Cape Town - Pinelands North Primary School is ensuring its learners are well equipped for what may lie ahead as they navigate life, through the introduction of practical life skills such as tyre changing among other necessary skills.
Sport administrator, teacher and head of horticulture Josh King said Grade 6 learners are encouraged to learn these practical life skills as part of the school’s commitment to a comprehensive education.
“Recognising the need to expand beyond traditional curriculum boundaries, this initiative offers pupils a chance to showcase their capabilities in real-world scenarios. As a school we encourage this approach as it goes beyond textbooks, ensuring pupils are well prepared for the challenges they may encounter beyond the classroom,” King said.
The hands-on experience of, for example, tyre changing, formed part of a broader life skills programme, he said.
“The tyre-changing skill is something that can happen any time or anywhere, and we thought that it would be fantastic for our pupils to learn this skill that not many adults are capable of doing. This not only imparts practical knowledge, but also cultivates teamwork, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.”
The initiative also recognised that not all parents or guardians possessed the time or expertise to impart these skills at home.
Sometimes assisted by parents at the school, learners are also taught how to wire a plug, tie a tie, how to make a bed, financial literacy, and understanding how a car engine works.
The school has also already introduced additional subjects such as coding and robotics, needlework, woodwork, information technology, and horticulture into the curriculum.
King said they were in the process of crafting a comprehensive horticulture curriculum spanning 10 weeks for each grade from 4 to 7.
The school has also implemented narrative therapy lessons for Grades 6 and 7 for emotional intelligence and conflict resolution.
Principal Ann Morton said: “Our school has got innovative practices in many different fields and I like my staff to try as many new things as possible because in today’s world, education can’t be like the education that we were given when we were at school because life isn’t like that any more.
“And the life that we are living currently is also not the life that the children that we are teaching are going to live. And so we need to be giving them the foremost thinking that we can think of and try things out that other schools don’t try out because that’s what schooling is going to be all about.”
