Traditional School Subjects That Should Make A Comeback

Some of these subjects disappeared from schools’ curricula but the aftermath hasn’t been that great.

Schools are always changing their curricula following what the DepEd usually mandates. With the requirements changing every so often due to the required “competencies,” a lot of subjects were either dropped or absorbed by another. While it makes sense theoretically, some school subjects do need to be separate. They have principles that serve as a prerequisite to the subject they’re learning now.

Here are some traditional school subjects that should make a comeback.

1. Computer

Completely different from Coding Class, Computer class focuses on how well the student can use a computer. Although the idea of removing computer class was because many of today’s kids grew up around gadgets, the ironic part is that they don’t actually know how to use them — save for typing and searching for things. Computer class taught other things like MS Office (i.e. PowerPoint, Word, Excel, etc.) and basic knowledge on how to fix a computer which is helpful for both school work and corporate life.

Unfortunately, scrolling through YouTube or social media doesn’t count as computer literacy.

2. Writing

Writing was originally taught as a subject to Kinder and Prep kids but some of us found it obsolete when gadgets made things convenient. Encoding our names with a touch of a button, choosing numbers with a scroll — while we do appreciate these, writing taught kids another thing: it taught us how to express our thoughts in both writing and speaking. While they are two exclusive mediums, they do work hand-in-hand. Studies have shown that kids who know how to traditionally write (pen and paper) and speak a language can learn the language a lot faster.

It’s why some can still remember their secondary languages like Spanish and Chinese despite the lack of use. It may be a bit rusty but we remember because we learned the languages in three different ways: reading (visual), speaking and listening (audio), and writing (kinesthetic) — which are also three of the several kinds of intelligences from Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence.

How can we teach that now? That’s why the world has styluses and tablets; back in the day, they were meant for artists. Now, we can use it to teach writing!

3. Cooking

While parents can teach their kids how to cook, not everyone has a well-equipped kitchen or has the patience to teach. Most of us probably learned how to cook through instinct. Forget exact measurements; we probably mixed ingredients until the appearance, smell, or taste matches what we remember. That’s assuming some of us have the patience to do trial and error. Some family members also refuse to share their recipes, making it their signature at family parties.

While it was there for a few years, Cooking was removed from the curriculum of some schools for a variety of reasons. Some parents complained that schools should focus on more executive subjects like Math or Science, pressuring the administration to eventually remove Cooking as a subject. Other schools found it difficult to maintain the overhead cost of a school kitchen, preferring to remove it to prevent raising the tuition fees.

However, they still have to eat, and eating fast food daily is just a one-way ticket to health problems. Besides, Japanese schools still keep cooking in their curriculum, considering it an important life skill.

4. Sewing

Sewing is a tedious chore, that’s true. But this school subject teaches more than just stitching things together — patience, strength control, and micromotor skills.

We don’t always need to teach them how to use a sewing machine, let alone those old, pedal-based Singers. Starting with a needle and threader can help them solve a variety of wardrobe malfunctions. Torn pants, a hole in their shirt, a fallen button — teaching our teens and kids sewing also means protecting them from what they call a “social suicide.” Or their term for an extremely embarrassing moment.

5. Art

Most traditional parents feared their kids taking art. They were terrified of the idea of their kids falling in love with painting and drawing. After all, most artists didn’t make much back in the day unless they had money and the connections to get out there.

But with the world’s newest technologies, anyone can get their art out there and make money out of it. It may not be a completely stable job but it works. Besides, Art class didn’t teach kids what was beautiful. It gave them a chance to visually experience other things and pay more attention to detail.

Granted, some of these school subjects disappeared because of the pandemic.

Besides the budget cuts and the curriculum changes, the pandemic also prevented teachers who taught these school subjects to thrive. Most of these subjects require face-to-face learning; teachers would show and demonstrate how to use these parts and pieces which would eventually serve as tools. Unfortunately, the motion to restore these subjects completely to the curriculum hasn’t been smooth. The ever-progressing needs of society have often shoved this concept to the backburner.

Yes, the demands of Math and Science may dwarf the purpose of these traditional subjects. However, how else would we have learned these topics if people didn’t know how to write them down and preserve them on computers? And most of all, someone had to make sure these guys were fed and had clothes.

Being modern doesn’t always mean rendering traditions obsolete. Sometimes, it just needs reappropriation.

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