New Year Resolution: Six Ways In Which School Curriculum Should Change In 2023

School is the foundation of a person’s life. It is during school that a person learns to face the world outside. Along with learning the alphabet, they prepare themselves to speak words that bring a change in their lives. That is why it is crucial for the school curriculum to be wholesome and inclusive. It should address every issue important for a good and healthy life.

However, in our society, schools only behave as educational institutions in terms of books. They rarely take up the role of mentors of a person. Many school curriculums revolve around how to make a child rote learn concepts, many of which do not even help them in the longer run. Mostly, schooling has been reduced to a grading system where a person is always taught about winning, but not the significance of losing. As walk into the new year, it is time for us to look at things differently. It is time for us to make schooling a haven where students learn policies of life along with concepts of science. Along with learning the value of x, children should learn o solve the problems of life too. So this year, let us bring these changes in the school curriculum so that a person comes out as an individual and not a naïve rote learner.

1. Financial education

We all know how important it is to have a financial education. Finances play the role of fuel in our lives and so it is crucial for us to know how it works and how it can be used better. However, despite being an important part of life, schools do not include financial education in their curriculum. Concepts of saving money, investing, creating FDs, SIPs and insurance are never taught to students since the beginning. And that is why many remain unaware of the importance of financial management. So this year, let us include courses on financial management for students at the initial stages itself so that their brains can be wired into understanding the value of finances and solving its criticality step by step as they grow.

2. Sex education

Sex education is one of the most important courses in a student’s life. Sex education teaches students about the value of consent and how to keep themself safe. When I was a kid, I was never taught about consent or about good touch or bad touch. As a result, I couldn’t differentiate between innocent love for kids and paedophiles. This has given me traumas that will stay with me forever. So wouldn’t it be better that we put in efforts to fight taboos and teach kids about &t=59s">sex, consent and harassment rather than subjecting them to lifelong traumas?

3. Career counselling

Although many schools have a curriculum for career counselling, they do not go beyond conducting skill and aptitude tests. To make career counselling successful, schools must help kids to explore new career options apart from what they have been conditioned into following. For example, if a kid is born into a doctor’s family, it is natural that the kid will consider the medical field as the primary aim. But if career counselling is done right, the kid will learn about different options, how to go about them and their scopes. Then kids will be able to make informed decisions. Moreover, if a kid has decided about something, schools should conduct sessions for different career options quite often so that kids know how to achieve their ambitions.

4. Housework skills

Usually, home science is considered as the course that teaches about housework. Otherwise, schools do not teach students about indulging themselves in housework. Schools need to understand that housework is not a gender or age skill. People of every age must know to perform basic housework. Once they start with the basics, it will not be difficult to upgrade later in life. If kids are taught about the importance of housework, they won’t feel pressurised when life dumps responsibilities on them. So every school should have a curriculum or classes that teach kids to perform housework.

5. Reading books

Every school should encourage kids to read books apart from their course books. This will enhance their reading habits, and help them gather knowledge beyond their course. Improving reading habits helps a person to remain a student even after they have completed their education. They will always be a learner and hence curious to learn new things in life.

6. Teaching about social harmony

Schools must attempt to teach kids about religious, racial and gender harmony. Students should learn to not discriminate against people based on their gender, religion or caste. In 2022, we have witnessed cases in which schools became the breeding ground for religious conflict. Be it the anti-CAA protest or the hijaab ban in Karnataka, schools were being classified into religious extremes. But in 2023, let us stop this discrimination. Let us make schools a place where kids learn about harmony and about their and others' rights.

So dear school administration, make schooling not only a platform to excel but also a platform to learn life skills. A student should not only worry about passing classes but about being successful in life as a whole. I hope this new year will help schools to begin a new curriculum to help kids thrive.

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