There is a debate amongst parents on the playground as to what exactly your children should be learning when they’re at school.
Many believe that they should be learning the basics; Maths, English, Science, History, Geography, the usual things. But some topics, such as sex health and wellbeing, mental health and gender identity should be taught by parents to their children. Other parents would much prefer if the teachers did all the work.
But that begs the question, what kind of things do you think teachers should be teaching your children?
Remembrance Day
For some, the idea of Remembrance seems to be something that’s being forgotten. Less and less schools seem to be clamping down on poppy-wearing and donating, which makes some parents worried that children aren’t showing the same kind of respect that they used to when they were children.
“It was always something I was taught in school,” Alex Andrews says. “I remember we’d all gather as a school in the dining hall and have two minute’s silence at 11 o’clock. Even now at college, we have a ceremony of remembrance. But my little sister didn’t do anything for it in school. If we weren’t so respectful of the army, she wouldn’t have known about Remembrance Day.”
Bonfire Night
As soon as Halloween ends, for some people Christmas begins. They already have their trees out and are getting prepared for the big day. But, there is one celebration that seems to go amiss and that’s Bonfire Night. Patricia Holden has a granddaughter in primary school, who didn’t know that Bonfire Night was even a thing.
“Myself and my own children were taught the rhyme when we were her age, but for some reason she didn’t know about it. She didn’t even know the full story, my son had to teach her. I thought it would have been something she was taught in history lessons, but apparently not.”
Money
One of the things brought up when I asked this question was money. Anna Duddington covered this topic yesterday, along with how you’re not prepared for paying your taxes, and politics – https://jnews.glos.ac.uk/what-school-doesnt-teach-you/ .
Online Safety and Sensibility
Many parents fear the safety of their children when they’re online. Despite the blocks and other forms of protection parents are able to put in place, it’s still down to the child on how safe and sensible they are on the web. Amanda Smith, a parent of two young boys, says she’s very concerned about what her children are looking at.
“I have the most basic of parental protections put on my boys’ devices. I don’t even know how they work, to be honest with you. But it doesn’t seem to hit home from me just how dangerous their being online can be. You hear of these children spending fortunes on online apps, and talking to people they don’t really know. It is worrying.”
There have been one or two lessons in Gloucestershire schools about online safety, however, parents are asking for more as one session doesn’t seem to be enough for this subject – especially as there are more dangers online now more than ever.
But what do you think? We want to know your thoughts and opinions on this subject. Is there one topic that we haven’t mentioned that you think should have been included? Let us know on our Twitter and our Facebook.
