general knowledge 9 yr olds

valk_scot

I think that a child will pick up a lot of random information from their parents...but it will depend on what their parents are interested in as to what that knowledge consists of. My kids at age nine knew lots about gardening, outwards bounds activities and local history but they couldn't have told you the kings and queens of England or about football teams to save their lives. Both of them could change a bicycle inner tube by nine but not iron a shirt, they could tell you about the effects of global warming or the skeletal structure of a cat but not have a clue about pop groups or who was who on the telly at the time.


As they've got older they've developed their own interests of course and can now teach me more than a thing or two but at age nine they were definitely reflections of what we were interested in. However I did make a point of helping them find out as much as they wanted about anything they were interested in from a very young age, whether it was of any interest to me or not. So we all learned from it.

ViolaLass

toshkininny wrote: »

I'm sorry you find my post idea appalling, and if you read my second post again - or for the first time - you will see that it was something she had asked that I realised she wouldn't really learn at school. I wanted some sort of gauge e.g. should she know who our prime minister is by that age - or would a teacher be "appalled" that she didn't know this!

But you seem to have missed the point, which is that there isn't a list of general knowledge that children would be expected to know by a certain age e.g. if my year 8s came in and didn't know who the Prime Minister was or if they did, I wouldn't have feelings of expectation either way. Some may be into politics or watching the news, while others may be interested in rugby or languages.

Asking whether a teacher would be appalled that someone doesn't know a certain fact is to vague a question. If an A-level politics student didn't know who the Prime Minister was, then yes, I imagine the teacher would be concerned but otherwise, I can't see that it really matters (and that is the attitude that I would take towards my students).

I think it's more important to encourage a curiosity about the world, rather than making the child think that they should know a certain list of facts and that when they do, they are 'done'.

Dunroamin

ViolaLass wrote: »

But you seem to have missed the point, which is that there isn't a list of general knowledge that children would be expected to know by a certain age e.g. if my year 8s came in and didn't know who the Prime Minister was or if they did, I wouldn't have feelings of expectation either way. Some may be into politics or watching the news, while others may be interested in rugby or languages.

Asking whether a teacher would be appalled that someone doesn't know a certain fact is to vague a question. If an A-level politics student didn't know who the Prime Minister was, then yes, I imagine the teacher would be concerned but otherwise, I can't see that it really matters (and that is the attitude that I would take towards my students).

I think it's more important to encourage a curiosity about the world, rather than making the child think that they should know a certain list of facts and that when they do, they are 'done'.

Sorry, I find the idea that 13 year olds at a grammar school don't know who the Prime Minister is quite shocking and the fact that one of their teachers doesn't think it matters even more so!

ViolaLass

Dunroamin wrote: »

Sorry, I find the idea that 13 year olds at a grammar school don't know who the Prime Minister is quite shocking and the fact that one of their teachers doesn't think it matters even more so!

Not sure where 'grammar school' came from.

As it is, I have no idea whether my pupils know who the Prime Minister is (thought I suspect they do). As a maths teacher, it's not something I tend to discuss with them. I'd be more interested in whether they would know how to find out and whether they are intellectually curious.

I would hate kids to pick up the idea that knowing a certain list of facts makes them 'intelligent' or a better person.

After all, if a kid doesn't know who the Prime Minister is, they can find out in seconds. The fact itself isn't that useful or important.

Hermia

Dunroamin wrote: »

Sorry, I find the idea that 13 year olds at a grammar school don't know who the Prime Minister is quite shocking and the fact that one of their teachers doesn't think it matters even more so!

I agree! These kids will be eligible to vote in a few years! I went to a comp and we had a lesson each week where we discussed a current political/current affairs issue. At election time we would also discuss who we would vote for and why. We had these little question time style debates and it was really fun and interesting. I can't imagine a 13 year old not knowing who the PM was.

gingin_2

I used to buy my son a lot of "I wonder why" books from the Book People. I just had a quick search and they seem to be aimed at more specific facts than the general ones I seem to remember from 6 or 7 years ago but they are still there. We've also always bought the Guinness book of Records every year. It might not teach them life skills but does give them a feel for different countries and cultures. It's our long car journey book.

I did try and make a promise to myself that if my son had a question I would make sure I found out the answer, even if I didn't know it. We are lucky we had google and Wikipedia now, it makes life a lot easier.

Dunroamin

ViolaLass wrote: »

Not sure where 'grammar school' came from.

As it is, I have no idea whether my pupils know who the Prime Minister is (thought I suspect they do). As a maths teacher, it's not something I tend to discuss with them. I'd be more interested in whether they would know how to find out and whether they are intellectually curious.

I would hate kids to pick up the idea that knowing a certain list of facts makes them 'intelligent' or a better person.

After all, if a kid doesn't know who the Prime Minister is, they can find out in seconds. The fact itself isn't that useful or important.

Apologies, I thought it was you who said you taught in a grammar school.:o

Surely the fact that they don't know something so basic rather indicates that they're not curious in any way - "intellectually"'s got nothing to do with it.

wiogs

Hermia wrote: »

I agree! These kids will be eligible to vote in a few years! I went to a comp and we had a lesson each week where we discussed a current political/current affairs issue. At election time we would also discuss who we would vote for and why. We had these little question time style debates and it was really fun and interesting. I can't imagine a 13 year old not knowing who the PM was.

I wonder how many thirteen year olds know who the MP is that represents their constituency?

I don't but I know what party holds the seat.

mgdavid

ViolaLass wrote: »

As a teacher, I find the idea of a list of 'general knowledge 9 year olds should know' just appalling but according to my husband, it should include all the managers of Premier league football sides, whereas I would want my children to be able to converse in Italian (i.e. we're all different).

Honestly, isn't it about talking to your child and spending time with them i.e. parenting? You can't and shouldn't expect school to cover everything!

I don't regard either of your examples as 'general' knowledge' - least of all learning Italian..
Why are teachers so defensive? Nobody even hinted that they thought it was the school's responsibility to teach general knowledge, it's an enquiry about 'what' not 'how or where'.

ViolaLass

mgdavid wrote: »

I don't regard either of your examples as 'general' knowledge' - least of all learning Italian..

I put that in to make the point that it's different for different people. I wouldn't care if my child couldn't tell me who the Prime Minister is, but if they couldn't speak my mother tongue, I would know I had done something wrong.

Some people think the Prime Minister thing is important, others probably think that knowing where the stopcock is (to quote an earlier example) is more important, others might favour the facts of life. I favour Italian because without it, it's more difficult to fully appreciate the culture. Priorities, that's all.