Whilst at school we probably all had our own ideas about how the curriculum should go. Maybe summer term dedicated to rounders and winter to design technology? More breaktime? Shorter days? The teachers were probably with you on those ones. Last week the Art Party announced their manifesto to get more art into the school curriculum and "protest against the Tories' philistinism". We have had a think and we would like school to involve more of these things please...
1. Oh, I have no experience of teaching but I am more than happy to join in with my ideas of what I think kids today should be learning about. I think PSHE should be a weekly class, instead of a surprise replacement of maths or English class. I think RE should be more focused on theology, which might help people counter Richard Dawkins on occasion. I think drama and art should be as respected as maths and English. I think DT should be banned. And I think rounders should no longer be presented as a 'treat'. I've gone easy, if you really wanted my dream school curriculum maths would be optional. Squeamish Kate
2. There are two things I'd have liked more of at school - sex ed, and history. By sex ed I don't just mean stuff about mechanics and risks - that was all well covered as my memories of being mortified around a cucumber and graphic textbook pictures of genital herpes attest to. I would have liked more discussion around types of relationships and how to recognise dysfunctional ones, building self esteem, where to get impartial advice and general guidance through the teenage hormonal quagmire. History could do with a bit more context too. It seemed to jump around and never go into any depth. I did history gcse, part of which was the second world war, and it would be almost another decade before I learned anything about the wars outside of Europe. The way we were taught it, Japan decided to bomb pearl harbour because they didn't like the look of the Americans and that's all there was to it really. More nuance and more perspectives would not have gone amiss. Squeamish Louise
3. I've long been an advocate of teaching philosophy in schools. You can make it age appropriate and part of life-long learning, starting out with approaches to ethical dilemmas and moving on to celebrated philosophers and their theses as kids get older. But as far as inculcating a sense of morality goes without any religious or spiritual overtones, philosophy is brilliant. It takes into account moral relativism and cultural differences, and is an ideal format for teaching kids how to form, express, and defend their opinions, all skills that will prove useful in later life. F1Kate
4. I think schools should focus more on critical thinking. There seems to be a real push for merely teaching kids to memorise massive lists of names and numbers, with no real teaching of why they matter or what makes them worth remembering. Knowing why something is worth knowing or to be able to look through the news stories and webpages and see what angle they are trying to push rather than just accepting it as fact is far more important than knowing exactly when a king lived and died. Outside of pub quizzes when has than knowledge ever been useful in adult life? Gareth
5. I think school should teach you more about politics from an early age or about it at all. I think people would be much more eager to get involved in the political process and vote if the had a better idea of how it all worked. Squeamish Nicola
2. There are two things I'd have liked more of at school - sex ed, and history. By sex ed I don't just mean stuff about mechanics and risks - that was all well covered as my memories of being mortified around a cucumber and graphic textbook pictures of genital herpes attest to. I would have liked more discussion around types of relationships and how to recognise dysfunctional ones, building self esteem, where to get impartial advice and general guidance through the teenage hormonal quagmire. History could do with a bit more context too. It seemed to jump around and never go into any depth. I did history gcse, part of which was the second world war, and it would be almost another decade before I learned anything about the wars outside of Europe. The way we were taught it, Japan decided to bomb pearl harbour because they didn't like the look of the Americans and that's all there was to it really. More nuance and more perspectives would not have gone amiss. Squeamish Louise
3. I've long been an advocate of teaching philosophy in schools. You can make it age appropriate and part of life-long learning, starting out with approaches to ethical dilemmas and moving on to celebrated philosophers and their theses as kids get older. But as far as inculcating a sense of morality goes without any religious or spiritual overtones, philosophy is brilliant. It takes into account moral relativism and cultural differences, and is an ideal format for teaching kids how to form, express, and defend their opinions, all skills that will prove useful in later life. F1Kate
4. I think schools should focus more on critical thinking. There seems to be a real push for merely teaching kids to memorise massive lists of names and numbers, with no real teaching of why they matter or what makes them worth remembering. Knowing why something is worth knowing or to be able to look through the news stories and webpages and see what angle they are trying to push rather than just accepting it as fact is far more important than knowing exactly when a king lived and died. Outside of pub quizzes when has than knowledge ever been useful in adult life? Gareth
5. I think school should teach you more about politics from an early age or about it at all. I think people would be much more eager to get involved in the political process and vote if the had a better idea of how it all worked. Squeamish Nicola
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