What is the most important subject, value or idea children should learn at school?

Question

As a teacher I am challenged to teach a variety of subject areas, all of which are important. I love teaching, but I want to know what adults having gone through the "system" think is the primary goal of a public education.

Answer 1

I think children should be taught that learning is something we do throughout life, not just to get through school. They should be taught that a job well done is its own reward. They need to learn to be self-motivated, independent thinkers.

As a parent, I try to instill these ideas in my children. The best teachers are those that, whatever the subject matter, stress discovery, learning and responsibility.

Thanks for the work you do!

Answer 2

Okay, well everyone has been preaching that morals should be taught in school and some people have even had the presence of mind to say that teachers are just the enforcers while parents should be teaching those things. You can say that parents should be doing a lot of things but the fact of the matter is that lots of parents out there didn't even want to have children in the first place and are unlikely to change. Well I believe that religion, english and extracurriculars are most important to teach in schools. Even in a public school teaching about a variety of different reigions gives children a look at different cultures and, if taught properly, can give many lessons on morals and respect. As a child learns english and literature they expand their vocabulary and read more. By reading more you can get many different insights on people and the world today. You expand your mind and you learn so much, whatever it is you read. Extracurriculars (art, music, gym) allow one to express themselves, release pent up emotions and these unforced subjects allow students to enjoy themselves. Children can open up their minds and lives through these classes (music is food for the soul-and other such cliches). And in the very least they keep kids off the streets and getting into drugs..things like that.

Answer 3

The best answers would be simple and sweet and easy to predict. Many will comment that English is most important because it is essential for any form of continued education or employment. Some may comment History, for one cannot know where one is going, until one knows where he/she began. I believe the most important subject any child should learn in school is sexually education. Although frightening and scary to know our children understand sex, (an otherwise taboo subject and adult activity) it is the year 2006 and teenage pregnancy is at an all time high. As a future teacher myself, I find it increasingly hard to understand why so many people, I went to high school with are now mothers and fathers. This subject being taught might prevent another "Woodstock" or "60's free-love generation" that is still affecting our communities with fatherless/motherless adults. Sexual education was "brushed over" until I was entered into a magnet high school, and it was therefore essential to understand human anatomy and it's functions. My mother's medical understanding of the subject was also an aid. I understood sex so much better, that I refrained but knew if I were to engage, I'd use a condom. That condom is subtracted from millions of teen sexually interactions, when it indeed needs to be multiplied.

Answer 4

As to the most important subject - that's tough, and I believe varies to a degree for each individual, however, I'd have to say that math and history would be at the top of the list. Reason for math - it's something you never stop using and history - let's face it - it's what our country is about. Too many ppl want to be involved in a discussion about history, but don't really know anything about it.

In regards to a value, honesty without a doubt. With honesty, children develop better morals, and learn to be responsible for their actions. This is something that they are not taught by anyone in today's generation and is a huge problem.

Finally, everyone should have the idea that all ppl deserve respect, understanding that you get what you give.

Thanks for the question and your true concern and passion for teaching.

Answer 5

I think that reading and writing are the base for a good education without those you get nowhere. I think math is another base, but most important in math is dealings with money. If you can figure money issues you can do most anything.

Beyond that, history, science, literature, music, art, etc are all things that are important to certain students. I think students should be allowed to help assist in which direction they would like to go and that all the subjects are not as important as the availability for them to have access to them. I think students need a vast variety of options available so that they can pick and choose what is best for there particular needs and wants.

Students need to have an input in what they learn to keep them excited about learning. They should not be given a catch all education plan. They need to be able to focus in the direction that they want and not be pushed by "the system".

There are my thoughts...LOL....

Answer 6

I am a teacher as well, so I'm not sure if you want my opinion but here it goes. I think that the best thing that we can teach our students is the love of learning. This can't be a specific subject necessarily but it may. If we teach them or rather encourage their natural curiousity throughout school and show them what it means to be a lifelong learner then hopefully they will be. I think that's the most important thing for them to take with them after they leave.

Answer 7

I think the primary goal of public education is to ensure students reach their individual learning potential and achieve their personal best in ALL subject areas.

Because children come from many different backgrounds, religions, families, etc school should be a neutral environment where they feel safe, listened to and are taught the fundamental societal values, like right from wrong, making good choices, telling the truth, etc...

Answer 8

The most important "skill" to be learned at school is learning how to learn. Teachers have a huge responsibility to spark the desire in children to want to learn. No amount of standing at a chalk board, or talking will teach children - unless the desire is there. Everything at school has equal potential and value. If students learn how to learn - they become lifelong learners -- and this is something that our school systems should promote.

Answer 9

The student who learns to appreciate reading and verbal communication early on holds a key s/he can use to open the door to any other discipline. We in the U.S. are so obsessed with basic literacy that we tend to jam our children into little, easily measured boxes which we erroneously consider to be valid measurements of learning achievement.

If a child learns to read and communicate (by whatever means necessary--and we all know in our hearts that different people learn differently), and if that child is introduced to literacy as an exciting key to ongoing, lifelong adventure, that child has truly been educated. Unfortunately, this does not often happen in public schools. Public school teachers are so bound up in the strictures of mechanical, largely meaningless "measures of achievement" that the teachers themselves lose their sense of adventure, and the students suffer as a result.

Thanks for what you do! I'm sure you entered the teaching field because of your desire to improve the lives of children. I hope you can find a balance between your original motivations and the often ridiculous requirements placed upon you by politicians.

Answer 10

Most values should be taught at home, and academics in school. It goes without saying that children need a foundation of factual knowledge and understanding to be competitive. However, learning to be competitive while maintaining one's integrity is best learned in the school environment. There are very few handouts in the world, so you have to be competitive to succeed, but not at "any cost".