Schools teaching useless knowledge

[the divine tragedy]

The world doesn't revolve around how many facts you know or how many hyperbolas you can factor into an equation. It revolves around what you can do, and how you can understand and assess the world's problems.

I cannot understand why schools must send us on a 12-year tedious voyage through unnecessary knowledge. Last year, I was required to take a course in biology. 75% of the things learned in that class will never be remembered or need to be remembered.

School could easily narrow down the futility of their teachings if they come to realize that life isn't about knowing what a text book says - It's about knowing what to do in real world choices.

Schools impose the inessential and ignore and disguise the inevitable.

 

[angie]

They teach you these things for numerous reasons. One, is to make you a more "well rounded person". The MAIN reason is if you don't USE your brain you LOSE IT. If you only learn the basics to survive, your brain will rot. And you will use bio from time to time, just like you will use algebra from time to time. And history. Don't you want to understand how your body works? How life is created and destroyed? The facts you learn teach you strategies to use in real life. And with history, it teaches you mistakes made in the past. It's people like you who want to do everything half assed that make this world suck.

 

[dshogan1]

The world doesn't revolve around how many facts you know or how many hyperbolas you can factor into an equation. It revolves around what you can do, and how you can understand and assess the world's problems.

I cannot understand why schools must send us on a 12-year tedious voyage through unnecessary knowledge. Last year, I was required to take a course in biology. 75% of the things learned in that class will never be remembered or need to be remembered.

School could easily narrow down the futility of their teachings if they come to realize that life isn't about knowing what a text book says - It's about knowing what to do in real world choices.

Schools impose the inessential and ignore and disguise the inevitable.

It is people like you that **** up the money that school systems get because you dont feel that they need it. However, biology is important to a person who will be a doctor, a marine biologist, an arborist, hell even a plant worker for a food packer. Everything is relevent. Besides that, school requires you to take classes to show you responsibility. They are teaching you the responsibility to do things that you dont nessecarily want to do. This is life, sometimes we need to do things that we dont think are nessecary. You have one job as a minor and that is to go to school, nothing else is required of you. So do it and quit bitching, next time you get a cut on your hand, you will probably either wash it or put a band aid on it, this is for one of 2 reasons, either you or your parents learned about how bad bacterial and viral infections can get. Most likely in biology. Think about things like that.

 

[the divine tragedy]

I didn't say that everything learned in school is useless, I said that large portion of the things taught in school are useless.

Sure, in Biology you need to know the basic functions of the human body, be familiar with common terms and theories, etc.
But, why must I try to learn and memorize the composition of a phospholipid bilayer, or learn the life cycle of a plant? These things are useless in life, and arn't teaching me anything.

I don't try to do things half-assed, I'm a sophomore and am in all AP classes, including taking the AP test last year for European History. I'm simply suggesting that schools try focus more on what we need to succeed in life, not what we need to succeed in school.

It seems like a strong sign to me when parents are unable to help you with your homework - why is that? - because they didn't need any of that stuff, so they didn't remember it.

Sure, you need to know about the Civil War, you need to know about the French Revolution - but you don't need to analyze every little aspect of it that will only end up forgotten anyway.

 

[ToriAllen]

You must realize that it is easier for a child to absorb information than an adult, however, you are not assigned a career path as a child, and therefore you must be exposed to a wide range of information. I guarantee that for every piece of information you learn there is a field of study, somewhere, that uses it. Children today are 100 times more knowledgeable than children were 100, 50, or even 30 years ago. Information that you find to be common sense was revolutionary when it was discovered. You should respect any knowledge that you can attain, because no knowledge is completely useless.
If you plan to go to college, all of those facts will help you. Even though you can not recall a lot of the information once the class is over, I promise it will be that much easier to relearn when you have the subject in college.

I do disagree with the way grade school is run, but not because of

 

[Mohammed_Rots_In_Hell]

I remember a friend of mine growing up saying that he couldn't understand how algebra could possibly have a real world application and subsequently refused to learn it. Years later he maintains the same oppinion and believes algebra to be useless. He is now 40 years old and works for 10 dollars per hour. I, on the other hand, use algebra almost daily in my work and earn over $100,000 per year.

You do the math.

 

[phreakwars]

In the 3rd grade I was only 1 of a select few who actually knew how to run the computers and not just for games. Over 20 years later, I still occasionally donate a few to the idiots who live on welfare and weren't smart enough to get with the ****ing times and stay educated.


I don't think schools push a kid hard enough.

If my 6 year old son can be taught HTML and Visual Basic by me, at the age of 5, then the schools can do this too. It's a new world of knowledge, schools should adjust for it.
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[tizz]

No knowledge is bad knowledge. Take what you can get (and yes eveuntually you WILL be pulling crap you learned in biology out in conversation and in reference to other subjects) Ya alot of it is rehashing the same crap over and over, but I have also noticed that since they have stopped stressing grammar in high school, kids are showing up in college not knowing how to start a sentence let alone finish one. If you know only one thing (chosen carreer path and whatnot) you WILL end up being the most BORING adult in the room. Without knowledge you will never be wise

 

[Hugh G. Rekshun]

I spent 8 years in college. ALL of the preceding subjects I took in the formative years in school certainly have relevance to what I do today. I am a manufacturing engineer in the semi-conductor test and manufacturing sector as well as holding certification in the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineering) which is my first and foremost passion. Without a good basic education I would surely be flat-footed and happily muttering "Welcome to Wal-Mart" every morning.
Have a nice day you insolent ****!

 

[Cogito Ergo Sum]

...I don't try to do things half-assed, I'm a sophomore and am in all AP classes, including taking the AP test last year for European History. I'm simply suggesting that schools try focus more on what we need to succeed in life, not what we need to succeed in school...

I wish to hell that they would abolish the title "AP". All it does is give kids the FASLE impression that they are smarter than the average bear and "Above" it all... Arrggg...

Given your statement of your unexamined philosophy on education, we should hand out spatulas, mop, hammers, brooms, drying towels, hand trucks, and work gloves, so that we adequately prepare you for the inevitable jobs respectively in fast food, a roofing company, the mall, the car wash, the warehouse, of the ditch digging company.

The PURPOSE of an education IS NOT to make you full of trivia and information. It is to train you to self-motivate to critically think about life, history, current events, science, and a host of other topics. It is to teach you to write your thoughts down in a structured and logical format; to converse with other individuals on intelligent topics in constructive and intelligent fashions.

This is an education and you are WASTING yours.

 

[dshogan1]

I wish to hell that they would abolish the title"AP". All it does is give kids the FASLE impression that they are smarter than the average bear and "Above" it all... Arrggg...

Given your statement of your unexamined philosophy on education, we should hand out spatulas, mop, hammers, brooms, drying towels, hand trucks, and work gloves, so that we adequately prepare you for the inevitable jobs respectively in fast food, a roofing company, the mall, the car wash, the warehouse, of the ditch digging company.

The PURPOSE of an education IS NOT to make you full of trivia and information. It is to train you to self-motivate to critically think about life, history, current events, science, and a host of other topics. It is to teach you to write your thoughts down in a structured and logical format; to converse with other individuals on intelligent topics in constructive and intelligent fashions.

This is an education and you are WASTING yours.

I agree with getting rid of AP. The only "AP" classes that should be offered are through 3-1-3 programs where they are actual college classes taken in a collegen envioronment, because this really is the only Advanced Placement. I take some college courses, as well as my high school studies, and Biology is one of them, I took AP biology last year, and it in no way was any better at preparing me for this class than a regular biology would be. I took a psycology course in a 3-1-3 program and it has better prepared me for Psycology 2 than anything else could have.

 

[phreakwars]

The PURPOSE of an education IS NOT to make you full of trivia and information. It is to train you to self-motivate to critically think about life, history, current events, science, and a host of other topics. It is to teach you to write your thoughts down in a structured and logical format; to converse with other individuals on intelligent topics in constructive and intelligent fashions..

Kinda like what we do on GF when we try to motivate speech out of people.

Rude, yes, but Jesus H. ****ing Christ, it's pretty damn simple and it applies to real life too.

There are 2 types of people on GF, those who use their minds to express themselves to the best of their ability, and those who are idiots.

Since idiots A.K.A. stupid people, fit lower on the food chain, their quality of life / privlages on this board, are limited.

You could concider some of the sunbjects HERE useless knowledge, but then collectively, we all learn something from each other, and ABOUT each other.
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[the divine tragedy]

Well I love the irony of everyone flaming me, because I gave a harsh comment about school, I guess that automatically makes me a failure for the rest of my life.

How about all the adults on here who have time to cuss out a teenager on a little-known web forum? Is that successful?

No offense, but when I'm your age, I doubt I'll still be using this. I'll be doing something a bit more valuble and productive.

Phreakwars, you're 34 and use "The Rock" as your avatar - maybe you are one of the few who think that wrestling is real. Well it's fake and aimed towards kids, so grow up.

With a name like Mohammad_Rots_In_Hell, who do you think is really going to take you seriously?

Sorry for stating my opinions - glad to see this this was misnamed as a "debate" forum - I was under the impression that there would be some intelligent discussoins, not a bunch of prejudgement-filled rants.

 

[angie]

Well I love the irony of everyone flaming me, because I gave a harsh comment about school, I guess that automatically makes me a failure for the rest of my life.

How about all the adults on here who have time to cuss out a teenager on a little-known web forum? Is that successful.

No offense, but when I'm your age, I doubt I'll still be using this. I'll be doing something a bit more valuble and productive.

With a name like Mohammad_Rots_In_Hell, who do you think is really going to take you seriously?

Sorry for stating my opinions - glad to see this this was misnamed as a "debate" forum - I was under the impression that there would be some intelligent discussoins, not a bunch of prejudgement-filled rants.

You gave your opnion, now we're giving you ours. Don't like it when other people's opinions don't agree with yours? Don't go to a debate forum. You can take your "Holier than thou" attitude and shove it up your ass.

 

[Hugh G. Rekshun]

Well I love the irony of everyone flaming me, because I gave a harsh comment about school, I guess that automatically makes me a failure for the rest of my life.
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Yep...pretty much. We'll see you soon at the McDonalds drive-up window

 

[the divine tragedy]

Um....are you kidding?

1. You're username is a penis joke - grow up, I don't think i'm the one whose a silly kid.

2. You're avatar is the baby giving the middle finger - grow up, I don't think i'm the one whose a silly kid.

 

[angie]

Um....are you kidding?

1. You're username is a penis joke - grow up, I don't think i'm the one whose a silly kid.

2. You're avatar is the baby giving the middle finger - grow up, I don't think i'm the one whose a silly kid.

Your username is a penis joke - grow up, I don't think i'm the one who's a silly kid.

2. Your avatar is the baby giving the middle finger - grow up, I don't think i'm the one who's a silly kid.
Nothing better to do, eh?
I think you need to go back to your fancy AP classes and learn how to use the English Language properly.

 

[the divine tragedy]

kk - got me on that one, careless typing.

but still - I don't think he has any grounds to call me a silly kid or anything like that, his name/avatar defines immature.

 

[angie]

kk - got me on that one, careless typing.

but still - I don't think he has any grounds to call me a silly kid or anything like that, his name/avatar defines immature.

No it defines a SENSE OF HUMOR. Jokes. Funny haha. Guess you didn't get it.

 

[the divine tragedy]

Hugh G. Rection.

Wow. That is SO funny. I mean....a penis joke. It sounds like HUGE ERECTION!
WHAHAHAHAHA!


No, I'm not in elementary school. Might have been funny then - some of us grow out of those things.