Education - time for a change?

I’ve just completed an online course in regard to learning some professional desktop publishing software and I have to say, that although it was only a ‘solid foundations’ course, I really enjoyed the process and of course, like the feeling of achievement.

I was talking about it on social media and said that I wished I’d enjoyed lessons as much at school. A friend answered that the reason I didn’t enjoy lessons at school was because they weren’t the things I wanted to do. And she was right.

When I look back, I’ve never really used anything I learned in Maths in real-life since I left school. I was taught my times tables by Mum before I was really at school. At 5, I would sit in the cash desk of our arcade with my Mum and she would teach me about money, what change to give for varying amounts. And she’d play money games with me. And I can’t think of anything else I did in a maths lesson that I’ve needed to do from that day to this.

I loved English, Geography, and P.E but wasn’t really interested in anything else. I had a succession of boring History teachers who couldn’t bring their subject to life with their dull monotonous teaching of the subject which caused me to dread the lessons, which is a shame as my Mum loved history and would regale me with stories of Henry VIII and enrapture me with historical facts. She would take me to museums and explain so much to me. We even queued in the rain to see Tutankhamun’s exhibition when it came to London in the early 70s. There was a woman who loved History.

I understand why there is a wide curriculum, but I spent years doing subjects that were of no interest to me at all. The science subjects were a blur to me. I hated them. I used to go to them thinking, “I’m never going to need any of these subjects,” and I haven’t.

As for exams. I failed my 11+ and didn’t take any of my ‘O’ levels as I left school early in order to run the family business when my Dad was taken ill.

I personally would like to see Exams done away with. I’d prefer to see the course results taken for the entirety of the course.

I never saw the sense in the last year of school, when you pretty much spent half of it going over everything you’d done in the previous years in case it came up in the exam. What a complete waste of time.

That time could have been spent learning something new. The teachers could give the results based on the coursework. After all, they’re the ones who can tell whether you’ve engaged in the subjects, how much knowledge you’ve taken in, how much effort you’ve put in. They’re the ones who see how the individual performs on the daily basis and how capable they are.

Instead, you have an exam, looked at by a group of people who have no idea whether the students are bright or not. There could well be students who took everything on board but froze on the day of the exam and because of that didn’t get the result they deserved. To my mind, it’s a stupid way of assessing a student’s capabilities.

I also think that education also goes about itself the wrong way. Instead of teaching sensible subjects that will be useful to anyone, they say that you have to do certain things.

Had there been lessons on business, I’d more likely have been interested.  Had there been lessons that I could have taken into the real world; I’d have applied myself more.

I’m not saying I didn’t apply myself. Had I not, Mum and Dad would have been down on me like a ton of bricks.

I’m not saying there shouldn’t be all the lessons we had, just that there should have been others and we should have been able to drop out of certain lessons if we didn’t want to do them. To have to do maths and the sciences was a complete waste of my time...and the teachers who had to teach me.

I know that as kids, we don’t know what we want to do in life. Well that’s not true is it? As kids, before adults knock our dreams out of us, most kids have fantastic dreams, but because the teachers aren’t encouraged to help them follow their dreams, they are instead, pushed to go down the national curriculum road.

I’ve read no end of autobiographies of successful people who, at school were laughed at by teachers and who, when they went to see the career’s officer were told to take their head out of the clouds and look for a real job. 

A real job is surely not dependent on what a careers officer thinks. I agree that practical jobs are important, but that shouldn't mean those outside the norm shouldn't be aimed at. In saying that, I don't think everyone should be pointed toward going into the further education route of college or university either.

Since I left school, I think I’ve used only a tiny bit of what I was taught at school. The majority of things I’ve used started with my parents, the biggest of which was to give me the thought that I should never give less than my best. I’ve carried that through my adult years and I still am.

I agree with my friend, I learn because I’m learning things that I’m interested in.

I got an NVQ Level 2 in IT at college in my 50s because I was interested in it. I completed a course this week because I was interested in it.

I’ve just signed up for two more courses because I’m interested in the subjects.

I’ve always been curious, I’ve always been interested in things. Admittedly, the courses I’ve taken weren’t there in the 60s and 70s when I was at school. But at school, they couldn’t seem to harness my curiosity and point it in directions that would have been beneficial to me.

For the life of me, why they couldn’t they have made lessons such as maths based on the real world of budgeting, how to save and the benefits of it, and how to put a business together, instead of forcing us to do algebra and geometry I don’t know.

I know that they’re important for some people, but they could have added them in at some stage for those who wanted to take their subject further.

I still can’t explain what an isosceles triangle is or what use algebra has played in my life. I’ve never needed to know.

The same goes with things such as cumulus clouds, stratus of rock, how to cut up a toad, anything to do with religion (I read the whole bible years later in my own time) and no end of other things I was taught at school.

As I said, I didn’t come out of school with any qualifications, but I’d like to see anyone prove that I’m ignorant and uneducated. I was running my Parents business at 16, I’d been dealing with people as part of that business since I was 6 or 7. I’ve turned my hand to no end of trades over the years and succeeded, and failed (when I learned most) along the way.

I was told I would’ve done well in my exams but had I needed jobs, I’d not have got any that I’d have gone for if they looked at my educational achievements. It’s just as well I had bigger dreams!

I just feel sorry for those kids who slipped through the net, either through a lack of real-world teaching or because they froze in exams.

For me, the only thing an exam proves is that you’re capable of turning up on time, are calm enough to complete the exam and you’re able to hold and write down information in a coherent way.

An exam doesn’t show me that you’ve worked hard for that allotted period. It doesn’t show me that you’re capable of taking the initiative, you’re forward-thinking, that you’ve got common sense or more importantly that you’ve got people skills – all things that are useful in any career or business.

There’s another thing...why aren’t children taught skills with people at school? Why aren’t they encouraged to dream and show their initiative? Why aren’t they actually taught things that are useful in real life?

I understand that I may sound naive in my thinking. I know that all the subjects taught are there for a reason. But when are they going to look at trying to prepare kids for when they leave school and really start to learn about life?

To my mind, after we’ve spent all those years in education, we should be prepared for the real world. Not everyone needs to go to University. And the aim shouldn’t be for everyone to try to get there.

I’d rather there be more plumbers, builders and electricians than too many ex-university students with degrees taking jobs they don’t want because there aren’t enough of the high-end ones they're expecting to get!

I say this because I’ve met more than a few who’re serving behind bars and working in a garage because there aren’t jobs in their intended fields for them.

As I see it, if we're turning out more kids from school unprepared for the real world, then something's wrong. Shouldn't they be getting a more practical form of education too? And why isn't how they apply themselves to their coursework over a length of time more important than an exam result could be on any given day?

There has to be another way.

 

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The things that books can do for you

At the beginning of the year, I determined that I was going to change some of my habits and become more productive, even though we’re in a lockdown situation.

I spent time online looking at different systems and followed some pointers I’d picked up in books and youtube as to how I going to make me more efficient.

One of them was to make a chart which I could cross off each thing I wanted to get done each day. The thinking behind it is that if I can see that I’m doing each activity, it will be easier to keep doing it.

I’ve been learning Spanish online and because the app tells me how many consecutive days I’ve done it for, and because I can the total, I don’t want to break that run. And it’s proved to be a very good thing. The fact that each day it tells me the total I’ve done, it keeps me motivated to keep going, even on the days I don’t want to (it’s 1372, in case you were wondering).

I’ve made a little grid that allows me to track each day and I put a cross into each section when I’ve accomplished the task.

I’m on Day 29 so far, I’ve failed on a few of the tasks for the odd day  regularly going out and walking being one, because, for the first 5 days of the year, we were in Quarantine and weren’t allowed out, so I couldn’t even start on the 1st.

The other area I’ve missed the goal is in eating – 3 days I’ve overeaten but I don’t mind as I knew I was going to, as it was the day after weigh-in day and I treated myself. I’ve restarted checking what I’m eating because I had a period of going wild with chocolate and needed to rein it in if I’m to maintain the weight loss I’d achieved previously. 

The key is to only miss for one day. Start again the day after,

The biggest surprise however as been in reading.

I’ve always enjoyed reading but never really dedicated a consistent time to it. I may not read for weeks at a time and then only just before I went to bed at night. Other times, I’d have three books on the go at the same time, so as you can tell, it can often be haphazard.

I like non-fiction. I like biographies and autobiographies. If I’m involved in something, I’ll buy related books. For instance, when I was doing radio, I bought books about technique, and I bought books to learn more about the process. In the same way, now that I’m doing design, I buy books which will help improve what I do. I buy lettering books and books about layout. I’m always looking to improve.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good thriller or crime yarn. I will read something like that alongside my non-fiction selection.

But if there’s one area of books I love to read, it’s self-improvement. Recently, I’ve been humbled by what some people have said to me. They’re comments I’d never have received if it weren’t for the books I’ve read.

I’d still be the thumb-sucking, knuckle-dragging, bonehead I was in my 20s had I not come across these books. I’ve read loads over the years.

And if you think I’m nothing special, you’re right, I’m not. I’m just a normal guy who learned a bit along the way and changed and adapted.

I realise we all do that as we get older, but a long time ago, I realised that I’m not the brightest kid on the block, not even close – and what’s more, I don’t want to be. What I did want at 30, and still do at 60 is to be a better person than I was before.

I had a great start in life with the grounding my parents gave me, but once I was left to my own devices, I started to go downhill. I was never the most confident of people. A lot thought I was, but I got to be a good actor to cover my own insecurities.

And when I discovered ‘The Magic Of Thinking Big’, back in 1990, I realised I could change. I’ll tell you here and now, it’s been long, slow progress,; often two steps forward, three steps back, and it won’t end for me until I’m placed in a box.

I’ve always wanted to be a better me. I’m not the jealous type. I applaud people who get on in life. They just prove it can be done. I’m not envious of other’s success. What’s the point? Being envious isn’t going to do me any good.

But I can try and improve myself and that’s what I’ve always wanted to do. Not in the monetary, ‘look at what I’ve got’ sort of way either. I’d like to think by the end, I’ll be respected and thought well of by people. That’s as much as I want.

Those self-improvement books have helped me no end – they’re not a ‘do this and you’ll be a success’ kind of thing; after all, we’re all different and our journeys are too.

They can give you motivation, but the truth is, that’s only temporary. To develop motivation, you need to develop the ‘why?’ Without that, it’s just a wish.

The best thing about those books isn’t the ra-ra, it isn’t the how-to, it’s more subtle than that.

The best thing about the books kind of books I read is not what the writer says, it’s about how what they say helps me to think in ways I hadn't before.

I’ve read many of my books over and over again and at different times, I’m looking for different things.

I use the supermarket approach to reading them. I take what I need at the time, give it some thought as to how I can apply whatever it is I need to and then take action and leave the rest. When I read it again, I may need something different then.

Just thinking about a thing is motion, but action makes the difference. And that’s the long-winded point I’m trying to make here. And I’m doing different things daily, so I am also doing the action bit.

Since the start of January, I’ve completed 5 books and I’m reading 2 others at the moment. Of course, they’re not all 500-page epics, the shortest was just 88 pages long.

But in doing that and crossing off each day when I’ve done my reading, I’ve fallen in love with reading again. I feel more positive about where I’m headed. I’m feeling good about me. But best of all, I’m enjoying reading again.

Just imagine, if you turned the TV off, and instead of getting wound up by Piers Morgan or the seeing the news for the 7^th time today, you picked up a book and used that time reading, maybe a novel in your favourite genre, or an autobiography by someone you admire, how much better would you feel?

Books can transport you to a different world. They can make you see the World in a different way They can change you for the better. They can be all of these things and more.

With the kind of books that I read, I get input from people whose minds are far greater than mine, they have a different perspective from me, and through them, I get to think about things in a different way.

I’d agree I’m nothing special.  Even after reading all those books, I’m not anything out of the ordinary. But without those books that have slowly drip-fed me ideas and thoughts over the years, I can pretty much guarantee, I would be a whole lot worse-off a person than I am now. And I’m not talking about in monetary terms.

I quite like the man that I’m becoming. I’ve still got a way to go and more to learn. In fact, I’ll never stop learning. But what I do know, is that I like me a whole lot more than I did 10 years ago.

You don't have to read the kind of books that I do. Find something that works for you. A trashy novel is going to do you more good than watching a news channel to start your day!

And what I’ve picked up and absorbed from books has made all the time I’ve been reading worthwhile. I can’t say that about spending time watching the news and the naysayers on the telly.

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