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[Nealand Liquor]

I have often thought that part of our educational curriculum should teach survival skills starting in primary school. When I think about the things our species should be passing down through the generations, I believe learning how to live off the land, or at least survive in the wild are probably one of the most important skills we can teach.

Don't get me wrong I am by no means a survivalist or doomsday prepper, or someone pining for simpler times. It's when I think about it, I feel it's disappointing that a majority of our 1st world populations don't even have a basic understanding of the world outside of our cities. We can't be doing our species any favors by not educating our young on basic survival.

What do you think?

 

[Akuun]

It's obviously not as important as it used to be, but basic outdoor skills like how to make campfires could be useful and fun.

 

[Leunam]

I thought this would be about survival skills like budgeting money. I have no problem with that.

Wilderness survival skills strike me as a waste, in schools at least.

 

[daviyoung]

like resetting a circuit breaker?

 

[BertramCooper]

I don't think you should be allowed to graduate high school unless you can snag a live raccoon and rip off its testicles with your teeth.

 

[mrklaw]

No, it is way way down the list of things kids should learn in the limited amount or time they have.

Basic economics (how to balance your budget etc) and decent home economics so you know how to eat healthily and cook it freshly would both be way higher priorities for me.

 

[BigDug13]

Has it ever really been taught in schools? I figured that's where programs like Boy Scouts always filled the gap.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

This would be so pointless to waste precious curriculum time on. Save it for camps.

 

[Leunam]

I don't think you should be allowed to graduate high school unless you can snag a live raccoon and rip off its testicles with your teeth.

This is redundant. Everyone knows there's only one way to rip off testicles.

 

[DJ_Lae]

We had an optional course we could take in high school for one semester - it covered biology, PE, and two other courses and you basically did outdoor survival stuff...

Well, and smoked copious amounts of weed.

 

[Nealand Liquor]

To the people saying no: Do you not see any value in teaching survial even at a basic level of understanding?
I don't see survival classes needing to replace any current curriculum, just expanding upon it. It is something that could be taught in PE blocks. Surely it has more value than dodge ball or square dancing doesn't it?

 

[Borgnine]

I knew a guy from Arizona who said they got taught desert survival skills in school.

 

[Karsticles]

It's a cool idea. The middle school I used to work at actually had an ex-Army lieutenant that taught a Survival class.

 

[Kyzer]

Yeah and how to pay taxes and how to be a civilized person and how to manage money. They could definitely spend less time on the catcher and the rye or romeo and Juliet and focus on these things.

 

[Mr. E. Yis]

Bad idea. If everyone knows survival skills, then everyone is a survivor, then you are back at square one. Lol

 

[Wafflecakes]

No. Sounds like a waste of time.

I wouldn't mind it as an elective.

 

[Vicetrailia]

Yeah and how to pay taxes and how to be a civilized person and how to manage money. They could definitely spend less time on the catcher and the rye or romeo and Juliet and focus on these things.

Literacy is at the top of the list especially if you want civility.

Survival skills would be a great elective, but shouldn't be mandatory.

 

[Nealand Liquor]

No. Sounds like a waste of time.

How so?

 

[Dan]

Maybe as a brief course at some point, but there are more relevant things kids aren't being taught that I'd put higher on the list.

 

[Wafflecakes]

How so?

...skills no one needs, and virtually no one will ever use.

waste. of. time.

 

[Grakl]

nah, but I think healthy cooking should be taught -- similar idea, I suppose

 

[daviyoung]

...skills no one needs, and virtually no one will ever use.

waste. of. time.

nope, teaches lateral thinking and puzzle solving

 

[Halcyon]

I'd rather they teach stuff like how to do your taxes.

Survival skills can be learned in the boy scouts.

 

[Wafflecakes]

nope, teaches lateral thinking and puzzle solving

Which can be taught in useful subjects like math.


You can make that argument about virtually any class.

 

[daviyoung]

Which can be taught in useful subjects like math.

maths isn't practical, and comes with strict rules...and its usefulness is debatable

 

[luckygodzilla]

I thought this would be about survival skills like budgeting money. I have no problem with.

This, a million times this.
Why personal finance is not considered a mandatory class is still beyond me.

 

[John Kowalski]

Might be fun as an exercise, i did some trekking (using maps, compasses, that kind of stuff) in phys ed and it was pretty k, but as a class in and of itself? Not at all. What we need are technologically capable individuals to support the existing infrastructures and to improve upon them when they get the chance to.

 

[FelixOrion]

Yeah, it would be nice. I think mandatory classes on car maintenance would be much more useful though; nearly everyone in the US drives a car but I doubt a lot of them know how to do basic maintenance and emergency stuff without relying heavily on the shops.

 

[Nealand Liquor]

...skills no one needs, and virtually no one will ever use.

waste. of. time.

I don't believe that at all. Learning to start a fire, how to identify edible plants/berries, first aid and construction are valuable skills.

There are other reasons such as natural disasters (hurricane Katrina for example), getting lost in the woods, or even growing your own veg. There are many practical uses for the skills we have lost over the past 100 years.

 

[ppor]

I wish I was taught the skills to survive high school...

 

[Kurita]

Who was that gaffer who taught his sister how to find 20 ways to kill someone with the things laying around in a room

 

[Raistlin]

like resetting a circuit breaker?

hahahaha

 

[Shaanyboi]

Maybe in P.E. or something

 

[Phat Michael]

Nope. But everyone should be forced to take high school level economics.

 

[Sojgat]

Depends where you live.

Some places, definitely.

 

[hydruxo]

As an elective, sure why not. It could be fun and helpful.

 

[Wafflecakes]

maths isn't practical, and comes with strict rules...and its usefulness is debatable

Still. Those skills can be taught in any number of classes.

I see no advantage to teaching them in this setting.

 

[John Kowalski]

Who was that gaffer who taught his sister how to find 20 ways to kill someone with the things laying around in a room

now this...

this is good

 

[Goldenhen]

There is no point learning that in school because survival skill is useless in most jobs.

 

[Nealand Liquor]

This, a million times this.
Why personal finance is not considered a mandatory class is still beyond me.

Yeah, it would be nice. I think mandatory classes on car maintenance would be much more useful though; nearly everyone in the US drives a car but I doubt a lot of them know how to do basic maintenance and emergency stuff without relying heavily on the shops.

When I was in high school in Canada, both of these were mandatory. I just assumed they still were.

 

[NekoFever]

Basic economics (how to balance your budget etc) and decent home economics so you know how to eat healthily and cook it freshly would both be way higher priorities for me.

This is what I came in to say. The fact that most people know nothing about nutrition or cooking, and that many can't seem to get up in the morning without putting something on a credit card, are far more pressing 'survival' issues.

That said, if you live somewhere where environmental conditions could be hazardous like a desert, mountain, etc, some kind of survival skills tailored to that environment makes sense.

 

[speculawyer]

Nah. Don't interfere with natural selection.

 

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

Survival skills? star with teaching them how to cook. Offer a course on what utensils are required, how ingredients are mixed, the full process.

 

[Hypemaster]

I thought this would be about survival skills like budgeting money. I have no problem with that.

Wilderness survival skills strike me as a waste, in schools at least.

This. I thought this was about managing money, taxes, etc

 

[Wafflecakes]

Maybe in P.E. or something

This is an option.

A survival skill themed P.E. class would be fun.

 

[CornBurrito]

I think urban survival is more important than learning wilderness survival in this day and age.

Nah. Don't interfere with natural selection.

How many people do you think die from lacking "wildnerness survival genes" ? Why do you think this is something natural selection would even act on? What do you think about medication?

 

[Icefire1424]

Nope, but I did learn more about survival skills as a kid playing in the woods for hours AFTER school and on the weekends. We only inadvertently caught the woods on fire once. Most of the time it was building lean to's, forts, spears and traps. I'm convinced that if it ever came down to it, I probably could have lived in the woods on my own indefinitely by the age of 6.

 

[Nealand Liquor]

This is an option.

A survival skill themed P.E. class would be fun.

This is what I had said too. I am not saying it should replace anything, just in addition. Survival in PE, I can see it being taught in history as well.

 

[FelixOrion]

When I was in high school in Canada, both of these were mandatory. I just assumed they still were.

They weren't in my high school in the US. Personal finance stuff was a short unit one of my sorta health/home-ec courses, but there was no car maintenance class. One of the high school's in my city does still have a student car shop and class for it, but their the exception.

 

[jelly]

Basic economics (how to balance your budget etc) and decent home economics so you know how to eat healthily and cook it freshly would both be way higher priorities for me.

I think this should be first but like the idea of basic survival skills and other basics.

H.E was a joke in school but something more factual to apply day to day like good and bad choices, supermarket shopping, cooking basics that can be the base of so many things, health, budgets and not some half assed reciepe that helps nobody.