School isn't working

Why do we send our children to school? Wasn't the idea to give them the knowledge and skills that they will need as adults in this world?

At some point it was decided that every student should learn the "three" R's. Reading,writing and (a)rithmetic. I find it ironic that that became a saying considering that reading is the only one that actually starts with the letter R. It is kind of fitting  though since school is filled with so many things that seem like a nice idea but when you look closely don't make any sense at all.

I agree very strongly that the three R's should be the absolute minimum at which we strive to teach our children. But our current system is failing at even that. The average student graduating from high school in America reads on a fifth grade level, can barely multiply and divide and has handwriting so atrocious that nobody else can read it.

For that reason alone our system needs to be seriously revamped. But even if we manage to bring those things to a manageable level, there are so many other things that are wrong or do not work and so much more that our kids should be learning.

Although the No Kid Left Behind laws are being repealed the truth is we have had some kind of program in our schools that does more or less the same thing for nearly a hundred years. And it has been failing that whole time. Children are individuals. No two of them are the same. Holding them each to the same standards is both stupid and unfair. What is simple for one is nearly impossible for another. Some children need a curriculum that is individualized due to learning blocks or starting school years later than others due to family issues. That is not to say that we should coddle them. I believe we need to be harsh but fair.

And on top of that. The three R's are not enough to get by in life today. The way the world is today everyone should learn sociology and psychology to better be able to understand their neighbors on spaceship Earth and to learn how to deal with their own feelings. When do they learn how to get a job or what people skills they will need in order to keep it?

It also wouldn't hurt if martial arts were taught to children in schools so that everyone has the capacity to protect themselves when they need to. Not everyone needs to know the atomic weight of iridium. But everyone needs to defend themselves or someone else at some point in their life.

And last but certainly not least. What about self empowerment? When are they supposed to learn about The Law of Attraction? Or the power of being a positive influence on their own lives and that of others? When do they learn the skills that they will REALLY need to not only survive but to get ahead and stay that way?

If school really is supposed to give our children what they need to live the best lives they can possibly have, then our whole system is woefully inadequate and needs to be reworked.

Have any good ideas?