Thursday, November 17, 2016
Excessive Education
Yesterday, when we grouped up into groups of two, my partner and I were reading Let Teenagers Try Adulthood, by Leon Botstein. We discussed Bostein's belief on how high school is providing teenagers with excessive education. I agree that high school is excessive and that students should graduate two years earlier than they currently do. Everything we learn in school will not all be used in our daily lives or will not be used at all. Also, the things we learn in middle school are being taught again in high school. If schools were to abolish two years of high school, it would provide many people with opportunities of exploring different careers and pathways of life. Therefore, they could specialize and take classes related to what they plan to become. Sometimes I would wonder why it is required that students who want to become a doctor or chef are required to take a class in art. I do believe that high school is a great place to explore a variety of things, but a couple of those years of high school could be used to tour deeper into what one has considered as their potential future. Do you guys agree that we should graduate school two years earlier than we currently do?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I would like to disagreew with you on that. Personally, I would like to stay out of the real world as long as possible. And I don't want to graduate and go off to college or something on my own at least until I'm a legal adult. And I think that what high school teaches is important adn should remain, and that the issue comes from how it teaches. For example, there are very few jobs that use something like calculus, but higher-level math teaches how to think through problems in a logical and reasoned way. Math is the purest form of rational thought because there are no differing opinions or backgrounds to bias it. And humanities classes are not that useful, unless you want to be a professional writer or something or you plan to teach those subjects, but I am eager to learn them because they will make me a more well-rounded individual and artificially give me some life experience to draw from. I think the only things that should be changed about the public education system are unequal funding and how curriculum is presented, to allow more creative thinking.
ReplyDeleteCreativity is just as important as thinking logically, if not more important. Creativity allows for invention, innovation, and scientific achievements. These then lead to better quality of life, stronger communities and diversity of thought.
DeleteDespairingly, Ms. Fletcher's classroom is undervalued because students neglect to take advantage of the creative opportunities she employs, such as blogging and group discussions. The tables in the room are circular to promote creativity and create new ideas, yet students use it to gossip and mess around.
Thinking that rational thought should be superior to any other type of though is the type of parochialism that kills creativity. Narrow-mindedness ignores other thoughts and ideas, which are critical to development.
I agree that creativity is very important. However, my argument is that math and logic should have a place in the toolbelt of a creative person. I can think of two main uses for creativity: composition and problem solving. What I mean by composition is creating something, generally some form of fine arts, for others to enjoy, such as writing, composing music, painting, etc. Problem solving is finding a solution to any type of issue. This can be a social dilemma, an invention, a math problem, or any other task. My main point was that math is not as unimportant as many people are making it out to be. Graphing equations may not be that useful anywhere, but logic is an important skill that can be used to solve problems, and math is the language of the universe, and it can't hurt to learn some of it.
DeleteIt makes a lot of sense to graduate two years earlier since junior high can be repetitive in high school. Some required classes seem pointless to take when they do not have anything to do with your career. So why should we waste time on classes we know we do not need? However, I cannot picture myself going to college at the age I am now. Even though I have an idea of what I want in my future, I do not think I am prepared to be an live like an adult. Despite there being an extra two year that we may not need, it is comforting to know that I have an extra two years to try more things.
ReplyDeleteI would disagree with you on graduating two years before. Although it would be nice to graduate early the reality of the situation is that all of our classes are very important. Even classes such as art it helps you express your thoughts and can encourage you to create. The use of creativity is so important in our life that we seem to neglect it's use in our life. Plus at the age of sixteen some aren't mentally ready for the real world and will mess up. With high school those four years help us grow and develop into a young adult.
ReplyDelete