As I was browsing through the infamous MRU Confessions page one day, I stumbled upon an interesting post that really got me thinking. The author of the post was sarcastically expressing their displeasure with high school curriculums. The post went something like this:
"Thanks to high school, I don't know how to pay bills, buy a house, or do taxes... but thank God I know how graph a polynomial function."
Now I realize that MRU Confessions isn't what you would call a very cerebral and thought provoking forum, but this disgruntled person's post resounded with me. In my opinion, high schools (at least where I'm from) aren't doing a good enough job preparing adolescents for the "real world". Now I realize that some of this knowledge should be learned in one's own free time, but schools should really be focusing more on these topics, because this type of knowledge is essential to function in today's society.
High schools have a very one-dimensional way of evaluating a student's intelligence. Students are expected to simply memorize information and then regurgitate said information onto a piece of paper. High schools need to realize that not everyone learns this way. Too much emphasis is being put on simply "getting the right answer", and there is not nearly enough emphasis on alternative methods of learning or analyzing problems. This "memorize and repeat" theory is really hampering students' ability to think outside the box or to look at problems from different points of view. I think it's a shame that students who don't buy into this system are viewed as "unintelligent", even though they might have more worldly knowledge than most.
All that being said, I am not bashing the actual subjects that are being taught, it's just that the way they are taught isn't the best. I don't think teachers are the problem, more so the curriculum itself. I think that there should be classes that teach the topics about general world knowledge that I mentioned above. I think this would really assist young adults to become a truly rounded and effective member of society.
Yes, I realize that I am not really providing a solution to this problem. I am just venting to myself about a topic that I think needs to be reconsidered. That is all, bye for now.
You're kidding me right? The kind of "General worldly knowledge" is not something that needs to be taught in a class room to high school students. They are the kinds of things you can learn just by asking someone who actually has experience in it, like your parents or going online and finding a help forum. Most of what we do is about getting it right, and the process by which we analyze it is irrelevant, it's merely a conduit to bring us around to the solution. And if your major problem is coming about to what is right, well help is always readily available through after class student teacher meetings and private organizations that can help (yes it's not free) but they help you find a way of doing things right in your own way
ReplyDeleteYeah, math was always a big one in highschool... never really understood why you would need it. But I agree with the implementation of knowledge of the real world into the curriculum, I also wanted to say that highschool was the probably the easiest time of my life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this post. Not so much the first commenter. Being "unintelligent" in high school really means nothing.
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