Curriculum for change: Are some School Subjects Passe ?

Barry Artiste Op.Ed

Granted some may find some subjects have no relevance in todays society for future breadwinners, but on the other hand, a well rounded student is what education is all about.  By giving students a well rounded curriculum helps a student understand and choose a profession, they might have overlooked if not given a variety of subjects to help them better understand what the world is all about.  One suggests cursive writing be eliminated, because texting and keyboards are the norm. Whats next eliminate spelling, because computers have spell check?

‘The course provided by the public schools no longer meets the demands of the masses of the people thirsting for the mental training and breadth of knowledge demanded by the conditions of modern life and civilization.”

This is not an excerpt of a recent report on school curriculum, these are words from a 1907 presentation to what is today the Canadian Education Association.

The relevance of school subjects has long been debated, measuring tradition against modernity with the goal of ensuring the day’s students graduate with the right toolkit of skills.

In 1958, the United Nations educational organization introduced home economics to that tool kit. The goal? To prepare a student “for her future role as wife and mother.”

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