RE: Curriculum – a map or a maze?

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RE: Curriculum – a map or a maze?

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aminasafdar (67)🇵🇰in ارتقاء • 2 months ago

What a child is capable of learning
What they want or need to learn

It's also common in asian parents to force all of their children to go for science and become doctors, even if any one of their child wants to do computers.

I remember I didn't want to study science, biology in matric but my mother forced me to do it. Though i enjoyed it later on.

They had me to do experiments on me puri life in the first place. It was also just to fit perfectly in society.

In my extended family, there is another lady forcing her children to study science and they fail miserably. But she is not ready to experiment with other opportunities.

Above all, the school system is mass producing non-functional children for economy, myself included too(@mehwish-almas can relate).

2 months ago in ارتقاء by aminasafdar (67)🇵🇰

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soulfuldreamer (74)🇵🇰 2 months ago

Amina, why do I feel like you're a little upset with your elders... Though, we children aren't always that great either, are we? I think if we actually showed focus, interest, and dedication in something, maybe the elders wouldn’t keep drilling science into us all the time... Anyway, this thought came to me reflectively today because I saw it from the perspective of a parent for the first time... When kids are constantly glued to mobiles, laptops, and gadgets, then what else can one do? Naturally, we too end up pushing science, right?

My father used to say that science is necessary—at least until matric and FSc—so that a child’s mind opens up and they develop a habit of scientific thinking. So that they get used to hard work. I think that’s the right approach, because the kind of pointless things being taught in arts subjects nowadays—science is better than that, honestly. Anyway, look where this debate has ended up...

I agree with you... the mindset of us elders—since I suppose I am one now too.

And regarding the curriculum, I would quote here my reply to jeff again:

I believe this debate on curriculum can be quite lengthy. It’s multifaceted and multifactorial. Obviously, any qualification requires certain criteria, and a course is designed accordingly. I have no objection to that whatsoever. My only point in this long, probably futile debate is just one thing — what is the thought process behind designing the curriculum, especially, for lower grades? Here, we are teaching some topics that are so outdated, generation after generation, that their purpose doesn’t seem to be education at all... it just feels like the goal is to torment the children.

Children rarely take any real interest in such topics. Why aren't we imparting knowledge that aligns with the demands of the modern age? I believe it's high time we openly discussed platforms like Instagram and social media in schools. If we can’t keep our children away from them, then there should at least be a proper course on their use—covering both the positives and the negatives. We should talk about their algorithms. This should now be part of basic education.

Let's also talk about taxes! I still haven’t been able to understand the process of filing a tax return myself. (Unrelated: So many people ask my husband to do it for them—and he does it voluntarily). But why? Why hasn’t this ever been part of the basic school curriculum?

Why aren’t we teaching kids how to make an omelette, or the basic life skills they need to survive? Why is Home Economics treated like an optional subject? There should be at least three periods a week dedicated to it. Everyone should know how to do basic stitching.

So that’s the heart of my point… it feels like nothing’s going to change. In this fast-paced world, especially in Pakistan where grade 12 (FA/FSc) marks the start of career or professional education, there’s just no time left. We fill kids’ minds with half-baked, often useless information, and then expect them to pursue medicine, engineering, or whatever else—without equipping them with even the most basic life skills.

What do you say?

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