Educate, Educate, Educate…. But in What?

RightBlueView has previously criticised our education system as being too exam focused and not teaching pupils skills they so desperately need in their life.  A previous post last week expressed how positive David Cameron’s National Citizen Service would be for young people by allowing them to develop skills beyond passing exams.

This week Martin Lewis who runs the popular MoneySavingExpert website, and is regularly in the media giving advice on all money related matters, is petitioning the Government on making financial education in schools compulsory.  He rightly says:

“It’s a national disgrace that in the 20 years since introducing student loans, we’ve educated our youth into debt when they go to university, but never about debt. We’re a financially illiterate nation, with millions caught by misselling, overborrowing and being ripped off.”

Like National Citizen Service this would be incredible beneficial to the country as a whole, in some respects even more so than National Citizen Service.  Martin Lewis is correct when he says it is a ‘national disgrace’, it’s a fundamental flaw in our education system.

Unfortunately, the lack of financial education in our education system is symptomatic of the appalling incomplete curriculum currently failing pupils.  It is a shameful fact that many young people come out of school nowadays knowing how to pass an exam in the core subjects, but have little knowledge of the political and financial systems which dominate their life so much.  The education system is far too narrow and too dominated by grades, with little regard for actual teaching.

This view is not based on Party ideology, what it is based upon is the principle that giving young people a well rounded education allows them to participate fully in society, be as free as possible, and a contributor as opposed to a dependent of the state.

On top of the obvious academic subjects, schools should be preparing pupils for everyday life.  Pupils should be taught about loans, interest rates, mortgages and other financial matters which are part of everyday life but are poorly understood by many.  It is incomprehensible why a leading democratic country invites its people to take part in elections, yet fails to teach them about political institutions in schools.  Subjects such as basic First Aid would benefit society enormously, but are ignored by the current system.

At present the education system almost entirely ignores vocational skills, leaving those that do not excel in the academic arena to be deemed failures when they may have potential in this sector.  A system which actually fails some young people is totally unacceptable in 21st century Britain.  Britain is in one of the worst economic crisis in living memory, and we are creating more financial dependants of the already overstretched state, simply because the education system fails to recognise and improve some skill areas.

Although not a subject in the traditional sense, discipline needs to be upheld and ingrained in pupils from an early age.  Amongst the numerous reasons being cited for the disgusting behaviour by some in the recent riots, a lack of discipline in schools should resonates most strongly.  Education should not just involve teaching subjects to create job opportunities for Britain’s young people, it needs to cover many more aspects.  Education must shape young people into pleasant, polite and respectful adults who understand the world around them and how they make up what we call ‘Society’.  It must teach the merits of hard work and how one must take pride in the work they do, it must teach morals, the rule of law and the consequences of disobeying it.  Education is not just about passing exams, it is about nurturing young people into adults.

To the credit of the Coalition Government it has recognised schools need changing, but Free Schools, as good as they may be are slightly missing the point.  We must look at what is taught and how it is taught in schools before we focus on something which is essentially aesthetic.

Martin Lewis’ campaign to make financial education compulsory in schools is an excellent start, but it must not stop there if we are to build as David Cameron says, ‘a better Britain’.

Of course this takes money, but most of all it takes a change in the approach to education, and a reassessment of why we educate.  Investment must come in the form of money, but also mentality.

Read Martin Lewis’ arguments here on why we need financial education in our schools:  http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/latesttip/

Sign the petition here:  http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/8903

RightBlueView’s post on National Citizen Service can be read here:  https://rightblueview.wordpress.com/2011/08/05/national-citizen-service-benefiting-an-entire-generation/

National Citizen Service – Benefiting an Entire Generation

The Government and David Cameron are facing a lot of criticism recently, U-turns, the economy, and numerous others which every Government of the day faces.  But if there is one policy for which the Government and David Cameron should be applauded for, it is its National Citizen Service.

The problem with the British education system is it is so focused on exams and gaining high grades, often so much so that many pupils are taught how to pass exams in subjects, rather then taught about the actual subjects.  National Citizen Service does not directly deal with this problem, but what it does do is deal with the side effects of this exam driven process.

One side effect of this grades driven curriculum is that pupils do not learn skills which are so very important in adult life.  The other side effect is that those who are not academically able are deemed, crudely through a set of grades on academic subjects, failures.  This can often then lead to joblessness, and in some circumstances a life of crime or worse.  The damming fact of our education system is that these pupils which are deemed academic failures, often have skills in more vocational areas, and would benefit from skills training or apprenticeships focused on getting a skilled job.  Unfortunately, the education system does little for these pupils and literally fails them, which is quite frankly unacceptable in 21st Britain.

While the National Citizen Service is aimed at every 16 year old, not just the latter I described above, it does have an exponential advantage to those in that group.  It also really tries to deal with the two side effects of our exam driven culture I mentioned above.  Tim Loughton MP, Minister for Children and Families, describes National Citizen Service on Conservative Home:

“This is a long term plan for engaging more young people positively in society, challenging negative perceptions of our young people and helping kids to grow up.”

He goes on and describes the benefits to individual young people:

“NCS is not just about volunteering but it is about personal development, social mixing, community engagement, transition to adulthood and rites of passage…. If done properly, NCS is not some cheap summer camp or walk in the park, it is a test of resolve and commitment. Some will fail or quit, but most won’t.”

With the constant criticism that this government is going to fail an entire generation, this policy, if pursued correctly could really help open up countless opportunities for Britain’s young people.  As Tim Loughton puts it:

“This is one of the most exciting projects being delivered by this Government and if we get it right it has the power to be really transformational for a whole generation in a way that is sustainable.”

From reading Tim Loughton’s experience of being with recruits in Dorking, let’s hope that the Health & Safety killjoys do not come and condemn the, “climbing up sheer walls and being hauled up log ladders by team mates.”  For that really would be failing an entire generation.

Tim Loughton MP, Minister for Children and Families article can be read here:  http://conservativehome.blogs.com/platform/2011/08/tim-loughton-mp-national-citizen-service-the-power-to-transform-our-nations-young-people.html