If you wanted to design your own school curriculum, what would you have included?

With the knowledge that you know now and living the lfie that you have experienced, if you were to go back and redesigned your own learning from nursery to university, how would you design your own curriculum?

I am interested to know what people would include, exclude, opinions on the education system, and their reasoning to why they think the way they do.
Would you have wanted specific services changed? If so, in what way and why?

Ideas:
Life skills
National and International equivalences
Qualifications that are internationally recognised
Mandatory and optional subjects

If you want material for reference, see:
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-careers
https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/job-sectors/sectors
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles
https://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/my-career-options/job-profiles
https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/job-descriptions

Reply 1

justlearning1469

21

Original post by MindMax2000

With the knowledge that you know now and living the lfie that you have experienced, if you were to go back and redesigned your own learning from nursery to university, how would you design your own curriculum?

I am interested to know what people would include, exclude, opinions on the education system, and their reasoning to why they think the way they do.
Would you have wanted specific services changed? If so, in what way and why?

Ideas:
Life skills
National and International equivalences
Qualifications that are internationally recognised
Mandatory and optional subjects

If you want material for reference, see:
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-careers
https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/job-sectors/sectors
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles
https://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/my-career-options/job-profiles
https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/job-descriptions

I would make the educational system a lot more flexible. I would get rid of age groupings, they are archaic and should be removed. The main determinants of differentiating between people of different potential, would be by intelligence and skill level.

For example instead of using birthday as cutoff, ideally I'd want a system where every student is assessed for intellect, school-readiness and then decision can be made to start the first level or not.
The first level could be "play-based" or whatever. When the level below is solid then it's fine to move up, as long as they're ready to (would be decided by maturity, intellect, skills etc.) regardless of age.

Plus there can be multiple graduation and input points, maybe every semester/trimester etc. and also for university. This is to ensure even more flexibility in graduation. If the gifted students want to graduate early, so be it. If the struggling students want to graduate later, even if not by a whole year, so be it.

I would set the time when you could leave school, to either a predetermined level of skill that'll allow you to survive in society, or a specific age (maybe 15 or 16), whichever is earlier you can do so. If you want to leave school at 12, as long as you have that predetermined skill/knowledge you can leave, maybe doing other things like starting a business, or acting.

University for me would be four years. Although with the right qualifications from pre-university, that could be shortened to three years (OR 1/4 of the degree). This is to ensure even more flexibility, along with a decent path to enter university a year earlier than "usual" (For example, Carnegie Mellon in America, which considers and admits a lot of high school juniors).

Levels should be based on things completed, not from age.

"Qualifications that are internationally recognised"
A HS diploma, which may last 3-4 years or something like that.
Basic level: a solid foundation on the subject. Almost like GCSE
Ordinary level: basically minimum to get in university. Something like Highers
Honors level: elective credit for university? Somewhere between Higher and Advanced Higher?
Advanced level: skipping the intro courses in uni (Advanced Highers equivalent)

Different levels of diploma. Basic diploma for mainly/only basic level. University-ready diploma if you get enough Ordinary level subjects and proficiency to get in university. Advanced diploma if you can actually skip the intro courses of uni.

"Life skills"
More emphasis, especially cooking, budgetting, and these should start early, quite early. Even 7-8 years old (or when you're ready)

"Mandatory and optional subjects"
Mandatory: sciences, arts and humanities etc. up to Basic level

A dedicated center for gifted and talented students. With 4 levels:
Moderately gifted: 2-3 SD above mean (~top 2%)
Highly gifted: 3-4 SD above mean (~top 0.1%)
Exceptionally gifted: 4-5 SD above mean (~top 0.003%)
Profoundly gifted: 5+ SD above mean (~top 0.00003%)
To test for this, IQ test with extended norms (up to 5 SD)
Maybe another level for someone who isn't overall top 2% in intelligence, but in an area of intellect (e.g. visual-spatial, verbal, memory) is top 2%.

Reply 2

hotpud

18

I think we need to stop thinking that school exists to train young people such they they are ready for the world of work.

Education should be for education's sake and devoid of any strategic purpose. It should encourage children to think and question whilst providing a broad grounding of knowledge, basic skills and facts.

There seem to be many proponents from business that young candidates are not suitable for the world of work forgetting than in times gone by, most places of work had extensive training and apprenticeship programmes. In the pursuit of greed it is now deemed to be the states responsibility to train employees of the future.

Reply 3

tazarooni89

20

Original post by hotpud

I think we need to stop thinking that school exists to train young people such they they are ready for the world of work.

Education should be for education's sake and devoid of any strategic purpose. It should encourage children to think and question whilst providing a broad grounding of knowledge, basic skills and facts.

There seem to be many proponents from business that young candidates are not suitable for the world of work forgetting than in times gone by, most places of work had extensive training and apprenticeship programmes. In the pursuit of greed it is now deemed to be the states responsibility to train employees of the future.

I’d like to somewhat disagree with this.

I agree that education for its own sake is a good thing. But I don’t think it should be the state’s responsibility to provide it. If the taxpayer is funding the education of other people’s children, I think they’re entitled to expect a return on that investment in the form of economic benefit and productivity in the country.

It’s still possible for people to people to seek education for its own sake; you can find online courses, free university lectures and self-study resources for pretty much anything these days. But I don’t think that needs to be part of compulsory, state-provided and funded education.

To that end, I think the education system does need to better prepare people for the world of work, because as it stands, even the academically best and brightest students are entering the world of work without a clue. It’s all well and good for employers to provide job-specific training, but schools and universities need to be able to provide a base of transferable skills (e.g. collaboration, negotiation, professionalism, proactiveness, knowledge-sharing, personal branding, networking, interviewing, public-speaking, strategic decision-making and many others) rather than just raising exam-machines. Currently I don’t think school and university careers departments even do a good job of teaching students about the many different careers that exist, how to get into them and how to navigate a pathway through them, with students having to rely on knowing someone who’s already done it.

Reply 4

hotpud

18

I think this is the problem. We have trained ourselves to always be looking for a return on some form of input. A house isn't a home. It is an investment. Food and water aren't the basis of life. They are commodities sold to the highest bidder.

And now as far as you are concerned, so is education. My question to you though is, if you don't provide a broad range of opportunities how do students discover what they are interested in or what they are good at? Or do you present a model which contains fixed opportunities for the poor whilst the wealthy get to pay for studying the likes of classics, Ancient Greek and Latin as has always been the case, and a sign of wealth?

In theory, education is the one social leveller that works and still there is a push to keep the poor down by preventing access to education because of a belief they need to demonstrate the worth of the education they receive.

How about charging VAT on private education for a start?

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 5

toxicgamage56

Universities Forum Helper

More golden time

Curriculum is mostly fine. I'd change a few things but at the end of the day it doesn't matter. You can try and teach them important things but they ain't gonna listen.

Reply 7

justlearning1469

21

Original post by Guru Jason

Curriculum is mostly fine. I'd change a few things but at the end of the day it doesn't matter. You can try and teach them important things but they ain't gonna listen.

Nah, I'll change a lot of things.

P.S. do you think my curriculum changes are too radical? Maybe you'd agree with that...

Reply 8

a.planet

15

Original post by MindMax2000

With the knowledge that you know now and living the lfie that you have experienced, if you were to go back and redesigned your own learning from nursery to university, how would you design your own curriculum?

I am interested to know what people would include, exclude, opinions on the education system, and their reasoning to why they think the way they do.
Would you have wanted specific services changed? If so, in what way and why?

Ideas:
Life skills
National and International equivalences
Qualifications that are internationally recognised
Mandatory and optional subjects

If you want material for reference, see:
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-careers
https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/job-sectors/sectors
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles
https://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/my-career-options/job-profiles
https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/job-descriptions

In terms of History, I would broaden the curriculum to talk more about Britain's history with other non-europeans nations and continents; good and bad (so talk more about colonialism outside of just the slave trade from Africa to America). I would probably also advocate for more detailed sex ed and also introduce a class where you learn more practical life skills (like how to pay taxes, budget, manage loans, get a mortgage etc.) and maybe along with dt have other trade related subjects implemented.

Tests wouldn't be so heavily weighted and assessment would be focused on application and how well you can apply a concept to a real world situation (for example with science, you wouldn't memorise the steps of a practical but actual do the practical irl and be scored on that). Students would be able to type or write exams if they choose and instead of formal a-level, SATS or GCSE, you would write a dissertation-style essay or artifact or presentation with a deadline but plenty of time to research (so like an EPQ on a given topic from the Course for each subject).

I'm not up-to-date on the current curriculum, though I wouldn't have altered the curriculum I went through too radically. I would include a bit more focus on "life" and "employment" skills, though. They wouldn't be assessed in the way that traditional academic subjects are - because you really don't want people who do poorly in them to have further issues with employment - but it would be mandatory to take certain "modules" from these areas.

Reply 10

justlearning1469

21

Original post by Smack

I'm not up-to-date on the current curriculum, though I wouldn't have altered the curriculum I went through too radically. I would include a bit more focus on "life" and "employment" skills, though. They wouldn't be assessed in the way that traditional academic subjects are - because you really don't want people who do poorly in them to have further issues with employment - but it would be mandatory to take certain "modules" from these areas.

The improvements are good, however we can go further.

Reply 11

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper

19

Id include more in the way of real life stuff- such as finances, budgeting, bank accounts, taxes, mortgages etc etc.

Reply 12

Sam Konor

3

Согласен с тобой

Original post by justlearning1469

Я бы сделал систему образования более гибкой. Я бы избавился от возрастных групп, они архаичны и должны быть убраны. Основными факторами, определяющими различие между людьми с разным потенциалом, будут интеллект и уровень навыков.

Например, вместо того, чтобы использовать день рождения в качестве порога, в идеале я хотел бы систему, в которой каждого ученика оценивают по интеллекту, готовности к школе, а затем можно принять решение, начинать первый уровень или нет.
Первый уровень может быть «игровым» или чем-то еще. Когда уровень ниже устойчив, тогда можно двигаться вверх, если они готовы к этому (определяется зрелостью, интеллектом, навыками и т. д.) независимо от возраста.

Кроме того, может быть несколько выпускных и входных точек, может быть, каждый семестр / триместр и т. д., а также для университета. Это сделано для обеспечения еще большей гибкости при выпуске. Если одаренные студенты хотят закончить школу досрочно, пусть будет так. Если борющиеся студенты хотят окончить школу позже, пусть даже не на целый год, пусть будет так.

Я бы установил время, когда вы можете покинуть школу, либо до заранее определенного уровня навыков, который позволит вам выжить в обществе, либо до определенного возраста (может быть, 15 или 16), в зависимости от того, что наступит раньше, вы можете это сделать. Если вы хотите бросить школу в 12 лет, пока у вас есть заранее определенные навыки/знания, вы можете уйти, возможно, занимаясь другими вещами, такими как открытие бизнеса или актерское мастерство.

Университет для меня будет четыре года. Хотя при наличии соответствующей квалификации доуниверситетского образования это можно было бы сократить до трех лет (или 1/4 степени). Это сделано для того, чтобы обеспечить еще большую гибкость наряду с достойным путем поступления в университет на год раньше, чем «обычно» (например, Карнеги-Меллон в Америке, который рассматривает и принимает много старшеклассников).

Уровни должны основываться на пройденных вещах, а не на возрасте.

«Квалификации, признанные на международном уровне»
Диплом HS, который может длиться 3-4 года или что-то в этом роде.
Базовый уровень: прочная основа по предмету. Почти как GCSE
Ordinary level: минимум для поступления в университет. Что-то вроде высших
Уровень отличия: факультативный кредит для университета? Где-то между Higher и Advanced Higher?
Продвинутый уровень: пропуск вводных курсов в универе (эквивалент Advanced Highers).

Различные уровни диплома. Базовый диплом для преимущественно/только базового уровня. Диплом о готовности к поступлению в университет, если вы изучили достаточно предметов на обычном уровне и владеете достаточными знаниями, чтобы поступить в университет. Расширенный диплом, если вы действительно можете пропустить вводные курсы универа.

«Жизненные навыки»
Больше внимания уделяется приготовлению пищи, составлению бюджета, и это должно начинаться рано, довольно рано. Даже в возрасте 7-8 лет (или когда вы будете готовы)

«Обязательные и факультативные предметы»
Обязательные: естественные науки, искусство, гуманитарные науки и т. д. до базового уровня

Специализированный центр для одаренных и талантливых учащихся. С 4 уровнями:
Умеренно одаренные: на 2–3 SD выше среднего (~верхние 2 %)
Высоко одаренные: на 3–4 SD выше среднего (~верхние 0,1 %)
Исключительно одаренные: на 4–5 SD выше среднего (~верхние 0,003 %)
Глубоко одаренные: 5+ Стандартное отклонение выше среднего (~верхнее значение 0,00003%)
. Чтобы проверить это, проведите тест IQ с расширенными нормами (до 5 стандартных отклонений)
. -пространственная, вербальная, память) составляет 2%.

Reply 13

justlearning1469

21

Original post by Sam Konor

Согласен с тобой

Спасибо

P.S. may you speak in English please? My Russian is very bad

Reply 14

jonathanemptage

21

I feel that the school system need a complete over haul w have our core subjects Science English and Maths which I agree with 110% are very important but I’d also like more IT in schools not only IT lessons but incorporated into other lessons have kids in maths using mat lab to plot their results and the like. We also need some other subjects.
Life skills Teach kids how to budget pay taxes and basically ho to function in real life.
Politics So kids know what they are voting on and what is important to them when they turn 18.
Nutrition This should be very piratical based teach kids about nutrition and how things are good and bad for them then get them to cook and actually see healthy food can taste good with out loading this with sugar and fat.

Most of those would start at age 11 except for nutrition which would start as soon as kids start school. There would also be more work experience in year 10 and 11.

I’m also not sure about GCSE’s in their current form. We should give teachers more autonamy the curriculum should be defined by the school and verified by Ofsted thus allowing teachers to teach more of what thy are entrusted in for instance if Science teacher loves genetics their class will be based more on that than lets say ecology (which is also cool in my book).

That raises the question of exams and how to run them I’d suggest continues assessment and in class tests rather than a kind of “This exam defines the rest of your life” approach. This next bit is going to be slightly controversial if you fail to meet the required standard in a core subject (English Maths and Science I’d also say IT) you have to repeat the bits you failed over the summer or get held back a year(like in a university) it’s controversial but it’s a concept that I can really see working and we’d probably have a higher standard of kids leaving school they wouldn’t like it at the time sure but it would work out in their future.

- Stop making GCSE English lit, RS and MFL mandatory at GCSE level and beyond (no the school making you take the subject then you having the ability to drop it later doesn't count. Don't force/push pupils into have to take these subjects as a GCSE in the first place).
- Make learning a foreign language mandatory from pre-school/reception (have exceptions for certain pupils e.g those with disabilities, English is your second language etc) but let students drop MFL when they enter KS4 (unless the school is a language school).
- Scrap the pathway X vs pathway Y when it comes to GCSE options
- teach life skills (how to write a CV and cover letter, cook, budget, do taxes, debate, politics etc).
- Maybe make homework optional at 6th form and beyond and maybe at primary school as well? (as in you don't receive any punishment for not doing the homework but still though I don't really have anything against mandatory homework).
-make A-levels modular again

Reply 16

Fluffybubby

7

No predicted grades, uni applications after real grades

Reply 17

JasmineBowley

6

Hi! I am in my second year of a new degree, at a new university, that was founded to take a different approach to higher education. The degree I am taking is called 'Interdisciplinary Problems and Methods', where we study a mixture of subjects from Philosophy, to Technology and Culture Studies, to Neuroscience (as well as focus on integrating these disciplines), in addition to method modules (which I have enjoyed most!) such as Social Science Research Methods or Natural Language Processing (https://www.lis.ac.uk/undergraduate-degree/course-content/).
The reason for this variety in subjects is because of the importance of interdisciplinarity in problem-solving both large-scale and in the work-place. The integration of different disciplinary perspectives and communication between industries is limited, especially in response to problems both local and widely experienced (such as global pandemics), but is vital for change.
As students on this course we have had these valuable learning opportunities, as well as the chance to put it into practice in tackling different problems specific to each term, such as on a project for a policy client, or responding to a problem of our own interest in the final term of each year.
I have found this course demanding but enjoyable, and most importantly: eye-opening and insightful.

If you wanted to design your own school curriculum, what would you have included?

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