying cars and the interest you paid on car loans, managing your money.
But most what is missing is history, how we got to our present day, technology, ethics and mostly the bad stuff that happened and what people did to change things. What are the current laws? Prime example on the radio there are the Fortis advertisements "We add a chemical to make the natural gas smell like rotten eggs" . It sounds like they invented this safety measure; When it is actually a law!

20 years ago when my friends started families, as their kids grew up, I learned how the education system was passing the buck on failing students. The system passed them on with their year group, which is why you see that today, a significant portion of young people can barely spell and or do math.

The question is what subjects should be introduced to better educate kids for life outside/after of high school?

 

[sybian]

How to drive a nail
How to carry on a conversation without your nose stuck in an iPhone
How to grow and produce food, to feed a nation.
How to manage the money you've earned ,and live within your earnings..and not borrow what you think you need to survive.
How not to point your finger at someone else, when you screw up, and take ownership of those mistakes...and learn from them.
How to apply for a job, do well in an interview, land that job, and work your way up the food chain starting at minimum wage , and earn your way up the pay scale, over time.... If your 18 years old, get over the mindset your worth the same as the guy whose been there for 25 years.
...and the subject of how to manage a business, if your smart enough to start one...and keep it alive for five or more years, while your still working at that job you landed at 18 years old.

Most times in life, there are no handouts, it's sometimes not fair...and not every player receives a trophy, just for participating.

 

[johnnydepth]

This is a fantastic topic, but one that is very difficult to delve into on a forum board. One could write an entire book, if not volumes on the problems with our current educational system. It stretches well beyond the classroom and the education system. Government policy plays a roll, but that is dictated by corporate culture. So then we start looking for the major players at corporate levels that control the government. Start looking there and you begin to understand that the direction the education system is heading isn't by accident and it isn't a mistake.

 

[Bridge]

In the next thirty or so changes there will be some major societal changes, which our educational system needs to prepare for. I agree with Sybian and feel that the skills of empathy and flexibility need to be woven through any curriculum.

 

[giver_snoot]

It is easy to lay all the blame on the educational system, however, parents are the biggest influence on a childs upbringing.

 

[westwoody]

There will be a societal shift soon. Many jobs will be obsolete. A lot of research is being done on the looming crisis of "surplus" population.
Look at the self driving vehicles for example. Delivery drivers may be obsolete in a few decades.
I have seen automated metal forming and welding robots so good they are scary.
It is hard to predict what will be in demand and what will be irrelevant.

 

[westwoody]

It is easy to lay all the blame on the educational system, however, parents are the biggest influence on a childs upbringing.

I have two nieces who are teachers, they would agree.
My dad was on the school board for a few years and I used to go to meetings to watch.
Everyone should.
The most horrifying thing was the number of religious assholes who would scream about birth control being taught. No....even worse was when my school had a "World Religions" course. I took it and we had class visits by an Imam, a Rabbi, a Sikh and a Hindu. It was great and I learned a lot. The school board was forced to drop it after one year because of organised opposition by the local Catholic churches.

One good thing my dad did: I was going to a newly built school built to accomodate 1700-1800 students. There were less than 1100 at the time. But the school was using nine portable classrooms, while classrooms inside were empty. Dad discovered one trustee had a friend renting the portables to the school board. Another trustee got his wife hired as a totally unqualified librarian.
Shit like this is not just fraud, it diverts money from curriculum and classroom supplies.
It is not the teachers' fault. It is the trustees' fault.

 

[MissingOne]

Schools are part of the society in which they operate, and they can't transcend that. As only one example:

I went through the public school system in the 50's and 60's. When studying the little of Canadian history that we were given, I clearly remember being taught that Canada treated its indigenous people (that term wasn't used then, they were Indians) very well, and the teachers rather smugly contrasted our history of indigenous relations with the American one.

Now of course we're coming to understand the extent to which indigenous people were screwed, sometimes by well-meaning people but other times in a way that seems unconscionable to us now. And this is being taught in schools. The kids are getting a very different understanding of Canadian history than I did. I fear though, that they are being given an education that is just as skewed as the one I was given.

It wasn't that my teachers in the 50's and 60's were deliberately passing on mis-information. They were, for the most part, earnest and well-meaning people who were products of their times, and were teaching what they believed.

 

[johnnydepth]

It is easy to lay all the blame on the educational system, however, parents are the biggest influence on a childs upbringing.

I don't think we are referring to a child's upbringing, but what is taught, how it is taught, and why.

 

[87112]

If I had better, well way better school concentration and smarts I would become an electrician. I always hear they are in very short supply with high demand.

 

[giver_snoot]

The things that are really important in life are not included in the list of subjects that are offered in school. Things like a good work ethic, how to work with others, or simply just showing up on time. These are far more important than writing a short story or finding the answer to a physics problem.

 

[islander1-1]

We all say when I grew up... BUT that's the only relevant comparison we have, so when I grew up I looked around me and decided to do something different than what all the rest of the kids were doing... I got hired into the first job I applied for and was with them for 30 Yrs. Now another 20 similar job after retiring from the first. I have advised all my kids, Gkids to do this and it has made a big difference. Yes I hear you WWoody, corruption, religion and politics can happen anywhere. Parents need to pay close attention to their kids education, don't just leave it up to somebody else. When I grew up... We got the strap for almost anything, had to make and pack our own lunch, we rode a bike to school, we had a job (usually a paper route) as well. We had homework. AND we had a lot of fun. We also had some really cool teachers at the school I went to. I just wish we had an English teacher like one of the SPs we all know on here..

Oh and relevant to this board.. WE had NO sex education. TABOO... except one cool science teacher gave one class a year on it.

 

[westwoody]

I don't think we are referring to a child's upbringing, but what is taught, how it is taught, and why.

Course curriculums are determined by school boards and provincial governments.
Parents, as voters, can influence both of those.

IF they get off their ass and go to meetings instead of whining about it.

 

[westwoody]

If I had better, well way better school concentration and smarts I would become an electrician. I always hear they are in very short supply with high demand.

Electricians are in huge demand and many projects are on hold waiting for them.
It requires a lot of knowledge and responsibility, and can be really dangerous. It's not as easy as it looks.

 

[grusse]

I wish someone had taught millenials how to speak without (mis)using the word "like" approximately 4 times in every sentence.

 

[MissingOne]

I wish someone had taught millenials how to speak without (mis)using the word "like" approximately 4 times in every sentence.

When did "I'm like ..." come to mean "I said ..."?

 

[sybian]

When did "I'm like ..." come to mean "I said ..."?

About the same time the Kardashians, and Paris Hilton where viewed as cool,.....and not over privileged , rude, and annoying.

 

[johnnydepth]

When did "I'm like ..." come to mean "I said ..."?

The same time everyone started using the word "seen" instead of "saw".

 

[ddcanz]

The things that are really important in life are not included in the list of subjects that are offered in school. Things like a good work ethic, how to work with others, or simply just showing up on time. These are far more important than writing a short story or finding the answer to a physics problem.

These should be taught by parents- they are life skills not necessarily related to any specific subject or field.

 

[ddcanz]

Electricians are in huge demand and many projects are on hold waiting for them.
It requires a lot of knowledge and responsibility, and can be really dangerous. It's not as easy as it looks.

More young people should look into trades as a career- for countless reasons.
#1 is becoming indentured and being PAID to learn- no student loans required.
However, I find that most don't want to actually have to "work" for a living. Or get up early to be on time for a 7 AM start.
And truth be told, the trades aren't only for those who struggle with the more 'academic' side of studies. To excel in the trades you better be extremely proficient with mathematics, sciences and communications skills. And be prepared to continually upgrade as necessary to stay current in the industry.