You speak a great deal of truth - I found myself learning these skills at the pointy end of a cane at British boarding school, and they have served me exceptionally well, in everything from my career to chatting up a policeman I can barely speak the language of to not pay a hefty fine.
These skills will continue to be valuable regardless of what the future holds.
I would add one related, arguably harder skill to master - pattern recognition. Being able to see patterns where others do not yet is an enormously valuable skill in life, and a key part of my arsenal for a changing world -
I am, after all, an elder millennial, and I have watched the world go from smoking on the tube, bowler hats, typewriters and briefcases to… this - and I have anticipated and adapted.
I have found myself thinking a lot about this topic of late - I have a daughter, soon to be two, and I want to ensure that she is well equipped for whatever the world throws at her.
I thought it was made illegal in the 1980's, and indeed it was in state schools, but I stand corrected here, because it was still legal in private schools until 1998.
Yep, and I started boarding in ‘89, aged six. It was mostly extinct by the time I reached secondary school, but at my prep school, it was rife. The place was run by a group of retired Cold War submariners, and while the place had much to be commended, their approach to discipline was not. One learned to avoid consequences for one’s actions, rather than to endure them. That meant learning to lie like your and your co-suspects’ ability to sit or sleep that week depended on it - because it did.
These skills will continue to be valuable regardless of what the future holds.
I would add one related, arguably harder skill to master - pattern recognition. Being able to see patterns where others do not yet is an enormously valuable skill in life, and a key part of my arsenal for a changing world - I am, after all, an elder millennial, and I have watched the world go from smoking on the tube, bowler hats, typewriters and briefcases to… this - and I have anticipated and adapted.
I have found myself thinking a lot about this topic of late - I have a daughter, soon to be two, and I want to ensure that she is well equipped for whatever the world throws at her.