London: In the UK, there is a growing call to include activities like eating ice cream and kneading dough in school curriculums.
According to media reports, four leading scientific organizations have urged the British government to incorporate a range of activities into the curriculum for children aged 3 to 11. These activities include digging in soil, visiting gardens, recycling, eating ice cream, kneading dough, playing musical instruments, and conducting “basic experiments.”
The Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Biology, and the Association for Science Education have published recommendations for curriculum reforms in primary schools to address inequalities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.
The report highlights that children with limited hands-on experiences are undoubtedly at a disadvantage, making it fundamentally unfair. Including these new activities in the curriculum would help provide essential experiences, especially in the early years of primary school, and address this issue to some extent.
Solid hands-on experiences form the foundation from which children can derive logical arguments for their imaginations and prepare them for more abstract learning in secondary school.
