One of my favourite quotes on education comes from George Bernard Shaw. Like all Shavian quotes, it is short, pithy and funny, while at the same time making a very relevant point.

Discussing education, Shaw stated that he had never let his schooling interfere with his education.

In the past, parents and homes were expected to play a greater role in teaching their children. Sadly, to my mind, for most of our citizens their education and their schooling is pretty much synonymous – if the ‘kids’ do not learn it at school, the chances are they will not learn it at all. There are constant cries for schools to fill gaps – parenting skills, road safety, sex education, life skills – the list goes on and on. I recall a group advocating to reduce New Zealand’s terrible incidence of youth suicide asking me why teachers did not notice the at-risk youths and alert authorities. The reality is that so often, even the parents don’t notice the signs.