Hi Libby,

This is a great article I fully agree, lets get back to the basiscs of teaching the core subjects by teachers and have other life skills tought by parents.

I think the problem goes very much further and you could write a 1000 page book on it, but in a nutshell; most families have both parents working these days just to make ends meets for various reasons ie Cost of living, wanting everything now House fully furnshed, nice cars, holidays etc. So who is there to instill other life lessons when both parents are cought up in rushing kids to and from school/daycare getting to work on time, organising baths, dinner etc before you know bed time and oh look the alarm is going of  again.

I fully understand every one has completely different expectation of the lifestyle they would like to leed and how much they would like to earn, own etc. But what happened to the days of just having kids because you truly want them and make all the sacrifices that come with it, not just have have one to make others happy, satisfie grandparents or in some cases for the enormous government handouts, and then have others, like yourself raise them in all thing life.

When are parents and politicians going to come back to reality and let schools teach the cerriculum and parents teach life. My wife has not worked for the past 10 years and we have lived on a moderate single income for that time and made do, and in most parts been there to instill life lessons.

If the politicians want to look at fixing this why not spend resources on after school educational programs for specific issues that need to be adressed ie all the education programs you have listed.

I believe the world is getting to fast paced and parenting is becoming a bit like, get them out of bed, breakfast, brush teeth, dressed of to school, pick them up, homework, dinner, brush teeth, bed every thing inbetween is up to someone else.

Good article

I agree with you, school should be left for school things, life lessons should be taught by the parents and learnt through actively living life. Maths and English should be taught by teachers and if the children are having problems dealing with stress then thats when a school councellor should step in to teach the steps needed to handle the stress. Also parents need to play an active part in their childrens lives. If your child is stressed then are you going to leave it up to some one else to help them, I would like to think that most parents would prefer to help their children themselves.

It's most peoples perception that school is where you learn everything. I agree, our children can't be taught everything at school - it's a tough one maybe a balance between making our children aware of stress and ways to deal with it  from home and school could be an option as stress is a major factor in today's society in every aspect.

Excellent article and eye opening.  Isn't it the job of parents to teach those extra things?  Perhaps parents need a curriculum of subjects to teach at home.- homework for mums and dads???

As a teacher I also agree there is only so many hours ina school day.May be it could be a topic for ongoing discussion at meal times.

I absolutely agree with you! There are things that the parents should be teaching their children, so that teachers can teach what they are there to learn!

Very good article !

There needs to be more responsibility put back on parents, teachers are there to educate yes but some things need to come from home, as u say there is only so many minutes in a school day - it is starting to get ridiculous how much ppl expect out of that - parents need to take responsibility for their children and teach some of these things themselves so that teachers can concentrate on what they originally are supposed to do - teach subjects not how to live

Teachers need to be left to the task of teaching.

Sometimes I think that the media makes such a big deal out of what needs to be taught to children, ie stranger danger, and those mentioned in your article, there is sooo much out there that has the potential to do harm, it is scary and over whelming for parents, teachers and children. Being afraid backs us into a corner and prevents us from getting on with the task at hand, raising HAPPY KIDS.  I guess what I am saying is lets not live our life in fear pointing fingers at who has to do what and focus on our kids, kids need time to be kids, all kids are naturally curious beings and tend to want to learn, they want time with their parents, family and friends, they want and thrive on attention.

Some programs could be done at home but most parents are too busy to read a booklet or watch a video with a child.  There is so much that children need to learn.  In teaching my son there are so many subjects that I want to add.  He wants to learn how to play the guitar, he needs character education, math is a must, he has to learn as you said time managment, how to talk to people, and the list goes on.  There are the main subjects and those that have to be learned in everyday life. 

You have to teach a child in the school system everything that they will need to know how to be a great productive citizen because not all parents know how to be great citizens.  In turn when these children grow up they will teach their children.

Thanks for the advice

As a fellow teacher I heartily agree with your comments. More & more is being considered the responsibility of schools, when it used to be that of the parents. In some schools this even extends to giving kids breakfast! However schools don't necessarily need to limit themselves to standard school subjects, especially in the primary school grades. One important example is in the case of children from abusive backgrounds. If schools can show them very early on that that type of background is not the norm, then there is a chance that that child won't grow up to be abusive too. On the other hand, for some types of learning, waiting until the child is in school could be too late. No matter what schools do, there is no replacement for the kinds of things parents should teach their child, for example good manners, social skills, and so on. And no matter how much we teach about good nutrition, it doesn't help if the parents aren't providing it!

good point, i agree that the basic lessons should always come first and not cut down in size to allow for new subjects.....keep the kids at school longer hehehe ...if not enough time in the day!

noticed your math site for kids however under construction, will revisit another time....keep up the good work, rue

Great point - and something I'd never thought of.  My question is - shouldn't parents be teaching these things to their children?  Maybe it is us parents who need the education?  Or maybe there should be more support so more parents can spend more time with their children and not have to be working multiple jobs to survive.  Good questions, no easy answers.  Like the article!

good article. They just did the same kind of survey in the UK, see link.

The ironic thing is, I expect plenty of parents ARE teaching their kids these things. Its the struggling families where the kids wont get taught these useful lifeskills anywhere else coz the parents are too busy/under equipped to teach what used to be seen as their role to teach. How to fill the gap....? Its not fair on overworked teachers, but without your hard work, society would be even worse wouldnt it? Raise the status of teachers! Sometimes I think universal parenting classes would be good and then I think "too nanny state!" My head hurts!