Lack of education - Page 4

May 15, 2008, 7:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erythritol

also sometimes get annoyed when kids complain, "BUT WE'LL NEVER USE THIS IRL!" What they REALLY mean is, "I'm lazy and don't feel like learning this!"

I do the former but I'm certainly not the latter. It's not a matter of being lazy for me - I'd rather spend my time studying the real world and having a more broad understanding of what's happening out there, than sit in an English or Maths classroom after I've passed the basics of those subjects - as long as you can write and count correctly, you're absolutely fine. Unless you're determind to go into those fields, further education in the matter is only there for the sake of it. Take my last post as an example of this.

I'm never going to use quadratics or the equations of circles if I end up getting into forensic science or veterinary, so why is it required to gain entry to the Universities, which teach it? I'm never going to use it but I can still do it, which proves that I'm not complaining because I'm lazy.

Nah, I'd rather spend those six hours a week in school being taught how to get a good hold on the property ladder in this shitting economy, or being taught the law inside and out, or learning how to properly manage my finances - all of which are possible to study without knowing when a function cuts an x-axis. ;D

May 15, 2008, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erythritol

You know, I think teachers get criticized a lot more than they deserve. Maybe most kids are just lazy fucks who need to stop watching TV and actually study. I also sometimes get annoyed when kids complain, "BUT WE'LL NEVER USE THIS IRL!" What they REALLY mean is, "I'm lazy and don't feel like learning this!"

Face it, some things in life are boring. Too bad. I think we live in an age where many people feel entitled to things. We live in an age of instant gratification. Kids don't want to work hard, and when they don't do well, they just want to shift the blame to anyone but themselves. Quite frankly, I don't think our education system is exceedingly terrible; I think our kids are lazy.

Yeah I agree to a certain degree. I certainly know that here in the U.S., a lot of our kids these days have just lost that motivation to go to school and actually learn something. Usually they are forced to do their homework by their parents, who constantly reminds them to do their homework or ask if they've done their homework, which really says a lot. I mean, it's one thing to do your homework unwillingly, and another thing to actually do it willingly and learn in the process. If kids are forced to do their homework, I doubt that they are actually learning a damn thing as all they would really think about is getting it over with and go back to watching Spongebob or Courage the Cowardly Dog.

So yeah, it is not really about how our school system sucks (though that could be a small factor), but rather the individual as well. If a child just doesn't have the will and drive to learn no matter how much motivation they receive, then therein lies the problem. Or the kid could just be really inept and behind when it comes to worldly things and facts.

Take my sister for example. She's 11 years old and a few months ago, she asked my dad, "We live in the U.S., right?"

I mean, she gets pretty good grades in school (A's and B's), so academically, she succeeds. And my brother who's 12...he doesn't really get good grades but is definitely smart when it comes to using his thinking process and knows quite a few facts. It just depends on the individual and their strengths in certain subjects.

May 15, 2008, 10:23 PM

Your general knowledge is kind of separate from anything you learn in school, though. I tend to have a very poor general knowledge but I'm usually quite adept in school, whereas one of my friends is very good at both. General knowledge really just covers whatever you pick up from day to day whereas anything at school is learned under a particular environment, not always when we're on our top form.

May 15, 2008, 10:50 PM

Yes, I know, but I would think that you'd at least learn quite a few general knowledge in school as well, such as history, health, and social studies related. It depends on the school system. I know that general knowledge can be much like common sense in a way, and that the school's purpose and aim is to teach you about certain subjects, but as we learn about various subjects, we then develop our general knowledge from there. For instance, a kid in History class finally learns about World War I for the first time. He did not know anything about the subject, and after various readings and discussions, he develops a general knowledge that World War I began in 1914.

Meh, nothing really to argue about, and that's probably a bad example there as generally speaking, if you ask anyone when WWI began, they probably wouldn't be able to tell you anyway.

But you get the gist. I was just trying to tell you what I meant and that I think general knowledge and school knowledge can be related as well and not viewed as always separate.

But like my sister's case...she should have known not just by general knowledge, but school knowledge as well, that we live in the United States of America. They say the Pledge of Allegiance in school, for goodness sake. >.>

May 16, 2008, 2:39 AM

General knowledge is just very basic facts ie WW1 started in 1914. Studying history will tell you that WW1 started because of Alliance systems, Imperialsim and Nationalism. It will also teach you that The assaination of Archduke Ferdinand was what started the war.
I think both Eryth and Riku were right, it is a bit of both when you say 'I will never use this in real life' it is a bit of lazyness and also it's true. I was stupid enough to do AS maths, which for those of you that don't know is advanced maths that you don't have to study. And absolutely none of it will ever be used in Real life.

May 16, 2008, 8:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frylock

General knowledge is just very basic facts ie WW1 started in 1914. Studying history will tell you that WW1 started because of Alliance systems, Imperialsim and Nationalism. It will also teach you that The assaination of Archduke Ferdinand was what started the war.
I think both Eryth and Riku were right, it is a bit of both when you say 'I will never use this in real life' it is a bit of lazyness and also it's true. I was stupid enough to do AS maths, which for those of you that don't know is advanced maths that you don't have to study. And absolutely none of it will ever be used in Real life.

The torch of historical knowledge has to be passed on, and actual skills you learn later on in history, help you to evaluate and obtain knowledge from various sources. History is also crucial; hindsight is crucial. Fair enough, you won't get far by just knowing lots about history alone, unless you plan on becoming a professional historian. It's good to combine it with other subjects. And not, for one moment, has history been uninteresting to me.