Rather pointless?

November 5, 2007, 12:34 AM

Why is it that in most subjects teach you rather...pointless abstract things that you'll never need to use again unless you want to be a teacher of the same subject?

Take maths as an example, Circle theorems what. the. fuck. Is the the point in them? In my future life will i ever need to know what the angles in a shape inside a circle add up to? No.

Example from my maths class -

Kid "Miss, will we ever need this in real life?"
Miss "Its needed for your exams"
Kid "But...what about after exams"
Miss "....no, i didn't even do them at college or universaty"
Kid "so why do we need to learn them?"
Miss "........shut up and work"

It's just...incredibly retarded that we have to learn things that we'll never need to use again, i'll think of more examples later..

November 5, 2007, 12:39 AM

Exactly. I don't need to know how to work out the equation of a line in terms of x and y when all I have is its normal and one point.
I'll likely never need to analyse an advert semiotically.
I most certainly will never need to know the chemical formula for Hydrocarbons, so why teach all that? I'd rather learn about stuff like loans, mortgages and stuff that I will need to know in five years time. =/

November 5, 2007, 1:11 AM

I do agree with you that we are not gonna use them in real life, and I'm gonna say that your teacher is incredibly stupid, we don't learn all that stuff so we can use it in real life, it's to practice concentration and develop our mind, basically get you to use it, that's the answer your teacher should have given you, I'm pretty sure she would have gotten a better response.

November 5, 2007, 1:13 AM

Heh, this reminds me of the time when I was sitting during my Pre-Cal class and ranting to myself silently. "WTF I don't get this crap!"

Basically, I had the same thoughts as you. And then one kid voiced out my thoughts, to which the teacher curtly replied, "If you have that kind of attitude, then you shouldn't be in this class."

So we never complained afterwards, although that didn't stop me from crying and cursing at my homework. Lol yes, I actually cried a few times because I couldn't solve a freakin' problem. Shame on me...NO, shame on the ones who invented that stupid problem!

But yes, pretty damn useless if you ask me. I know that the basics are required in your everyday life, but not something complex like Calculus or Trig...because then everything is a whole mess of jumbled formulas that we definitely would not use...unless you choose to further exert your knowledge to its proper field.

November 5, 2007, 10:52 PM

I hate learning something that you know that you won't be applying it to anything in life, or anything that you plan to do in the future. I know for subjects like math it's great for learning how to solve problems, but if you generally struggle with math or if you just dislike it and have no interest, it's really useless because the chances that you are going to actually learn it and remember it are pretty slim.

My Character Profiles · November 6, 2007, 2:12 AM

I actually think that high school (in America) lasts too many years. Classes like trigonometry and advanced sciences...British literature...these are like the specifics of the broader topics. I think it should actually stop at classes like Algebra I. There's no need for Algebra II and III. Wtf.
These are things you learn when you want to further your studies in that particular area.

And Spanish should be a required class; not gym.

Kids don't do good in school when they don't want to do good. I think it's bullcrap when someone says "I don't get it". That's just another way of saying "I don't want to learn it". But...I wouldn't exactly be enthusiastic about being in classes like trigonometry either. =\

November 6, 2007, 2:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mitsuki

Heh, this reminds me of the time when I was sitting during my Pre-Cal class and ranting to myself silently. "WTF I don't get this crap!"
So we never complained afterwards, although that didn't stop me from crying and cursing at my homework. Lol yes, I actually cried a few times because I couldn't solve a freakin' problem. Shame on me...NO, shame on the ones who invented that stupid problem!

But yes, pretty damn useless if you ask me. I know that the basics are required in your everyday life, but not something complex like Calculus or Trig...because then everything is a whole mess of jumbled formulas that we definitely would not use...unless you choose to further exert your knowledge to its proper field.

One of the worst parts of me wanting to become an architect or engineer. -.- I have to learn more about geometry and functions, the area underneath a curve, that kind of stuff.

I've often caught myself crying in frustration many nights lol. Sometimes my teacher doesn't explain everything well and so I'm stuck during the night trying to figure out the cryptic code that is math. Stupid.

November 7, 2007, 1:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhea

Kids don't do good in school when they don't want to do good. I think it's bullcrap when someone says "I don't get it". That's just another way of saying "I don't want to learn it". But...I wouldn't exactly be enthusiastic about being in classes like trigonometry either. =\

Oh yes, it's true that kids eventually won't do good in school or a particular subject if their mind-set is absolutely negative. It's all about willingness to accomplish something and actually do good in school...not because you have to, but because you want to.

However, it's hard to keep that mind-set sometimes. =/ I had the mind-set that I wanna learn and do good in school, no matter what...but there's just days when something new comes up and you find that you're not good at that particular area.

You can do so well in learning new things, but suddenly one day, you're stuck and you'll think, "Okay, what the hell is this...?" Now, that's when the matter of seeking for help, trying to solve the problem, OR skipping the problem comes to play. So I really don't think that when someone says "I don't get it" means they don't want to learn anymore. =/ It all comes down to choices. Dedication taps you on your shoulder and you either do something about it or dismiss it.

Lol I believe I can say so for myself because I really cried my heart out when I didn't understand a problem. That clearly means that I was still motivated to solve the problem (even though I was cursing and angry) because I do care about my grades...

November 7, 2007, 1:56 AM

It seems pointless at the time we learn them, but for the career outlook that's happening at present day, we might need them. Therefore, the school curriculum prepares us for it. Circle theorems? I'm honestly guessing, but maybe an astronomer might need to learn those, and quite intensively when measuring a parallex, actually. I remember there were plenty of friends who had once imagined working with NASA. Linear Algebra... I have a classmate who does software graphics and programming, and he uses that quite often. What he learns in that math class, is actually helping him understand the material for his software courses.

Even if you're somebody who's not looking toward such a specific and hard-working field as these, it is still beneficial for you to study these things. Sure, it's boring, and probably stressing you out at some points, but Isaac Newton invented Calculus for a reason. No doubt, his findings have caused me more trouble than I would have ever wanted, I'm glad I learned it. Because now I can say, "I can do more than just count to 10."