Once upon a time, you went to school to learn the skills you didn’t pick up during the course of life.
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These traditionally encompassed the three Rs: reading, writing and arithmetic.
There was also science, and history, and a bit of art and PE and music.
You stayed as long as you needed to, depending on your aptitude and what you wanted, or could reasonably expect, to achieve.
How things have changed.
Years ago the government came up with a tidy initiative to hide the large number of unemployed young people.
It effectively forced them to remain in school and complete year 12.
This encouraged more kids to continue the path to university. However, people less likely to attend university also became ensnared in the system.
The diverse learning needs of this expanded group of students forced schools to cater to a much broader segment of the spectrum.
On one hand it demands that high schools exist to help students pursue academic excellence.
On the other it carries the implicit promise it will equip those marking time in the educational web real-world life skills.
Research revealed this week by the Hunter Research Foundation Maitland showed that more than half the students who finished the Higher School Certificate felt unprepared for their future.
It seems they think the HSC curriculum should do more to address “the practicality of life”.
Is it fair for young people, and society at large, to expect our educational institutions to address things such as preparing a tax return?
At what point should these skills be considered the responsibility of, dare we say it, the individual?