School - a faulty system?

[Astaroth]

Well, first of all let me make it clear that I have no real problem with school - I am pretty good at school, getting As etc.
However, I have problems with the SYSTEM in general. What does he mean, the "system"? Does he have trouble with homework? Does he not like his teachers? Nope, all wrong. The problem lies deeper. What annoys me about school is the way it works in general. What? Well, let me explain:

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School is supposed to be a place where you learn things. You go there to
get elementary/basic knowledge of many things. School is supposed to teach you how to learn, along with what you need to know in order to be able to study many different things in university etc, ranging from music and arts to science and math.
It is supposed to be good for you, as it gives you what you need in your life. You should be happy to be able to learn and to improve your understanding of the world. You should be grateful. School should be seen as an opportunity, as a one time chance to gather as much knowledge as possible.

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However, that's not how it goes in reality. Teachers, parents and everone else tells you that you learn "for yourself". However, they don't practice what they preach. School isn't built around learning and having fun doing so. No, school is based on tests and exams.
You don't go to school because you can. You go to school because you must. You don't listen to the teacher (if you do it) because you want to LEARN something, you listen to him because you want good grades.
School is based on grades and on forcing everyone to study and to learn things.

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There are uncountable interesting things. Learning can be incredibly fun, science can be a challange and entertainment at once. School is a one time opportunity - but it is wasted. You cannot solely put the blame on lazy students.

The system is faulty in my opinion. The system is based on forcing people to learn, because IF you dont learn anything, you get BAD GRADES, and BAD GRADES lead to BAD JOB -> not much MONEY, hah, gotcha!
Really lame.

I'd love to go to school for actually learning something - it would be wonderful if I could look forward to school and think "hey, what will I learn tomorrow?" instead of constantly having to worry about test here test there...

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The way a teacher teaches things is another thing I hate. Whenever we "learn" something it isn't the teacher teaching us something - nope, the teacher seems to love making a constant test and quiz out of everyday lessons. An example: instead of reading shakespeare and the teacher teaching us how things were intended etc, in a friendly atmosphere and such, we are constantly asked questions about how things are meant, how we like things etc etc. And then our responses are graded. I don't at all mind being involved in the lesson - but if it is a constant "grab for grades" it is not interesting nor fun in any way.

You could take other subjects like chemistry or physics as well. The teacher keeps asking stupid questions, just stupidly asking things out of context. How do this and that work together, how do you use this formula blabla. Instead of actually learning INTERESTING things and how everything is connected, we learn things isolated and in a boring way. We learn everything in small, complicated and boring pieces which don't seem to have any relation to each other. I understand it all - that's not a problem. But it isn't fun nor interesting AT ALL.

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I have read books about many things, ranging from history to physics. Many of those books were interesting, made me ask questions, answered other questions I had etc. School doesnt do that. The teacher has to choose one topic, presents it in a boring, theoretical way that is in no way related to anything you can imagine in real life (again, I have no trouble understanding it, it's just boring), then he teaches some basics about it. Next lesson he asks us questions about it then we have a test about it blablabla.

School is way too much about set schedules that *have to be identical everywhere* (as in, you must have e.g. civil war history in grade Y or something), too much about grades and tests.

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How many people can honestly tell me that they love going to school for the actual learning? Of course, for friends, getting a good job later etc maybe. But for the learning? No way.

I love reading articles about everything from science to history on wikipedia, I love reading books about physics. Yet school is never fun to me. I do my homework, I listen to what the teacher says, I get As all the time. But it only bores me and is in no way fun. Learning can be exciting and fun - school is boring and stressfull. Huh? How can it be both? Well, boring as in the way we are taught things is boring. And stressfull as in constantly having to worry about grades instead of enjoying learning. Instead of being able to voice your opinion, to have good discussions etc, you have to say what the teacher wants to hear because hey! you want good grades.

To sum it up, I believe the whole "work or be punished" philosophy is utterly flawed and I think it is a shame that an opportunity to teach things is wasted in such a way.

Discuss.

[Thanatos]

School is a regimented system in which you obey schedules for years and years under a Pavlovian mindset, so that when you grow up and enter the work force, you can do the same thing as a worker bee.

Sure, you learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, but that's only in so far as is needed for you to have basic skills in life. Any real learning you want to do is on your own, or at least at Universities.

[Poach]

The basic enforced learning environment works well, hell I'm of the opinion it should get stricter!

You get the large amount of people who hate learning. They are unenlightened, they do not see betterment as a benefit to themselves. All they want is their dole and bar. Those somewhat above them still don't want to learn, they think they have "better" things to do.

Forcing people to learn, whether they like it or not, gives them basic skills in life, makes them employable to some degree. That is it's job, basic education make you viable for basic work.

Those who have intelligence attend college or university, where learning is not enforced, as they are enlightened people and see betterment as good. They go on to run companies, do complicated things, achieve.

I believe the system is fine. Without forced learning, the dregs of society would never bother and we'd have huge unemployment problems, as no sane employer would take them!

[Dictatorfish]

It seems that you simply went to a badly run school. My school years were absolutely fantastic. Each teacher obviously had their own teaching styles: some had styles that match what you mentioned and, yes, I agree that they suck. But most of my teachers were great and would regularly go on complete tangents as to what they're supposed to be teaching if we show an interest in it.

Homework was always an issue for me - I lacked the discipline - and now, looking back, I only wish my teachers enforce the need to do homework rather than swept it under the carpet as I was an intelligent individual. This did haunt me when it came to the actual exams. (i.e. I was one of these kids who got fantastic predicted grades and would end up letting everyone - especially myself - down.)

The issue regarding the test based system is that it's a necessity for the open and communication-rich world we live in today. Today, we may be brought up in America, educated in England and end up getting a job in Australia. Because of this, prospective employers will have very little knowledge of yourself as a candidate employee. All they will have to go on is a the written word of your past peers and the letter/numerical grade that gives an indication of your level of knowledge and intelligence. (With the continued growth of Web 2.0, though, judgement of character will undoubtably become an issue. You only need to read stories of companies screening candidate employees by checking their social network site profiles like MySpace and Facebook to understand what I mean.)

In the end, whether you enjoy your education or not is entirely down to the teaching style of the tutor. The system is a necessity; one can read as much as they like in textbooks and online, but only through tests and examination is one able to ensure that required facts are memorised and proof of knowledge can be put to paper. If you do not enjoy a particular class, my opinion is that the best advice is to request a change of tutor. If asked why, to honest and simply state that you find it hard to learn under the current tutor's teaching style rather than the side effect which is "I just don't like them". If you find you can learn easily from a teacher, you will undoubtly enjoy their classes (after all, who doesn't enjoy it when you learn a new fact or new skill with ease?).

As for myself? Because of my laziness, I have never did succeed academically. I cannot fault my peers as they did their jobs and did it as well as I could hope. The problem in the end was myself; I could not have asked for better teachers nor education.

[Probe]

School separates the strong from the weak and its this sort of competition that makes you ready for the real world.

[Astaroth]

]It seems that you simply went to a badly run school.[/B] My school years were absolutely fantastic. Each teacher obviously had their own teaching styles: some had styles that match what you mentioned and, yes, I agree that they suck. But most of my teachers were great and would regularly go on complete tangents as to what they're supposed to be teaching if we show an interest in it.

Homework was always an issue for me - I lacked the discipline - and now, looking back, I only wish my teachers enforce the need to do homework rather than swept it under the carpet as I was an intelligent individual. This did haunt me when it came to the actual exams. (i.e. I was one of these kids who got fantastic predicted grades and would end up letting everyone - especially myself - down.)

The issue regarding the test based system is that it's a necessity for the open and communication-rich world we live in today. Today, we may be brought up in America, educated in England and end up getting a job in Australia. Because of this, prospective employers will have very little knowledge of yourself as a candidate employee. All they will have to go on is a the written word of your past peers and the letter/numerical grade that gives an indication of your level of knowledge and intelligence. (With the continued growth of Web 2.0, though, judgement of character will undoubtably become an issue. You only need to read stories of companies screening candidate employees by checking their social network site profiles like MySpace and Facebook to understand what I mean.)

In the end, whether you enjoy your education or not is entirely down to the teaching style of the tutor. The system is a necessity; one can read as much as they like in textbooks and online, but only through tests and examination is one able to ensure that required facts are memorised and proof of knowledge can be put to paper. If you do not enjoy a particular class, my opinion is that the best advice is to request a change of tutor. If asked why, to honest and simply state that you find it hard to learn under the current tutor's teaching style rather than the side effect which is "I just don't like them". If you find you can learn easily from a teacher, you will undoubtly enjoy their classes (after all, who doesn't enjoy it when you learn a new fact or new skill with ease?).

As for myself? Because of my laziness, I have never did succeed academically. I cannot fault my peers as they did their jobs and did it as well as I could hope. The problem in the end was myself; I could not have asked for better teachers nor education.

Well, I think my school is pretty cool and I like many of my teachers. But I blame the system, not the people. My problem is that I hate constantly being graded for every BS.

I mean JEEZ I don't even get any money, I'm not even allowed to vote so far yet I have been graded by dozens of people for 10 years now, for every that I do?

Instead of concentrating on having fun and learning something, I have to make sure to get good grades, wtf is that?

What the hell is the point in this neverending competition of which I will have more than enough once I start working?

[Thanatos]

Life sucks, then you die.

What can you do? All you can do is play along with the system. *shrugs*

EDIT: By the way, I didn't mean to seem as pessimistic as my post sounds like...

[Probe]

Well, I think my school is pretty cool and I like many of my teachers. But I blame the system, not the people. My problem is that I hate constantly being graded for every BS.

I mean JEEZ I don't even get any money, I'm not even allowed to vote so far yet I have been graded by dozens of people for 10 years now, for every that I do?

Instead of concentrating on having fun and learning something, I have to make sure to get good grades, wtf is that?

What the hell is the point in this neverending competition of which I will have more than enough once I start working?

In my school we have plenty of activities that aren't graded and the teachers do a good job of keeping everyone interested in the subject. I guess it depends from school to school.

[Roman Clone]

You have a good point. That's why I'm trying to get my parents to allow me to be home schooled during high school.

[Senno]

Sounds like you are low on motivation. Are there any magnet/charter schools in your area that offer emphasis on the subjects that you are interested in? Often they have smaller class sizes and individual teaching that you might find helpful.

[Astaroth]

Thanks for the responses guys...

@Senno: You might have somewhat misunderstood me. I don't have any problems finding stuff I am interested in - I know people I can talk to about subjects I am interested in my freetime.
As I said, I also have read many books on those topics etc.

However, the problem is school where I have to go (or rather, I want to because I want a good job). I think the system of school is majorly flawed and thus wondered if it could be improved.

[Sorkenlol]

School is important, sure. But the hours you have to spend in it is much more than needed. My days used to be from 8 in the morning to 4 or 5 in the afternoon, and this was recently. Some of our breaks were over an HOUR long, sometimes 2 hours, so you could take the bus home, grab a sandwich and go back. Doesn't make any god damn sense, why not just give us a 15 min break and save those 45 minutes? It just makes you even more tired to take the bus home and then right back again, and what else can you do for an hour when you're 30 minutes from anywhere?

Sorry if this is a bit off the topic just wanted to speak my mind.

[Captain Hastings]

You don't go to school because you can. You go to school because you must. You don't listen to the teacher (if you do it) because you want to LEARN something, you listen to him because you want good grades.

Absolute nonsense. You go to school because the government has been kind enough to provide free, public education.

School is based on grades and on forcing everyone to study and to learn things.

Which just so happens to be what you need to go to university and be a productive citizen. Besides, if you don't want to study, don't. Nobody is forcing you to.

I'd love to go to school for actually learning something - it would be wonderful if I could look forward to school and think "hey, what will I learn tomorrow?" instead of constantly having to worry about test here test there...

Tests and examinations are there to ensure that you are actually retaining the information.

[Fight!]

i think the school system is messed up too. i can see why people need PE every year and i can see (to some extent) why they need middle school level understanding of English, Math, Science and Social Studies/History. But seriously when is the normal person supposed to find the circumference of a circle (actually that was learned in middle school but that just helps prove my point) or know right time to use a "conjunction" (also middle school though i forgot what it was) and when is anyone supposed to know that there are both guy and girl flowers (weird i know) and that they actually...how to say this...get some action without touching eachother.

not saying i don't like school, honestly i love seeing hot
(excuse me, extremely hot) chicks everywhere i turn but shouldn't they let us decide what to focus on to some extent? and teach us things we will need?

[Captain Hastings]

i think the school system is messed up too. i can see why people need PE every year and i can see (to some extent) why they need middle school level understanding of English, Math, Science and Social Studies/History. But seriously when is the normal person supposed to find the circumference of a circle (actually that was learned in middle school but that just helps prove my point) or know right time to use a "conjunction" (also middle school though i forgot what it was) and when is anyone supposed to know that there are both guy and girl flowers (weird i know) and that they actually...how to say this...get some action without touching eachother.

not saying i don't like school, honestly i love seeing hot
(excuse me, extremely hot) chicks everywhere i turn but shouldn't they let us decide what to focus on to some extent? and teach us things we will need?

And that is what you get with electives.

[Lord Anubis]

I go to a public school and the teachers don't care they throw a book at you and tell you to read it after giving you the basics instead of really going into any bit of detail, their grades are biased on their favorite students, they barely work and just sit at their desks and drink coffee so wtf.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

this includes advanced classes as well they gave me half the curriculum to do in the summer so they don't have to do .

I wish my parents would let me go to a proper school.

[Thanatos]

The problem with the American school system is that they don't let you choose your own school, because they know that some school would become graveyards overnight, because they suck.

Therefore, they force people to go to a certain school, even if it's bad. Never mind getting rid of bad schools, no, let's force them to go to one!

[Senno]

The problem with the American school system is that they don't let you choose your own school, because they know that some school would become graveyards overnight, because they suck.

Therefore, they force people to go to a certain school, even if it's bad. Never mind getting rid of bad schools, no, let's force them to go to one!

This might be true in your particular school district due to lack of funding, but it's not true everywhere.

More and more magnet schools are opening with an emphasis in a particular field of study are opening up, and students may apply to attend. If they meet entry requirements, and there's a spot, students are in.

[Thanatos]

This might be true in your particular school district due to lack of funding, but it's not true everywhere.

More and more magnet schools are opening with an emphasis in a particular field of study are opening up, and students may apply to attend. If they meet entry requirements, and there's a spot, students are in.

Inner city schools beg to differ. It's not an issue of funding. You could throw money all day at inner city schools, and it won't make a difference. The problem is that the school itself is a cruddy school.

[Cavalier]

I agree with the thread starter. Very good points, and I feel exactly the same.