Education! Your thoughts?
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I am a walking advertisement for the failure of the public school system here in America.
As a bit of background, in my 6th grade year (11 years old) I was failing all of my classes -- and the teachers were concerned that I may have some sort of severe learning disability (using politically correct terminology here), so the school had me tested. They were surprised to instead learn that I was highly gifted... nobody had ever asked me why I didn't pay attention in class (because it was beyond boring).
This could have been the end of the story, except that instead of moving me into a school for gifted kids (as was the common procedure with this type of thing) they kept me in regular classes because they were afraid I would be a disruptive influence on the other gifted kids (I had a bit of a reputation by that point, I come from the wrong side of the tracks as they say).
Needless to say I became a High School dropout by 15, got my GED just after my 16th birthday (which was the earliest I could take the test) and briefly flirted with college when I was 17 (which was just as boring). But mostly I worked (I was an emancipated minor by then) and learned whatever I wanted to by doing it myself and reading books -- of course the later advent of the internet became a great accelerator of that process.
As a result, I have a great deal of disdain for structured education on the whole -- and while I enjoy teaching, I would never work in a school environment.
However, had the public school system done the right thing with me, who knows how things might have been different.
Best,
Jason. -
Another University dropout here too. I always thought that electronic engineers made useful gizmos, and was shocked to find out that all we did was number-crunch equations (the kind that working engineers just go and look up somewhere when they need them!) - and did coursework in Management Studies (screwing your workforce) and Marketing (deceiving your customers).
I realised long after that the purpose of my degree course was not to teach me to be a better engineer, but to gain a piece of paper that would let me 'jump the queue' into a management position with an employer, or to be a perennial academic - neither of which appeal to me at all.
That was twenty years ago, and I see no improvement - I squirm every time I see that media 'meme' about 'further education' being worth 'on average £xx,000 salary per year'School, I am ambivalent about - like anything else, teaching can be done well, or badly. My science teachers were truly inspirational, and encouraged the interest that I already had, having identified it almost instinctively - so I did well, despite being uncomfortable with learning 'en masse' in a noisy classroom.
History, which I now know to be both fascinating and incredibly informative about the present - hated it. The teacher was, as far as I could tell, utterly uninterested in the subject (Bored of the repetition? His pet specialism not on the curriculum?)
Like it or not, school will always have an agenda - it is run by politicians when all said and done. It just ain't there to be interesting or informative, it is there to prepare students for the rough and tumble of becoming a cog in the machine. Some talented teachers are able to overcome that to a degree, but from my experience having worked as a school lab' tech', and folks I know with similar jobs, those kind of teachers are being driven away - they are dangerous, they teach people to think for themselves, they teach that there is more than just 'knowing your place' and being content with it.Saddest of all, so many parents are content, or even expect as a 'right', that education is to be 'outsourced' wholly to the professionals. For sure, there are 'technicalities' that only a professional can pass on - but it is family, neighbours and friends who taught me knitting, gardening, the joy of a good book, a sense of moralty... and most of all to love learning itself. You don;t need a teaching certificate or limitless resources to pass on that - we are all teachers.
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Got a MS Food science ...I do 3D for a living.
say no more.
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He he, cooking - now I wish someone had taught me that! (only offered to girls at my old school from what I remember - only boys in tech' drawing and woodwork too!).
For 3D - just buy your kids some Legos - better than all the engineering textbooks I ever read!.
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Funny you bring this up now Mike - I've been learning lately about how our school system is broken, and how the Internet can help fill this need.
Here's some great reading on the topic - stuff that I've been using to form an educated opinion on the subject...
Hacking Higher Education Series@unknownuser said:
All education – even college education – is fundamentally self-education.
A series of posts teaching people how to graduate faster with an accredited degree.
Back to (the wrong) school
From the always-insightful Seth Godin:@unknownuser said:
Large-scale education was never about teaching kids or creating scholars. It was invented to churn out adults who worked well within the system.
...and a much more detailed manifesto by Mr. Godin on the same topic: Stop Stealing Dreams (references Sir Ken Robinson's ideas)
@unknownuser said:
The economy has changed, probably forever.
School hasn't.
School was invented to create a constant stream of compliant factory workers to the growing businesses of the 1900s. It continues to do an excellent job at achieving this goal, but it's not a goal we need to achieve any longer.
In this 30,000 word manifesto, I imagine a different set of goals and start (I hope) a discussion about how we can reach them. One thing is certain: if we keep doing what we've been doing, we're going to keep getting what we've been getting.
Our kids are too important to sacrifice to the status quo.
Personally, I think that online classes like Khan Acaedemy and Skillshare are going to have a big influence on education for the next generation.
I've been asked by my local makerspace to teach Sketchup there - this is a form of education that I think will be more common in the future. People(employers and entrepreneurs alike) want results rather than a expensive college degree, and this whole idea of democratizing resources(whether its tools, education, or something else entirely) lets regular people perform like never before.
We're going to see a whole lot more of self-education thing if the mega-corporations and politicians don't eff up the Internet before then.
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Interesting links there Marcus. I will check them out as I am interested in learning more about the various trends that are now taking place, particularity in how the Net is being used for 'online' education.
Also its interesting to look at how various Countries are going about educating its populace.
Finland is an example of how a Country can and should think outside the box! No formal exams until the student reaches 17 - 18 years! This can only be a good system as it allows the student to develop their possibly hidden talents
How Finnish schools shine -
I have had two passions when I have had to decide what I would like to study. The First was shaping 3d space and the second was programming. I have chosen architecture, because I knew I couldn't design buildings without "official" qualifications. I knew I could be self-taught programmer.
I am a fully qualified architect now and learn how to program in C++. An important fruit will be an integration of Thea with SketchUp. I dream of an architectural modeller in which I could merge my two passions. Who knows, time will tell...
It is not an easy thing, because I have to think as Ken described in an "organic" fashion. I had to leave the "linear" thinking and let my other branch grow. It is growing for some time now, some of you know, I have written few Ruby plugins. Living in an "organic" manner is not easy. Some people say : "What about your CAREER?" and similar things. I have to listen to my heart and follow it. I want to develop all talents I discover in me.
I fully agree with Ken. I guess the revolution in education has also to be organic!
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Hi Tomaz, Glad you liked what Ken Robinson says, it was definitely thought provoking. The main thing that I took with me from his talk was that educating / training/ learning can and should be continuing throughout one's life.
From my experience people both young and old are in a far more happier state of mind when they are learning something new provided its something they are interested in and its at their own pace. Consumption does not deliver anything like the same satisfaction! But alas, there are far more rubbish time wasting things marketed and sold than mind informing / exercising things.
Here are some amusing and interesting facts about the brain!
Brain Health – Fascinating Facts About the Human Brainhttp://www.spiritofhealthkc.com/portfolio/fascinating-facts-about-the-human-brain/
One that caught my attention was,
Psychology of Your Brain
You can’t tickle yourself because your brain distinguishes between unexpected external touch and your own touch.
Never thought about it much, but its strange when you do.
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Along these lines...
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I am so sick & tired of jerks telling us what's wrong with the USA.
Clean your own houses! -
John, it's one of your own (Marcus from Minnesota) that posted the grahpic. It does make a point though. If a State doesn't have the foresight to invest in its youths education they will sufer in the long run. The Nordic countries are a good example of how it can be done also China, the 'one to watch', is investing heavily in education.
I am a strong admired of the USA for many reasons but as it holds itself up to be imitated, it has to take the constructive critism also in my opinion.
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John, it's one of your own (Marcus from Minnesota) that posted the grahpic. It does make a point though. If a State doesn't have the foresight to invest in its youths education they will sufer in the long run. The Nordic countries are a good example of how it can be done also China, the 'one to watch', is investing heavily in education.
I am a strong admired of the USA for many reasons but as it holds itself up to be imitated, it has to take the constructive critism also in my opinion.
Mike
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Yes that OWS poster is American, just told from a foreign point of view to make a comparison.
Student debt in-total in the US has surpassed credit card debt (which we all know has long been out of hand). So what are we going to be doing with all these young people without work, already having crippling debt? They sure aren't going to be buying those cars and houses, which we so like to base our economy on.
And meanwhile I have a couple friends in Canada, now retired, who are obtaining advanced degrees at university FOR FREE! So yeah, wtf?
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