Thursday 23 May 2013

Life. I didn't learn Life in school.

Today's prompt on BEDIM is "Things You've learnt that school didn't teach".
I have come to realize that schools probably does not teach you anything when it comes to the real world. School doesn't teach you nothing about life.


It's amazing. We spend all of our early life going to school to acquire knowledge, but do we really? Do we become more knowledgeable in school? Or do we just get book smart?

Unfortunately, being 'book smart' can not get you very far in life, what gets you far enough is being 'street smart'.

- School hasn't taught me life. Life has taught me life. There aren't nearly enough classes in school that prepares students for the real world, they just aren't. Most of what one learns in school are absolutely irrelevant in the real world, who cares where 'x' is? When am I actually going to use differentiation and integration to get me a new car or to buy me a house??

Now school is important because we learn things, but I'll appreciate school more if the curriculum is completely overhauled. Let students concentrate fully on things that can make them a buck or two in the near future, rather than on irrelevant garbage like surd. I mean, who in the world came up with the concept of surds? What could he have been thinking? What was going through his mind?? It's totally ridiculous. I sense I'm straying away from the point, pardon my digression, I just really hate surd.

Finally and probably most disturbing, and maybe ironically, school never really taught me to learn.
Here: Schools promote competition through class grades and that's a good thing, it's paramount that students understand from a young age that the world would rather have the best, and that it is much better to do very well in say a test for instance. However, what this does to the student like me is, It puts them under pressure, they are pushed to the wall to deliver, therefore they cram all what they have been taught into their memory and they do well in the examination or test, but immediately after, everything is forgotten.
Therefore, schools aren't really encouraging learning. What is encouraged is cramming.
I thus think the grading system should be changed, a student shouldn't have to cram something in order to pass.
The whole concept of an examination is to see who has the best cramming capacity, not necessarily who has been the most attentive during the classes. This is true majorly because, most of the time, the student who can produce exactly what the class teacher has in his class note will get the best mark. This has to change.

I don't hate school, I just feel school isn't almost as important as people make it out to be, especially in the 21st century where you can learn almost anything by just a click of a button, I feel it will be a lot more worth it if the curriculums are totally overhauled..
That's all I have to say about that.

Till next time,, Keep dreaming!!

4 comments:

Sandy said...

Gotta disagree with you on several points. School are more important now then they've ever been because the world is a much more competitive place. And while you can learn some things by clicking away, that doesn't teach you to think, to examine, to wonder AND just because you read it some place here on the net doesn't make it accurate. Schools have the important interaction which teach people skills, and that's where the teaching one to think comes in. Tests, even if people are cramming to remember still teach, they teach discipline and the importance of working hard at something. Math is absolutely essential, it is needed when you buy a car or a house to learn about percentages and think about the loans etc. Schools teach you how to get along with different people even when you can't possibly like them all. That's the biggest downfall I believe with those who home school. Kids don't learn the people skills.

Enjoyed your post, even if I take exception to it. Good topic.

Unknown said...

I appreciate your views, buh here's what i think.
- I don't believe you have to go to school to learn people skills, infact, I'd say kids learn that from their parents at a young age. But you know, that depends on your definition of 'people skills'.
-Math is essential, but you don't have to be educated to buy a house or a car or understand loans and stuff. I like math. I just absolutely hate surds.
-Not every content online is accurate, true, but that depends on knowing where to look.
- Tests are good, there's a good purpose, it promotes hard work, but that purpose is defeated by cramming, students cram because of the tremendous pressures that the schools have put them in.

This is just what i feel anyway. I may be wrong. Thanks for stopping by.

c a n d a c e said...

Good post. I agree with your overall jist - school just isn't what it needs to be in our times today. I, for one, tested HORRIBLY when I was a kid. As a result, I had mediocre grades. Not super fair if I have learned, but just test (or cram) really badly. Like the overall logic of the post.

Aleshea said...

In Texas it is all about standarized test. The teachers teach so you can pass a test. If you are someone who struggles at school or test taking then it can be a very rough experience. Sometimes I wish our education system was like France. It may be harder but at least the kids start learning what they want their trade to be and things that will actually help them later on in life.