Hi Andrew,

Some more ramblings.

Education is seen as the panacea for many of society's ills – underage drinking, underage sex, road accidents and so on. Many sectors of society expect this stuff to 'taught; by schools. In many cases the material is 'taught' in schools at the same time as increasing numbers of children 'experience' something different at home and in their social network.

It is a fact of life that there will always be some kids who don't do so well at the 3 X Rs. Unfortunately the ever-changing world we live now exposes their lack of prowess in these key areas through reduced work experiences and opportunities.

You will also find teachers excursions etc now because (certainly in WA) there is an increased, and unreasonable expectation placed upon teachers to risk assessment plan for numerous contingencies when venturing outside the school yard.  I personally know numerous teachers who no longer go outside the fence because of the additional requirements placed upon them to risk assess everything. Having said that 'risk assessment' is part and parcel of many people's working lives now and it has become an unbearable cross to bear.

For example I was speaking with a fire manager with Department of Conservation (WA) the other day and we were talking about plannign hazard reduction burns (I am also a Volunteer Fire Control Officer in my local area) and his risk assessment now runs to 60 pages and two weeks of work and the risk assessment gets passed through countless hands before the burn is approved.

Now a lot of this extra work is attributable to the Margaret RIver fires of last year when a burn escaped. The trouble is the knee jerk reaction has created a double edged sword that will have a different effect on the community over time. 

But back on topic – good teachers can do a lot of what you are suggesting. The key is that teachers should be allowed to teach and parents should work with the school (and not against the school as can be the way) and we will all benefit.

Cheers

Hi Jac,

Long answer coming up.

Just to make sure we on the same page we probably need to come to a common agreement about we mean by the term 'life skills' – for what it is worth my definition of life skills includes everything from social skills, civics, responsibility, respect, common courtesy, financial management, sex, drug and health ed and so on. 

Education about life skills should come from all sectors of the community rather than a single group such a the school system. Collectively we can wield a positive influence but as individuals (or single groups within the community) we face a daunting task.

In my opinion each sector of the community is now relying upon others to do what used to be their responsibility with the consequential breakdown with the end result lots of people (as a general term) don't do their fair share. 

In past kids arrived at school reasonably well prepared from a life skills perspective. The school and parents often held similar beliefs about life skill matters and a mutual partnership, with home and school working from the same page reinforced learnings at home and at school. The end result was the kids were well rounded and, in most cases, good citizens when they came out the other end.

Today it is quite a different story. Increasing numbers of kids start school without many of the basics and can start behind the eight ball when the arrive at school. It is not unusual for some kids to start school without knowing what a book looks like, how to have an age appropriate conversation, how to behave suitably in a social situation, or simply how to do their shoe laces. 

As an example the WA Health Dept did an analysis on the effectiveness of heath ed about 20 years ago. They found health ed was a waste of time because what was taught in schools was largely ineffective because of the passive nature of the learning activities but more importantly the 'good health'  messages shared in health ed were not reinforced at home where the behaviour was different to the message.

And therein lies the real issue – the disparity between what 'society' wants and what society 'delivers' in real life education back in the home environment. This is not about who is to blame but rather what the collective 'we' will gain if we are all on the same page.

Having said that schools can, and should, pick up their game too. Some schools do try and provide some entrepreneurial experiences and widespread exposure to life stuff but these are generally offered in the later years of schooling when many habits are embedded in the kids.

I would rather see a review of the curriculum and start throwing stuff out and replacing it with more current and dynamic learning experiences beyond the 3 Rs which currently dominates the education agenda through NAPLAN.

I genuinely wonder how long it will be before society wakes up and realises NAPLAN has an adverse effect on education. The tests tell teachers nothing they did not already know and NAPLAN has now become the curriculum – making it so narrow that the importance of life skills is diminished.

At the same time a new generation of teachers is required – stats show the teaching profession is aging and many have endured countless changes, with questionable benefits, to such an extent they have become tired and dispirited. 

So in answer to your question – I would start with your own kids and make sure they are exposed to the skills you want them to experience. As parent this should be your primary aim – get your kids on the right track and you have fulfilled your parental responsibilities to them. They will then be on the track.

In terms of how can you help the local school – that becomes a little more difficult. Any curriculum changes take years to implement and can generally only be done through state authorities.

If I were you I would grab a copy of the Vic Curriculum (it is probably online somewhere) and look for across the curriculum examples of where life skills makes an appearance. Then see where you could have an input, work out how you make the experiences real life, get a few plans together on paper, and speak to your principal and classroom teacher.

See if you can do some teaching – but even this has become a little more difficult in recent times. Working with children certificates, a crowded curriculum and some intransigence will give you a challenge.

Hope this helps.

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