Skill shortage

I'm shocked that so many children now arrive at school lacking some of the basic skills they should already have acquired. Such as:

• How to have a conversation
• How to play with toys
• How to focus on a task for more than two minutes
• How to hold a pen or pencil
• How to throw or kick a ball
• How to use a paperback
• How to follow a story
• How to interact with other children

These failings are attributed to the Covid lockdowns, when children were stuck in the home; children glued to screens rather than engaging in physical activity or exploring the outside world; and parents who think children will develop these skills naturally and don't need parental instruction.

Teachers are having to teach these basic skills on top of their already heavy workload. They could do without it.

When I started school aged five I certainly had all the necessary basic skills, as did my classmates, and there was no question of our needing special instruction. The idea would have struck us as ludicrous.

Unfortunately, unless screen use suddenly declines, it looks as if this shameful situation can only get worse rather than better.

Skill shortage

Goodness, life is full of surprises. Two commenters who read my post on pretensions suggested I feel superior to other people. Well, I'm always open to such observ-ations and I always mull them over, but this one has me baffled.

If anything I feel inferior to other people. There are so many people with the edge over me in one way or another, I often feel inadequate and incompetent by comparison. Other people have all sorts of skills that leave me standing. For example:

• They're more intelligent. They understand things quicker, they respond faster, they can follow complicated novels and TV plots.
• They're more practical. They can do basic plumbing or electrical repairs, they can insulate the loft, even build their own house.
• They're better informed. While I skim all those articles about neoliberalism or climate breakdown, they read them studiously and absorb all the details.
• They have better memories. I can barely recall a conversation from yesterday, never mind what I was doing twenty years ago.
• They're more emotionally literate. They can read other people's feelings and unspoken reactions, while I often miss them.
• They have better social skills. They find it easier to organise social gatherings, talk to other people, and smooth over awkward moments.
• They're more adventurous. They backpack around the world, start businesses, move to remote islands, run mega-marathons.
• They can play musical instruments. Often several instruments. And they've spent many arduous years learning to play them.
• They appreciate opera and classical music. I've tried hard to share their enthusiasm but I'm just not on the same wavelength.
• They can write novels. Often very long novels. I tried to write a novel once but got writer's block after 100 pages. And it was a crappy novel.

I've probably left out many other things, but that's plenty. Far from feeling superior, I feel like a very ordinary, very untalented, not especially bright human being. There's not much to feel superior about.