Every government has a moral responsibility to provide an education that prepares students for everyday life. As a leading country that’s known for having one of the best education systems in the world, shouldn’t we be paving the way for forward thinking and investing in learning vital life skills.
Being in the education system for 15 years, I can appreciate the wealth of knowledge provided to students preparing them for a working environment. As a part time teacher, I can see the way stress has a huge impact on students. Sometimes it’s having to give up your favourite hobby because of the need to revise, too much homework, or just the pressures of social media taking its toll on mental health.
One in four adults and one in 10 children experience mental illness (NHS England). The main focus in schools is to provide support and counselling for people who have already been diagnosed, but the main priority should be finding out why children are feeling pressured and doing something about it. We should be teaching students to not look for outside approval and the damaging way we compare ourselves to others.
When I left college and became self employed I quickly realised a flaw in the system. I could work out the sum of X in an algebra equation, but the school hadn’t taught me how to fill out a tax return and the basic handling of business and money. I know lots of schools already provide incredible support to students but we should be having a fixed ‘life skills’ lesson to teach other subjects including first aid, wellbeing, business skills and LGBT studies.
The answer is already out there and that is funding. More and more, I see articles of how letters have been sent out to parents asking for money because the school hasn’t got enough funding from the government for basic necessities, or that breakfast club is shutting down so children in poverty can’t get a nutritious start to the school day, or that they can’t fund after school clubs anymore leaving some children on the streets turning to crime.
It’s not good enough.
The government need to fund the education system before they witness an entire generation of students not getting the standard of education they deserve.
(Featured image by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash)
Jessica Sykes 
System of knowledge transfer is defective and it should be blamed for low performance. Teachers are facing the problems of unnecessary workloads in school system. They are hard working and must be respected in the classroom. Thanks
LikeLike
There are many points of view on the topic. For myself, an easily distracted student, I learned enough so when I finally decided to do something about my future, I did. But none of my family could have ever predicted the paths I would take.
There are times when I’ve considered how the schools and teachers/ counselors could have better prepared me, getting me also to think about future careers. There are times when I thought my parents could have had more discussions on the topic. And we can go back on forth on that one. But I know one can never relive their lives and find out. It is what it is.
As a teacher, I have always discussed hobbies and opportunities. I have talked about careers and vocations: different paths. I have talked about business and how the market works, but also how their interests early in life might open later paths. For instance, I had a student very interested in cooking, so I encourage his folks to let him cook at home, provide a cook book, and see how creative he can be. And this goes with parents who have businesses, letting their children get involved, and other interests such as sports, music, and dance.
However, as I get older, I’m considering more and more the importance of young people finding their own paths, choosing their own directions, and being responsible for themselves. Parents can lead by example, give responsibilities to their children, and teachers can bring in professionals to discuss careers, post jobs on the wall, and talk about choices.
Children, many, will “think ahead” if they realize it will be on them. What I mean is, Johnnie, you want more money, think how that can happen. What are you willing to do to make money? Then, as a neighborhood, if they see other peers doing things to “get ahead”, the understanding “drops into” them. That’s what got me mowing lawns. Other boys in the neighborhood were mowing lawns, running newspaper routes, and more. I wanted in.
Self-motivation. It’s intrinsic. It’s activated when “we” don’t “think” for them, but provide understanding, ideas, and show others who are doing for themselves. It also happens when they’re encouraged to do for themselves, shown that independence is a sought after direction, and that they will also have to bear the responsibilities of consequences (Like when a father made his son mow the neighbors yard at midnight, even though he was tired, because that’s what he had promised.) It’s that desire for independence and doing something on one’s own. Then, when success comes, learning to be responsible to the customers, to yourself, and to a way of life. You did it? I can do it.
When I talk to kids about what they want to do when they grow up, I wait to see if they’re motivated. Yes, I might do some research and share, but if I don’t see them “moving towards a goal,” then I wait. I can’t live for them. They have to. No one can motivate me to do anything. I must be intrinsically motivated. *Of course, everyone is different.
LikeLiked by 1 person