Missing in the Curriculum

Post Reply New Topic

Having seen the curriculum of 3 different countries/systems i'm surprised that none of them include vital classes like:

Logic

Emergency / Lifesaving skills (CPR, basic paramedic skills, infectious diseases, rescue swimming, teamwork/disaster management)

Applied Critical Thinking (a separate class that mixes all that a student learns and puts it into an applied situation).

Life Skills (cooking, money management, basic investment, retirement planning, teaching how credit works,sex ed, driving)

Self-Defense (martial arts, weapon safety and handling, identifying hazardous situations)

Law, Rights and Responsibilities (intro to law and individual rights and responsibilities)

These should all be part of all student's curriculum from elementary school to college.

In the United States, we used to have a class at the turn of the century (19th into 20th) that was taught in high school and college called Domestic Skills. Not only did it teach cooking, cleaning, sewing, and the home ec sorts of things...it also taught how to get on a streetcar for instance, or catching good deals at a supermarket by utilizing the unit price.

It was dropped in the late 1950s because somehow, sociologists believed it was misogynistic...despite the fact that it was an elective and both men and women took it.

If anyone is familar with that era, the early 20th, they might notice that it matched well with the teaching methodologies no longer in use - teaching art for industry, for instance.

Sorry for ranting, I just thought you had a great idea there, Dantac!

I should win the lottery and open my own school.


then take over the world

AFAIK back 50 years ago here in my neck of the woods girls were required to take Home Economics and boys were required to take Workshop. It's pretty obvious why this changed in the 70s so that everyone had to take both.

Eeep, sorry, what's AFAIK? Sorry for not understanding the acronym!

Domestic Skills - now there's something useful. I'd like to learn how to cook chicken and noodles.

Haha, though, like I said it wasn't just cooking - it had elements of shop, home ec, and some things we don't teach any more

Logic is often taught in the Philosophy department, parts of it are also hidden in the mathematics course called discrete math. But it probably should be required.

I'll add one as well. Time Management my current bane.

I took a class very similar to that when I was in middle school (about five years ago); it was called Work and Family Life (although we all called it Home Ec), and it taught everything you named exept for how to get on a streetcar (there are none around here). There were also aspects of self-defensive in there, as well as a good bit about caring for your health (both mental and physical). It was a required course for us.

We were required to take Health and Wellness, which had CPR and some basic paramedic skills.

We do some applied critical thinking in just about every class.

Life Skills: Cooking - Home Ec. Money management, basic investment, retirment planning - Social Studies, Algebra II, Analysis. How credit works - special days set aside for that each year. Sex ed - Health and Wellness, and every science class from sixth grade on. Driving - special, elective course offered; certain number of hours from a driving school required here anyway.

Self-defense was in Work and Family Life, as well as a bit in Health and Wellness, and more in just Health.

Law, rights, and responsibilities is taught in government for us.

Just because it's not specifically named as such doesn't mean it's not taught.

"as far as I know"

Ah, alright, thanks

Hey, RainSong, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to trample on you then Nothing like that is taught at all where I live. I hope I didn't sound belligerent.

Thats very interesting Rainsong! Maybe the schools in Ohio make a lot more sense than those in Florida.

Or ones in Illinois for that matter

Ooops, I read that as cook CHILDREN and noodles.

We used to have Domestic Science at school and learned all the skills to keep a home; I think the first thing we ever baked was scones or quiche.

Two or three of people were allowed to go into the house part and learn how to iron and hoover and often were unsupervised and had to help each other and it gave space to learn. It was great in that school because the cookery room was on one of the upper floors and looked towards the sea. Ah, good days.

I agree that these are all important and I would love to see the society that would be formed if these things were being taught. but the sad fact is that school meant for creating mindless drones that don't question authority. and has little to do with actually teaching people how to think or be a strong contributing member of society.

I like your Darkwing Duck avatar by the way.

You didn't trample on me, and you didn't sound belligerent either. It's all cool.



Perhaps, but perhaps not. The school I go to is one of the best in the state; I know several of the neighboring schools don't have simliar classes.

Betzalel: I've never understood why people are so completely bitter about school. Believe it or not, we're actually taught to think for ourselves where I'm at, and we are prepared to some extent for later life.