Real life education

there are some schools now that are focused on entrepreneurship. I plan to visit one and apply its principles and part of the curriculum in our foundation. i heard that for their field trip, each child was given P50 and by the end of the day they should be able to return the money with interest and the kids did. I am reading the book about the school now. how i wish that i could turn back time and ask my parents to send me to that school

Yes schools should change but not only high school also basic schools. Way too much people do not know how to deal/manage in real life. This should already start at an early age. Children should be showned what is life about. If you show more they will remember. No matter if it's maths, geography or something else. The whole institution called school is overdoing. The results are getting lower and lower although they claim to make it all way better (already hear that since 25 years now but the teachers over here are in many cases not even able to count and write well themselves).

The school system is in a state of flux and is being changed, but change takes time. There was a real pull away from the life skills aspect and it is slowly making its way back into the school system, not as an elective but as a requirement to graduate. I remember taking a life skills class in 8th grade. It was a semester long, we learned how to balance a check book, how to cook basic foods and how to create and stick to a budget. But one semester is not enough for most students to pick up what they will need in the real world. My daughter is 4 and I am already teaching her the value of money. She earns coins for jobs she does around the house. She has chores she has to do, like make her bed and pick up her clothes. Other jobs that she does, like helping me put clothes away, helping load the washing machine earns her extra. We make a big production out of going into the bank with the coins. I am lucky that the small town bank finds financial education important and has a great program for kids and the program changes as the child gets older. Everytime my daughter puts money in the bank she gets a sticker and a piece of candy. A tangible reward for saving the money. But we also talk to her about how money is spent. When she wrote all over one of my decorative pillow, we made a big deal about things costing money and that she would have to pay for it. While we did not take the whole amount, we did open up her bank and take out coins so we could pay for a new one. She has not written on a wall or anything other than paper since then because she does not want to have to give back some of he money. She has also been given the opportunity to take some of her money to buy a toy that she would like. As a teacher I use a fake money system in the classroom. We talk a bit about financial matters mostly opportunity cost. As they earn for good behavior, turning in work, and bonuses for group or whole class behavior they have to keep track, and when we have the store open students have to balance their own ledger. I keep track as well, but if they make a mistake in subtracting I do not correct them if it is against them.

What I really wish that teachers would do is apply those teaching in real life or at least site examples that really applies the real life. I hope and pray that when they teach they would put their hearts on it so that the students will find interest on what the are teaching about. The subjects are all essential, I could never imagine a schools not teaching it. I could never imagine graduating from college without learning from those subjects.

I see your point rockerfellaco. What are considered as real life subjects would however differ from one student to another. Those who want to be a scientist would find advanced math useful, whereas a teacher literature. It might probably help if the high school education system allows students to choose the specific subjects they want to focus on, instead of teaching all subjects to all students.

School too busy and focus with that they do now, they dont realize that every generation always update their knowledge in reality but it's hard to changed the procedure that still exist now, besides they have updated the knowledge of the teacher too and need lots of budget for that. We can only teach them at home by day to day besides the kid have to learn from the school. We have to see is the kid interested or not that we want teach or not or just want to having fun.

Yes you're right. A high school graduate cannot even compose a letter of request and the like despite having long journeys daily in the cyber web. I still recall how my father said he taught math and English in a Grade 4 class after graduating from elementary school.

Yes, I totally agree that a practical financial education would be a godsend. However, I feel that money isn't everything and there are other apsects of life that could be built in to any curriculum. For instance, first aid, community care(pupils/students helping the elderly,needy and less fortunate)and a more thorough emphasis on sport/physical education. All these could instil virtues that make for a more rounded human being than could be achieved by incongruous and futile algebra!

I think both are important, advanced math, science, literature teach us how to behave properly, and also knowledge about real life can teach us skills on how to survive in this world. If we refuse to learn the advanced math, or science, how can the society move forward, we will have no power in searching the nature. I think the key to such subjects are interest, the school should irritate students' interest in these subjects, not just recite.

I think some aspect should be change but the foundation of learning is still important. Students find it more difficult to learn if there are no foundation like science, math, English,etc. How could they understand more complex topic without it?