Replace advanced school maths with oracy: spoken communication matters more than maths beyond arithmetic
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/simonjenkins. "We are teaching children maths they will never use. Isn’t it better to help them speak fluently? | Simon Jenkins | The Guardian." October 16, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The author argues that young people are talking less because of phones and AI, and that schools should teach them to speak and listen well. He thinks most people never use maths beyond basic arithmetic, so after primary school the subject could be mostly dropped in favour of speaking skills.
Conclusion
English schools should prioritise teaching oracy (spoken communication skills) over mathematics beyond basic arithmetic, because oracy is far more useful for most young people's adult lives.
Premises
- Smartphones, texting and AI are eroding spoken communication among young people, with the number of words spoken daily down nearly a third in two decades and many young people avoiding phone calls.
- Oracy (speaking clearly, listening, debating, handling disagreement) enables people to present themselves effectively at work, in friendships and in civic life, and has been valued since the Greeks and Romans.
- Maths beyond foundational arithmetic is irrelevant to all but a tiny minority of adults, and calculators handle what people need after primary school.
- The curriculum's growing emphasis on maths and exam measurement is driven by league tables and global rankings, not by pupils' real-world needs, and it crowds out individualised learning, creativity and communication skills.
- Some schools (e.g. Winchester College) and progressive education traditions (Steiner, Montessori, Waldorf) already show oracy-centred education is feasible and valued.
Assumptions
- School curriculum time is zero-sum, so more oracy requires less maths.
- The primary purpose of schooling is to prepare pupils for everyday adult life rather than to develop abstract reasoning or keep options open for specialist careers.
- Usefulness in the typical adult's daily life is the right criterion for deciding what to compulsorily teach.
- Advanced maths has no significant indirect benefits (e.g. logical reasoning, numeracy, STEM pipeline) that justify its place.
- Oracy can be effectively taught and assessed in schools, given sufficient resources and personal contact.
- Declining speech among young people is caused by screens and can be remedied by school instruction.