Do you think that the education system could/should be reformed this way?

C

Complex Kid

New member
I'm just wondering what other people think of this. Because I've talked to a lot of people about this and they all seem to like the idea.

It seems like the schools essentially force kids to take many, many classes that they're not interested in. That's not to say that many of these classes are not important. I think being well rounded is important and having a variety of skills and knowledge in reading/writing, history/civics, mathematics, sciences, and the arts is important. But they take it too far. Shouldn't there be a point in a students' educational career where they are more free to explore different pathways where they might be interested in taking their career? I don't see how many kids, by the time its time to start applying for colleges, have much time to think about what they want to do as a career when they're trying to juggle four or five different classes, plus any number of extracurricular activities, many of which will have no relevance to them in a future career, but that they felt they needed to look good on a college application.

Are you really "learning" anything in a class you have no interest in? Probably not. You memorize a certain amount of specific information and retain it long enough to spit it back to them on an exam or on an essay. And forget about it after that. What does that accomplish?

Wouldn't it be better if by late high school and early college level that kids were, you know, required to take a certain number of courses, but tailor it to their interests, things they're going to enjoy learning about and work harder and do better in. I think you'd see the dropout rate decrease dramatically, and I think you'd have a lot of kids who have a better idea of what they're going to do with their lives when they get to college, as opposed to running into further uncertainty and frustration.
 
I think this is a great idea. I would even go so far as to apply this in elementary school For example. 2nd graders learn the proper names of clouds (by shape, color,ect) same with layers of the earth and types of rock....WHY? Unless you are going to be a weather man or geologist it is completely useless information, they will never remember once they have taken and passed the test. All you are really showing is that you can memorize stuff. If it is something you are interested in maybe you will retain it longer. Or something that has a practical use....Another example, My 10th grader has taken 3 years of spanish but cannot speak a word. He can however pass the test so he can graduate with distinction. You also need a foreign language to get out of college... WHY? Pointless (expensive) stuff makes me really mad. It is a waste of time and resources. If you are going to do something with the spanish take it. If not take an extra shop class or science class, what ever your "thing" is. Brilliant idea, hope the school system adopts it!
 
I believe the education system should be stripped to the basics. The amount of money it spends on things is ridiculous. "Oh, they need to experience these things..." That is all bullsh*t. All you need in the classroom is a textbook, a good teacher, and students.

Take all of the money wasted on computers, planetariums, greenhouses, and carshops and instead put that money towards hiring more, better teachers, updated textbooks, and more classrooms.

Also, kids need to learn how to learn so understanding ideas that may never be used is still very important.
 
I believe the education system should be stripped to the basics. The amount of money it spends on things is ridiculous. "Oh, they need to experience these things..." That is all bullsh*t. All you need in the classroom is a textbook, a good teacher, and students.

Take all of the money wasted on computers, planetariums, greenhouses, and carshops and instead put that money towards hiring more, better teachers, updated textbooks, and more classrooms.

Also, kids need to learn how to learn so understanding ideas that may never be used is still very important.
 
no matter what you do, you cannot teach a cat to bark like a dog,

children have to want to learn first,, and some will never be smart
 
no matter what you do, you cannot teach a cat to bark like a dog,

children have to want to learn first,, and some will never be smart
 
I think it should be redone like that.

At the highschool I went to for 9th grade, we had 4 required classes (math, science, english, and social science aka social studies). We also had 2 electives. The 4 required classes were every day and the electives alternated. For those of us that were starting to take classes that would help us with the careers we wanted, it just wasted our time and gave us more to do.


I think we shouldn't have to take more classes than we can handle. Not everyone can handle the same amount of classes, and it gets harder to have a job if you take a lot of classes.
 
Sure, as long as it's not "reformed" by the government. The Dept. of Education has done a poor job, and the No Child Left Behind eventually screwed the system even worse.
 
Until they get government out of the schools and drop NCLB we will continue to produce Cookie Cutter children. Teachers are required to teach to the test..if these children do not score high on their Tcap test these school are put on High Priority list and are subject to lose funding. Teachers were once creative in their classrooms and could make learning fun for younger children but now teachers are pushed by NCLB to teach what is on the test....Test that are made up by some idiot sitting at a desk somewhere in a building that has probably never taught a day in their life.
 
I think the reason education is supposed to be run at the local level is that each locality knows best what serves its particular, unique circumstances.

Cookie cutter education doesn't work.
 
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