Put the 3 Rs back in British Education: Infographics, Nextification, Chemicals

Silicon roundabout...

I found myself explaining to somebody yesterday that Shoreditch isn't about technology, it isn't about people talking about technology, it's about people talking about people talking about technology. In fact, it's {insert hated politician of choice}'s idea of a technology hub.

Steve Bong is right about one thing, though. Silicon Valley executives can send their kids to Steiner schools and other technology-free institutions without worrying about it. But that's because they will, on graduating from a suitable college with suitable degree courses, immediately be catapulted into a job where other people will do all the work. It's like the illiterate minor scions of Renaissance aristocracy getting immediately made a bishop so they never had to read anything in public.

Shoreditch

it has ditch in it's name, what more can I say?

Infographics - for wankers that have no grasp or concept not only of numbers but how those numbers can be used to tell whatever you want them to.

On actual education

The period of schooling should be shortened, education should be revolutionized, and the domination of our schools by bourgeois intellectuals should by no means be allowed to continue.”

I agree and disagree with this quote.

The period of schooling, are they refering to the age at which children are taught? Or the time of day at which school finishes.

In either case I would argue the opposite. In terms of school day I'd much rather see the school day extended to 5:30pm, whether it be by lessons or by 'club activities' this is for two reasons.

1: Working parents don't finish work until 5, so they can't pick up their children.

2: Work day finishes at 5, get them used to finishing at 5 and they'lladjust easier to working life.

So far as age of education, my arguement is along the lines of, we're all going to college anyway, those of us who aren't going to college tend to wind up job hunting for a year or so before they find anything. Have the option to work, if they can get a job lined up for when they finsih (leavers job fair etc) and have college as manditory for the remainder. Might as well.

Revolutionize Curriculum

I agree with this. Sure teach history and religion in middle school. But by senior school most people I knew had a good idea of what they wanted with their lives, those of us who had no interest in history or RE just slept through those lessons, a waste of our time and the teachers. Give kids option to drop a certain number of subjects so they can focus on the ones they care about. You know what you hate, even if you don't know what you like.

Additionally I agree somewhat on the English comment (even if it was in jest) there is no point learning shakespeare or reading 'Of mice and men' time and effort would be far better spent teaching the following

Grammer; Technical writing; Creative writing; Analysis; Reports etc etc etc.

Give kids something they'll actually use in English lessons, rather than reading Macbeth 10 times.

Maths, do we really need all that advanced algebra? I haven't used anything I learnt at school from maths aside from the basic and on the very rare occasion trig, which I've had to look up again because it's been so long since I used it.

I'd like to point out now that the majority of my advice so far has been to strip parts out of the current education, and to rework others to give better, real life applications for them. There is a good reason for this. We try to cram in too much. 1 hour lessons once a week, of which 20 minutes is spent shuffling in chairs, getting ready to leave, getting from one class to another etc. We're trying to cram too much into too little time.

Finally, the only thing I want to see added to the curriculum. Life skills.

After leaving school I had not been taught the following

1: Basic electronics, (wiring plugs etc)

2: Basic home saftey (where gas taps, meters / water mains etc are)

3: How to pay bills

4: What appears on a paycheck

5: How credit cards work

6: How to rent a propperty

They teach yo uall this curriculum that you never use again apart from perhaps in pub trivia (Anne Boleyn was beheaded, woohoo 1 point!) and yet they don't teach you all this basic stuff which might actually be of use to you in the future.

Hive Mind? SIngularity?

Memories of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri come rushing back. Can't type for long, gotta nerve staple some drones.

Spot on! Once again.

Thank you SB. (Ok, I know it's REMOVED BY MODERATOR actually.) "Nextification"... made my day.

No tax lessons? how about lessons in knowing your place and not challenging the ruling classes?