what do you think of the school syllabus...?

[joko]

hearing some people levels of intelligence & ignorance, i often wonder what kids are taught now.
do they have modules, workshops & general extra lessons on things that would actually benefit us as adults...? i mean more so than they did in the 80s
are school subjects very diffrent now?
5 years worth of ancient history, or geography or biology seems somewhat unecessary when you think of what kids come out of school ignorant of...
I am not suggesting those subject are abolished but surely a few of the individual sessions could be sacrificed to other things that at the moment dont seem to be properly addressed in schools...
im talking about life skills such as banking, tax, general law, sign language, general health, proper cooking, first aid, road rules, basic diy, plus all the smaller tasks like changing a tyre or plugs, finances, retail etc, amongst many other things, that perhaps should be compulsory in the first few years.

most of the above i was not taught...yet spent hours drawing colourful maps of the middle east, algebra, reciting how to ask for food in france etc..i'd much rather have missed a few lessons on french etc and learnt some of those things.
for instance in woodwork we made a carved dolphin on a stick... err...very nice but if rather they'd shown me how to put up a shelf, assemble flatpack or wire a plug etc
we made cakes in home ec...nice but not that useful daily...we learnt embroidery...would rather learn how to alter and mend...

do they have any of these things on the syllabus now?
can the syllabus be viewed online anywhere?
& if not, surely it wouldnt hurt to have modules of this stuff scattered in amongst the other lessons?

do they already do this? i havent a clue.

[cazzz1975]

the syllabus is much improved in my opinion, life skills are addressed as well as vocational skills.

people who want to learn, will.

[sophie_1003]

The National Curriculum can be viewed online; although it is guidance for teaching rather than rules; most schools used the QCA Schemes of Work (no longer available) and some of these did allow for learning a few of the skills you mentioned. Whether the NC will stay the same is up to the new government who want to bring back rote learning of dates in history; an emphasis on literacy and numeracy skills and a generally 'slimmed down' curriculum; doesn't sound like there will be much space to include 'life skills' which probably wouldn't fit with their ideals anyway.
http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/

[Mosaic]

To be honest the school curriculum is pretty screwed up now, mainly because jobs are scarce. Quite what they are being taught for is a mystery. The structure being followed was laid down in the 19th century as a model for training factory workers - hence the as many as possible in one room yessir no sir to a timetable stuff.
The main function state education is now serving is child minding while overworked parents try to afford a roof and some food.
The miracle is that so many kids come out sane, keen and willing to try.
'People who want to learn, will.....' ah yes, but you can depress the 'want' out of them quite quickly.

[sherrardk]

The subjects on offer at GCSE level and higher vary widely and can be dependent on school 'specialisms' (technology colleges, language colleges, sports colleges, etc), staff subject knowledge, etc. To find out what individual schools offer you can view most of their prospectus (sp) on their web sites.

[Mosaic]

Sherrard - actually they don't vary much.

[sherrardk]

Hi Mosaic - when I was still teaching (4 years ago) I found that they did vary quite a bit. In addition, a small school cannot offer the same variety of courses as a large school or those schools that work together to provide additional courses.

[Mosaic]

When I last taught (today) the variety was cosmetic, and schools are in competition with each other for decently-behaved pupils and 'academic results'

[saxy_jag]

What amazes me is the woeful IT standards in the workplace from a generation that is supposedy computer literate. I've seen youngsters post A-level or at university come into temp jobs with no idea whatsoever of how to format a basic business letter or even save a document. I never touched a computer until I was in my 30s and although I'm no technophile I certainly know my way around a computer and some of the more common programmes and applications.

[seadogg]

Many schools visit our Lifeboat House where we show them the boats and tell them about RNLI. while educating them is basic safety. It seems to us that the difference between groups is often determined by the quality and attitude of accompanying teachers. Yet these same teachers are continually bu88ered about by curriculum changes.

[feona]

Syllabus though is lengthy and hectic this time but has a valuable collection of facts and foundations on which your child makes his career but I really feel pity for those kids for whom companies do lot of activities to raise funds so as to provide them better education..such students often don't get any benefit in countries like India and only few are enriched with the curriculum. You can see here http://www.bikinibuys...-sarongs-kikoy4kenya/ A genuine initiative has been taken to improve child education, but the question is how many children will actually get their share and would enroll for the advanced curriculum that we see these days. Education has broaden its shape a lot..there are many things a child can learn from, lets say internet. Its playing a vital role in educating children these days but poor children are still left with no option.