Time to ‘rethink school’?

[ShivP]

From leaving home to getting home school was 7:10 to 5:10

 

[dowie]

Look at where we are now - we have a growing trend of people reversing back, retarding the society, believing in formulaic axioms without any scale of things - people in the second decade of twenty first century now believe in flat earth again or waste invaluable decades of technology progress because blind belief in warming/cooling/climate changes - and it's not because of their ineptitude to calculate axioms of exact sciences - almost exact opposite - it's because immediate calculations and numbers suggest so. The humanistic logic, the geographical scale, the historical facts confirming it's been done, tested and proven otherwise - all of that is impaired for at least two generations. The lack of communication skills in other languages make our scientific world isolated - it's an echo chamber of the same google results repeated over and over strengthening errors, people talking themselves into regression. And those in the avantguard actively stop progress. We don't share techs with public, if there are no number behind them. We don't do researches, we don't develop cures for the benefit of all - if there are no numbers behind them.

Climate change denial, flat earthers etc.. are a result of (likely) rather innumerate people who lack a science education.

 

[His Divine Shadow]

Ah well, at least the apocalypse will be well orated.....

 

[Lakeland]

From leaving home to getting home school was 7:10 to 5:10

If you finished school at 5pm when would you have got home?

 

[Haggisman]

This, I did best in the subjects where it was actually interesting and exciting, usually by teachers who gave no homework and lessons were full of energy and cool stuff going on. On the flip side, the subjects I did worst on were those who lessons were reading and copying information from a 50 year old workbook and given homework on the most boring things. It switches you off, kids love engagement and the critical thinking comes form giving them practical problems to solve.

To be honest that sounds like poor teaching rather than the subject matter. A good teacher can make any subject interesting and engaging, and conversely a poor teacher can put even the most attentive student off a subject.

Picking up my point about rethinking breaks and feeding children. My son is at after school club (normally until 17:15-17:30 but can be as late as 18:00). The after school club is run by the school and staffed by the teachers and teaching assistants. He gets extensive food options at lunch time as his main meal of the day, and a lunch sized meal which includes fruit and the occasional treat at after school club. He therefore doesn’t have to eat when he comes home.

His school diet is leagues ahead of mine when I was at school.

I'm glad you trust your school enough to give your child a rounded and well balanced diet, along with explaining why its important, e.g. to eat their veg, and making sure they actually eat it, I certainly wouldn't! I take it the school also gets the kids to help with the cooking and to chip in with the washing up and tidying up afterwards as well? (Arguably far more important life skills than an hour or 2 extra learning about Shakespeare or osmosis).

How much more interesting would RE be if it involved guest speakers to talk about the differences and similarities of the different faiths and what this meant to day to day life, charity and human nature. How much more interesting would RE be if it involved site visits to churches, temples and other religious buildings, in which maths, design and architecture where discussed along side religion.

Why would we need to extend the school day for this to happen

To be honest your comments about childcare costs and needing 2 parents working just make it sound like you resent the fact you have to pay for wraparound childcare.

In my opinion we need to be doing more to get parents engaging with their children's upbringing rather than the opposite!

 

[adolf hamster]

Actually i agree with the op, extend the school day, but use the extra time as a study time to do homework. That way whilst yes kids will have less time at home, it'll be better quality free time so that they can relax rather than stress out, and on the other end of the spectrum it'll be harder for kids to not do their homework if they have an assigned time to do it.

I also think some reformation of the curriculum, there are some careers (engineering being one) that really dont get decent coverage at schools, or at least not properly.

 

[Snookums]

I don’t have children nor am I close to having children but I completely agree, a full “working day” at school. scrap homework complete. The extra two hours a day at school can replace it if needed make the two hours exercise classes.

Also make PE a daily hour.

Also for those saying we’re will the extra money come from. That will come from dropping homework. Teachers have to mark all this homework children do, replace the marking time with a few extra hours classes. It’s works and finds itself.

 

[Rroff]

Climate change denial, flat earthers etc.. are a result of (likely) rather innumerate people who lack a science education.

I wish that was true. Though I'm never quite sure with some of the people peddling flat earth stuff is they aren't just trolling.

 

[Lakeland]

There would be no additional costs for teachers.. We’re on a fixed salary! I could work 34 hrs or 74 hrs and get paid exactly the same.

At most the costs would have to cover additional resources.

Schools have tried extended days and I’ve yet to see it catch on. The effects are negative rather than positive, for the children that is.

 

[johnny6]

I'm glad you trust your school enough to give your child a rounded and well balanced diet, along with explaining why its important, e.g. to eat their veg, and making sure they actually eat it, I certainly wouldn't! I take it the school also gets the kids to help with the cooking and to chip in with the washing up and tidying up afterwards as well? (Arguably far more important life skills than an hour or 2 extra learning about Shakespeare or osmosis).

Why would we need to extend the school day for this to happen

To be honest your comments about childcare costs and needing 2 parents working just make it sound like you resent the fact you have to pay for wraparound childcare.

In my opinion we need to be doing more to get parents engaging with their children's upbringing rather than the opposite!

Yes I trust my sons school to feed him what an odd comment. I see the menus and the types of food they are preparing (the mountain of fruit and vegetables they get delivered every week is massive) Plus my son regularly comes home and talks about the food he has eaten that day. The days of chips, burgers and fried foods are over (except on fish and chip Friday). I’d be quite happy to continue paying for school food after the free school dinners end.

I can’t remember the last time I washed up. Why? Because I have a dish washer. Washing up isn’t exactly an essential life skill and even if it was I wouldn’t expect the school to teach this skill.

I agree with you that cooking and food tech could be a bigger part of the school day but without extending the day what else do you feel should be dropped?

So you expect a visit to a religious building with meaningful conversation to happen within an hour. Interesting.

I don’t resent paying for wrap around Childcare at all. FYI it costs £9.00 (minus tax and NI as I can pay for these costs via Childcare vouchers) for 3 hours at our school and that includes food and snacks and all of the materials for the activities he does within those hours. It’s brilliant, it’s staffed by brilliant people and I have no problem in paying for it because it allows both my wife and I to work AND more importantly my son really enjoys it.

When did I say we need 2 parents working? But well done making that assumption. However lots of families do need two full time working parents just to be able to afford to live.

Why would extending school hours (whilst removing home work) reduce parent/child engagement? We engage just fine with our son, by limiting ‘screen time’ and planning out regular activities. We also take an active interest in his schooling and make sure we attend as many of the school activities as we can. I don’t think we have missed one in 18 months to be honest. Whether that’s one or both of us attending. Again I appreciate this is made possible by having very good employers who are flexible.

There would be no additional costs for teachers.. We’re on a fixed salary! I could work 34 hrs or 74 hrs and get paid exactly the same.

At most the costs would have to cover additional resources.

Schools have tried extended days and I’ve yet to see it catch on. The effects are negative rather than positive, for the children that is.

Teachers are an important part of a child’s life. I’d welcome a rethink of what they do, how much they do and how much we pay them. We should be creating an environment where teaching is a aspirational career choice and it encourages the best people and candidates into these roles.

Is the negative due to having more hours to do more of the same? Like I’ve said in previous comments I would like to see a fundamental redesign of how we teach and interact with children at school. More of the same simply wouldn’t work as a lot of teaching (in its current format) is boring.

 

[dowie]

I wish that was true. Though I'm never quite sure with some of the people peddling flat earth stuff is they aren't just trolling.

Oh I don't doubt there are plenty of trolls re: the flat earth stuff, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if they constituted the majority online - but I'm referring to people who believe it.

 

[rainbowGuy]

Too short a day and far to many holidays.

clearly

 

[Rroff]

Oh I don't doubt there are plenty of trolls re: the flat earth stuff, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if they constituted the majority online - but I'm referring to people who believe it.

Just saying some of the people I know that are most vocal flat earthers are pretty well educated and reasonably intelligent people though as per my post I can't quite convince myself that secretly they aren't just trolling.

Its like religion though - often banded about its uneducated people, etc. but for instance the Church some of my family goes to the bulk are professionals - scientists, architects, engineers, couple of them are director generals of government organisations, etc. etc.

 

[Vonhelmet]

I’m pretty sure most of the countries with better educated kids have shorter school days than ours, not longer.

 

[dowie]

I’m pretty sure most of the countries with better educated kids have shorter school days than ours, not longer.

quick google suggest this checks out

Hong Kong has similar hours to us however Singapore tends to finish circa 1pm and Finland circa 2pm or so...

Singapore probably has the highest homework load on average with 9 hours per week - I guess that more than compensates for the shorter school days though is the complete opposite of the direction the OP would like schools to move towards

 

[RDM]

The number of people who cant even wire a plug is absolutely terrifying.

I can’t remember the last time I needed to wire a plug. At least a decade ago. The vast majority of plugs these days are sealed units anyway.

If you really want to reform education then teaching dying skills doesn’t seem to be the best way of doing it...

The vast majority of secondary schools already do plenty of extra curricular activities, sports, music, drama, homework, revision etc. Usually run by teachers who choose to spend extra time in school.

 

[4K8KW10]

Education should not be built around convenience of the parent. Your sister is right, 08:45 - 17:15 is a ridiculously long day for a child.

Yes. I remember my school years - in the beginning from 8:00 to 12:00 maybe, then from 8:00 to max 14:00.
It is boring and tiring, no student likes to stay this much at school.
No motivation and no need to.

 

[kindai]

teaching dying skills

Lol, if the basic ability to wire a plug is a dying skill, may as well just demolish the schools now

 

[lunar]

Beware of wiring plugs at home; I think it is not allowed. It may negate insurance if anything went wrong.
Need to confirm with an electrician.

 

[johnny6]

Yes. I remember my school years - in the beginning from 8:00 to 12:00 maybe, then from 8:00 to max 14:00.
It is boring and tiring, no student likes to stay this much at school.
No motivation and no need to.

And that is my fundamental point I’m not suggesting we do more of the same cause as you agree a lot of school was boring with no practical interaction with the children. What I’m suggesting is that we make learning more fun and interactive. Teach for the high skilled job of the future whilst at the same time dedicate more time to physical education, the arts, drama and practical skills such as food tech.

School is boring but there is nothing to say it has to be.

I have no doubt that school today is different to when I was at school. For starters my son does yoga once a fortnight and eats many more exotic foods than I ever did at school, but are we honestly going to sit here and claim that the current teaching program is perfect and there is no room for improvement or a better way?