…because it’s brilliantly true: 27 Skills Your Child Needs to Know That She’s Not Getting In School.
Credit where credit is due, though, at Zen Habits.
Everyone knows that our school system, in general, is not giving our kids the basic reading, writing, ‘rithmatic and science skills needed to be competitive in the high-tech workforce of the upcoming generation (at least, that’s the general assumption, and we won’t argue it here).
But there’s much more to life than those basic subjects, and unless you have an exceptional teacher who is willing to break out of the mold, your child isn’t learning the crucial things he or she needs to learn in life.
This pretty well considered article then goes on to name exactly what our children should learn. It’s definitely worth your time reading, but let me add a couple of things that aren’t listed:
- Knowing yourself: Truly an important skill. I know a lot of adults that still don’t know themeselves. Kids can be in danger of being totally unprepared in a world that will probably attempt to slot them into groups… where they may, but most likely, may not, belong. Self identification and self awareness is shockingly important in my opinion.
- Paying attention to your food: Recently, I had a disscusion that alerted me that children of the 1940’s and 1950’s didn’t HAVE to pay attention to what they ate - they took it for granted, and pretty much most of the time, it wasn’t a bad thing. Times have changed. Ever look at what’s most of the superprocessed, plastic-covered, hormone-injected food that you eat? Here’s a clue - you won’t know what most of it is. Needless to say, this isn’t a good thing. Healthy eating and drinking is key to health, and your children should be aware of that.
I’m sure that I could think of more - and perhaps you can. Feel free to mention them.
