21stcenturyed.com

I cam across this quote today, attributed to post-modern writer Neil Gaiman:

“I’ve been making a list of the things they don’t teach you at school. They don’t teach you how to love somebody. They don’t teach you how to be famous. They don’t teach you how to be rich or how to be poor. They don’t teach you how to walk away from someone you don’t love any longer. They don’t teach you how to know what’s going on in someone else’s mind. They don’t teach you what to say to someone who’s dying. They don’t teach you anything worth knowing.”

Quite a powerful statement – and quite true. There is so much that we wish we knew as we grow older. The things that really matter.

It got me thinking why our current models of education do not or can not effectively prepare us for the real meaty parts of life? Maybe not “how to love somebody” – but how about other stuff like:

• Patience
• Grace
• Dealing with disappointment
• Handling stress
• Discerning what is important now – and what will always be important

Is there some way that we could help students to be better prepared for real life?