Should Bitcoin Be Taught in Schools or Remain Self-Taught? Here’s My Take

[Luzin]

With this, as people can gain more benefits from bitcoin, then it should also be given chances to be recognized and taught in schools.

In the current condition, schools have actually indirectly provided that foundation, it's just that it's not detailed. They have conducted learning on small parts of programs or Blockchain. But the situation is not clearly revealed. It has not yet become a specific subject. Maybe this occurs at the elementary to high school levels. As for higher education, I have recently read that many universities have opened undergraduate and master's programs related to Blockchain. I would be happy if it were integrated, but that is the education policy of each country. My country has currently started with coding.

[Livingleged]

Schools shouldn't be doing price talk or shilling whatever flavor-of-the-month coin is trending, they should be teaching the primitives and the survival skills: what a private key actually is, why transactions are irreversible, how fees work, how scams work, what a seed phrase is and why you never type it into anything, and the basic idea of verifying instead of trusting.

The downside is schools move slow and curricula get politicized fast, so if you try to teach Bitcoin as a narrative you'll end up with outdated info and a lot of cringe.

Ah well, what can you do

My thought exactly, you just said everything I had in mind After reading you reply I was amazed and it occurred to me that most people in the forum have like minds
The technology behind the blockchain network is what should be thought at school a not just like the buy and sell to build the next generation in the crypto world that would be really helpful if it’s being adopted.

[davis196]

Schools shouldn't be doing price talk or shilling whatever flavor-of-the-month coin is trending, they should be teaching the primitives and the survival skills: what a private key actually is, why transactions are irreversible, how fees work, how scams work, what a seed phrase is and why you never type it into anything, and the basic idea of verifying instead of trusting.

The downside is schools move slow and curricula get politicized fast, so if you try to teach Bitcoin as a narrative you'll end up with outdated info and a lot of cringe.

Ah well, what can you do

Teaching the kids about how scams work(it doesn't matter if we are talking about crypto scams or fiat scams) is a double edged sword.
Some teenagers might try to replicate scams, about which they were taught in school. Teaching the people how to spot and avoid scams shouldn't be done in schools only. There are many elderly people, who end up falling into various scams.
I don't mind Bitcoin/crypto being taught in schools, but how exactly would you convince any government around the world to include Bitcoin/crypto in the education system. Most governments would remain anti-crypto, despite the fact that cryptocurrencies aren't banned and considered illegal under their jurisdictions.

[HONDACD125]

Another reason why I agree that bitcoin should be taught in schools is that Bitcoin is part of history. What bitcoin has achieved in the past years is something that can't be ignored. The impact and change it has brought to the world is now something part of human history whether people like bitcoin or not. Not everyone will support or use bitcoin but in a few years time, bitcoin will be everywhere and will be normalized.

Something that exists in the present can't be called a part of human history; it will become a part of the history once it becomes non-existent, and since we are talking or discussing about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies being taught in schools, it means we are talking about the present, and Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are a part of the present and not the past. So I think it is wrong to say that Bitcoin is a part of history.

Anyway, I would like to throw my two cents in on the topic. I personally believe that children should only be taught such things once they reach a specific age, and by that I mean that children should be allowed to learn things that are more basic and important for them and their survival in this world instead of burdening their brains with complex concepts of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. I know, many would say they don't need to learn the complex stuff, but even the basic things like creating or using a wallet could be complex for a child's brain because they are only at the starting level, their brain won't function like ours because we have been into these things for years.

So even though it's not a bad idea, but I think only the higher classes should be taught such things.

[LastKiss]

Schools shouldn't be doing price talk or shilling whatever flavor-of-the-month coin is trending, they should be teaching the primitives and the survival skills: what a private key actually is, why transactions are irreversible, how fees work, how scams work, what a seed phrase is and why you never type it into anything, and the basic idea of verifying instead of trusting.

The downside is schools move slow and curricula get politicized fast, so if you try to teach Bitcoin as a narrative you'll end up with outdated info and a lot of cringe.

Ah well, what can you do

Teaching the kids about how scams work(it doesn't matter if we are talking about crypto scams or fiat scams) is a double edged sword.
Some teenagers might try to replicate scams, about which they were taught in school. Teaching the people how to spot and avoid scams shouldn't be done in schools only. There are many elderly people, who end up falling into various scams.
I don't mind Bitcoin/crypto being taught in schools, but how exactly would you convince any government around the world to include Bitcoin/crypto in the education system. Most governments would remain anti-crypto, despite the fact that cryptocurrencies aren't banned and considered illegal under their jurisdictions.

This is why teaching everyone how scams work is necessary. It shouldn’t be limited to schools only even after graduation, there should be widespread and continuous warnings about scams. Of course, it can be a double edged sword, because explaining how scams work also reveals their methods. However, scams only succeed when people don’t understand them. If most people know how scams operate, their success rate will significantly decrease.

Instead of focusing on teaching Bitcoin itself in schools, it would be more beneficial to teach the technology behind it blockchain. I’ve seen a university in my area introducing blockchain, even if it isn’t part of the regular curriculum. Simply making students aware of what blockchain is and how it works is already important. Later, those students may be able to develop real world use cases and adapt blockchain technology to their daily lives.

[Mpamaegbu]

Yes I agreed that Bitcoin should be taught in schools but it shouldn't be on just Bitcoin alone. The teaching should hover around Blockchain technology, onchain analyses, and all forms of Web3 skills and job opportunities should be taught. Teaching all that will impress the need for financial literacy on students. They shouldn't be taught areas that will cost them to invest in real-time because it will distract them.

[SOKO-DEKE]

If Bitcoin should be taught in school, it will make more people understand it well, because the important parts of Bitcoin will be taught, like the technical aspects of Bitcoin. Rather than being self taught, almost everyone is just concerned about Bitcoin investment. Most people are not investing in the technical aspect of Bitcoin because they see it as a waste of time compared to their investment. And seriously, this is among the reasons why many investors don’t even care much about their privacy.So I believe if Bitcoin is taught in school, people will understand it more deeply because almost every part will be explained, despite the fact that some people may feel it is not that important.

[livingfree]

I think there's definitely value in both approaches. Formal education can provide a solid foundation and help people understand the technical aspects, while self-taught methods allow for flexibility and personal exploration. Like, remember how many people got into Bitcoin just by diving into online resources? It's cool to see how each method can complement the other.

I agree, so both can be applied to whichever is good for the sake of the new learners. But it's best to have them guided through the usual techniques applied by the schools.

The more complex topics will only be opened if they want to go further and they have to research by themselves.

Gone were those days when many of us have to go through tough self study for most things about BTC.

[Die_empty]

Yes I agreed that Bitcoin should be taught in schools but it shouldn't be on just Bitcoin alone. The teaching should hover around Blockchain technology, onchain analyses, and all forms of Web3 skills and job opportunities should be taught. Teaching all that will impress the need for financial literacy on students. They shouldn't be taught areas that will cost them to invest in real-time because it will distract them.

Bitcoin should be taught in levels based on the age of the students. Bitcoin is already taught in schools in subjects like business studies and economics. I saw the textbook of one of my children, and they were introducing them to cryptocurrency as a type of money. I feel that at this stage, where learners are between the ages of 7 to 16 years, they should be exposed to only foundational knowledge of Bitcoin.

Higher institutions and colleges could introduce courses that would expose students to more complex areas in blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. How to invest in Bitcoin can also be introduced to these students because it could be helpful in the future.  



  

[Shineup]

Yes I agreed that Bitcoin should be taught in schools but it shouldn't be on just Bitcoin alone. The teaching should hover around Blockchain technology, onchain analyses, and all forms of Web3 skills and job opportunities should be taught. Teaching all that will impress the need for financial literacy on students. They shouldn't be taught areas that will cost them to invest in real-time because it will distract them.

Bitcoin should be taught in levels based on the age of the students. Bitcoin is already taught in schools in subjects like business studies and economics. I saw the textbook of one of my children, and they were introducing them to cryptocurrency as a type of money. I feel that at this stage, where learners are between the ages of 7 to 16 years, they should be exposed to only foundational knowledge of Bitcoin.

Higher institutions and colleges could introduce courses that would expose students to more complex areas in blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. How to invest in Bitcoin can also be introduced to these students because it could be helpful in the future.  

  

The exposure of various level of learning about Bitcoin shouldn't just be about the age of the student but rather it should be a thing of levels in educational system, learning about fundamentals or basics should be a starting concept based on level of classes while others complex areas like the blockchains can be progressively include accordingly in terms of classes and level in education and not just about the ages.

[chigo]

Quite a lot of people want Bitcoin to be taught in schools, so that more young people can get a basic understanding of Bitcoin. But Bitcoin should be self-taught, knowledge about this is the same as forex, or other knowledge, it is not something that should be forced into the school curriculum, but is a subject that is more suitable to be explored independently by those who are truly interested.

Even though in its application learning about Bitcoin at school can speed up students' basic understanding of Bitcoin, students should be taught the basics of financial literacy, only then can they explore alternatives such as Bitcoin.

[finaleshot2016]

Quite a lot of people want Bitcoin to be taught in schools, so that more young people can get a basic understanding of Bitcoin. But Bitcoin should be self-taught, knowledge about this is the same as forex, or other knowledge, it is not something that should be forced into the school curriculum, but is a subject that is more suitable to be explored independently by those who are truly interested.

Even though in its application learning about Bitcoin at school can speed up students' basic understanding of Bitcoin, students should be taught the basics of financial literacy, only then can they explore alternatives such as Bitcoin.

True, it’s a special course where it should be learned individually, it’s not even major topic that could understand the whole economy. There’s a broad topic in economics and that’s what should be prioritized than learning the advanced finance like Bitcoin. Stocks aren’t even taught in school, maybe in some schools but in public, rare cases. So I believe that BTC is for those who strive for financial freedom, to embrace a decentralize economy, majority of us don’t even have the path going here, some are im corpo world following the traditional way so yeah, even it has a good benefits and advantage, I think we should learn the foundation first.

[MusaPk]

In the current condition, schools have actually indirectly provided that foundation, it's just that it's not detailed. They have conducted learning on small parts of programs or Blockchain. But the situation is not clearly revealed. It has not yet become a specific subject. Maybe this occurs at the elementary to high school levels. As for higher education, I have recently read that many universities have opened undergraduate and master's programs related to Blockchain. I would be happy if it were integrated, but that is the education policy of each country. My country has currently started with coding.

In many countries, Blockchain is taught as a subject at college level. Moreover their are different online courses available that can help us in mastering Blockchain. Bitcoin at it's core has a blockchain and if we have understanding of Blockchain then understanding Bitcoin becomes quite easy. Bitcoin is not legal in many countries that's why it looks difficult that such countries will introduce it as subject in there academics. If somebody want to learn bitcoin then he must not wait for his college and university to teach him as a subject rather he must use online material to familiarise himself with Bitcoin.

[Fiasem20]

I’m not against bitcoin being added to the education curricula,but the question is;would the government and minister of education give a go ahead to such initiative?that could be a major challenge to bitcoin being part of the education curricula.But from your perspective,you can still create awareness about bitcoin to your students,I’ve come across threads on this forum where users who are concerned about educating their students on the new monetary policy that’s also called the digital gold.Bitcoin awareness is growing increasingly,it doesn’t require much effort,but I’ve attended several meetings where bitcoin and cryptocurrency are discussed.

[sleepfirefly]

I think there's definitely value in both approaches. Formal education can provide a solid foundation and help people understand the technical aspects, while self-taught methods allow for flexibility and personal exploration. Like, remember how many people got into Bitcoin just by diving into online resources? It's cool to see how each method can complement the other.

it can also help really standardize the curriculum and inform everyone of accurate information only because of how wide the internet is some information may be a little inaccurate already

[Sammye3]

This is quite an innovative scheme and would do good to the government at large by grooming technology-advanced citizen and also reduce the rate of unemployment. But generally speaking, I think it would be a bit more realistic if they could be practicals that foster this learning activity for easier and better understanding.

Further more, other digital skills could also be implemented aside teaching about Bitcoin. There should be provision for other skills that does not require a certificate to earn some good cash but basic knowledge. The employment sector is getting saturated and getting a job can be difficult in most cases, also dependent on the government's provision so this skills would be really helpful for better income generation.

[Davidvictorson]

In your opinion, is it better to leave Bitcoin education to independent research and practical experience, or should it be formally taught in schools as part of financial literacy? I'd like to hear both sides' points of view.

Bitcoin on cryptocurrency is one of the new technologies and I am totally in support of it being taught to school children just as every other course like is being taught. If AI is already being taught in schools why not cryptocurrencies. But it is already being taught however it is not yet mainstream and that is the point I am driving at. Also, I should emphasize that, it is the technology part of it that should be taught more of and not the investment part because it will make the students think of how to improve it and make it better.

[coolcoinz]

I've always said that schools should focus on teaching us the basics instead of trying to push a lot of unneeded and unwanted knowledge down our throats. Believe it or not, they teach religion here and it adds 2 hours every week, 8 hours a month. I'd rather have my kid learn about the basics of investment and trading and some basics of cryptocurrencies than spend 2 hours every week learning prayers and church songs.

That said, school should incentivize kids to do some research, not try to teach them whether cryptocurrencies are good or bad and I'm pretty sure that teachers would try to push a narrative. If they happened to get a pro bitcoin teacher, he'd use superlatives, but then they might get someone who idolizes people like Christine Legarde and describes btc as a money laundering tool.