|
educational system...
|
View this Thread in Original format
| Floorfiller |
i really hate the way the United States has it's educational system setup. anyone else? i don't know about other people, but i really hate the classroom environment. even in high school and lower, i always felt like it is really useless. i wish i had home schooled sometimes. i guess my main complaint is that you have to work at a pace that suits the slowest students. i'm not trying to be arrogant here or anything, but when i grew up in school...from an early age i always had to help the non-english speaking kids with work and stuff (because i went to school in los angeles)...i moved and came to school in colorado and now i didn't have to help people, but still i never took notes and just messed off in class because it was basically a waste of time. now i'm in college and it's been about the same really. i go to class and listen to the professors and they don't teach you anything you can't read in a text book. i just think it's frustrating. a lot of classes i don't even go to anymore and just show up for tests...and i've been trying to talk to some people at the school about some independent learning type things because i'd rather do that, but it seems like they really don't want me to...like i can't take certain classes that way bla bla bla...
anyway i guess really the only value i see in school is the social interaction. i think that is important to learn, but other than that...i think it's a waste of time...
anyone agree? |
|
|
| Floorfiller |
| also i guess i'm curious if people went to public or private schools. i like to think private schools don't have that problem i dunno...and for you people from other countries...what is your educational system like? |
|
|
| StanVoid |
i agree with you on the high school part, but college - no way. After my first semester in college, I quickyl realized I can't slack off anymore. The competition is way more severe and the material is harder. But that also depends on the school I guess -- I'm a computer science major at UC Berkeley, a university with a top-3 engineering program in the country. You can't slack off here, otherwise you get left behind, and quick. As a matter of fact, college has given me a thorough enough workout that I am now a whole lot better at managing time, splitting up project work, balancing studying with fun, and so on. My 2c.
Stan. |
|
|
| Floorfiller |
| quote: | Originally posted by StanVoid
i agree with you on the high school part, but college - no way. After my first semester in college, I quickyl realized I can't slack off anymore. The competition is way more severe and the material is harder. But that also depends on the school I guess -- I'm a computer science major at UC Berkeley, a university with a top-3 engineering program in the country. You can't slack off here, otherwise you get left behind, and quick. As a matter of fact, college has given me a thorough enough workout that I am now a whole lot better at managing time, splitting up project work, balancing studying with fun, and so on. My 2c.
Stan. |
see maybe that's also a problem then. i go to a university, but it's not ivy league. i'd say it's in the upper middle...and sometimes i feel like i've really wasted my time here...it's really frustrating...bleh
i mean i'm so close to graduating, but to be honest i've really lost a lot of interest and i'm having a hard time finishing because i can't stop thinking about what a waste it is. i'm sitting in this class with a bunch of stupid idiots watching women's film and discussing all this bull bla bla lba... or i'm in a business class and i'm relearning the same we learned last year and still no one know's what going on and it's like...really why bother? |
|
|
| Psy-T |
| quote: | Originally posted by Floorfiller
i really hate the way the United States has it's educational system setup. anyone else? i don't know about other people, but i really hate the classroom environment. even in high school and lower, i always felt like it is really useless. i wish i had home schooled sometimes. i guess my main complaint is that you have to work at a pace that suits the slowest students. i'm not trying to be arrogant here or anything, but when i grew up in school...from an early age i always had to help the non-english speaking kids with work and stuff (because i went to school in los angeles)...i moved and came to school in colorado and now i didn't have to help people, but still i never took notes and just messed off in class because it was basically a waste of time. now i'm in college and it's been about the same really. i go to class and listen to the professors and they don't teach you anything you can't read in a text book. i just think it's frustrating. a lot of classes i don't even go to anymore and just show up for tests...and i've been trying to talk to some people at the school about some independent learning type things because i'd rather do that, but it seems like they really don't want me to...like i can't take certain classes that way bla bla bla...
anyway i guess really the only value i see in school is the social interaction. i think that is important to learn, but other than that...i think it's a waste of time...
anyone agree? |
it's that way around here too, atleast as far as primary school and highschool go.
which resulted in me never showing up, only to the tests, and getting better grades than most people
which uni do you go to?
cause i'm kinda interested in UC Denver, if it's that way there, i'm dropping it from my list right now
one of the bigger aspects that disturb me about higher education in the united states is what i read here:
link |
|
|
| Floorfiller |
| quote: | Originally posted by Psy-T
one of the bigger aspects that disturb me about higher education in the united states is what i read here:
link |
that is exactly true. |
|
|
| Psy-T |
| so.... do you go to CUDenver? |
|
|
| Floorfiller |
| quote: | Originally posted by Psy-T
so.... do you go to CUDenver? |
i go to CU Boulder at the moment, but i've actually been thinking about transfering there to finish simply because it's closer...i'm sure it's not that different i dunno... |
|
|
| LeopoldStotch |
it's just the cycle of life, and what you are feeling is i guess natural with everyone. no one likes repetition and uniformality in their lives. people want a dynamic aspect to life and spontaneous things to happen everyday. also, it's just the material that you are covering. what's your major ? for example, if you are an english major, yet take a calculus class, you are asking yourself : " what does calculus have to do with my major? am i going to write a historical dialogue on simpson's law and the theories of the sigma notation ?" . i went through the trials and tribulations when i was taking stupid history and theology classes. they seemed somewhat interesting, but i kept thinking that it doesn't pertain to structuring my programming style, and how i structure and maintain software.
then, i figured it out. the whole meaning of college is to give you a little glimpse of the areas of life and the world. philosophy, theology, mathematics, literature, etc .... classes aren't meant to be taken seriously, but more like learning material to enhance the knowledge of your mind. so you can be on the public transportation, and discuss the meaningful issues such as the differences between immanuel kant, john hobbes, and john stuart mill. or elaborate between st augustine and c.s. lewis. maybe you can calculate the sin of an angle between you and a pole in front of you. i don't know.
but if it's those cheesy elective courses, don't take it too seriously. yeah, it's for a grade, but if you're stuggling, remember to always take the easy route. cheat. :) .. as for your major courses, i suggest do the work, because it will help you in the long run, depending on the type of class you are taking. if you are taking a class like the 'theories of human movement : learn how to walk, run, and trot', then that's a different story. |
|
|
| Groundhog Boy |
| quote: | Originally posted by Psy-T
one of the bigger aspects that disturb me about higher education in the united states is what i read here:
link |
I don't understand. What's the problem with liberal arts?? |
|
|
| Psy-T |
| quote: | Originally posted by Groundhog Boy
I don't understand. What's the problem with liberal arts?? |
it's not very liberal when it's enforced |
|
|
| Floorfiller |
i think this would be a much better structure for learning...
1. get rid of requirements and prerequisites...there is no set path nor any set order in which you need to learn things...
2. get rid of traditional grading and homework and all of this crap. you don't need to be enrolled in classes and you don't need to recieve a pointless letter grade for your performance in that class.
3. what grading should take the form of is tests in areas of emphasis such as mathematics, philosophy, business, science whatever. make these tests challenging and encompassing what someone should know entering into that area of the world.
4. students upon entering university should meet with someone an advisor or whoever and discuss what they're interests are bla bla...and in doing so they recieve a list of text books that would help them achieve that. they can study them at their own speed and attend lectures given by professors if they desire or have questions. there would be no assigned grading or homework, but instead the responsibility is placed upon the student to time manage and prepare for the tests.
5. they can take the tests to show their competency in those areas whenever they'd like. and if they do not preform as well as they'd like they can continue to study and take them again at a later time.
this would solve these problems...
1. people could learn at their own pace and in the subjects that they find interesting.
2. good time management skills are learned and students learn to be both self sufficient and how to seek out help when needed...
3. classrooms are full of people that have a genuine interest in being there because they feel it is necessary for them to learn...instead of people that feel obligated because of attendance policies and homework. |
|
|
|
|
