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At what point did learning in school become just about making the grade?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by Caltex2, Feb 4, 2013.

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  1. Caltex2

    Caltex2 Member

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    Granted, some have always tried to just slide by while some today actually try to get the most of their chance for education.

    But it seems now days that people are more concerned with passing the course and curriculum than actually applying themselves and trying to learn as much as they can (granted, I certainly was a slacker in school). And the expectations now days (such as reading entire books and what have you) have slid dramatically and schools are actually going along with this, due to parental/student pressure, hoping to avoid failling a students so they don't fall behind their peers whether they try or not and the need to keep the culmuitive GPA up so that they can say they're an excellent school district, regardless of whether students earned it.

    And who needs to learn now days when there's the countless TV shows, Youtube, what they do when their parents aren't around, parties/bars, and sports (both live and in person).

    You get the point. Thoughts?
     
    #1 Caltex2, Feb 4, 2013
  2. Northside Storm

    Northside Storm Member

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    the modern university is a poorly contrived excuse to gather as many sexy young people together for drugs, sex, and possible career prospects (doubtful).

    it's probably better than farming or Wal-Mart though

    <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CI2IJ9FBb-Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
     
    #2 Northside Storm, Feb 4, 2013
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  3. Big MAK

    Big MAK Member

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    It's on the student. Sure, you can party the entire week before the exam and cram the last night and pass... but you dont retain anything. Yes, classes can be smaller, but you get what you pay for. Past your freshman year, you're pretty much an adult. You get what you put in.
     
    #3 Big MAK, Feb 4, 2013
  4. Caltex2

    Caltex2 Member

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    While colleges are still useful and CERTAINLY needed for some professions, many of the so called positive aspects of them are outdated. This isn't 1850 and most people aren't on the countryside lacking a basic education.

    You need to be on the cutting edge. I've met high school dropouts recently who are more engaging and dare I say intelligent than some colleges graduates (yes, even some with two degrees). They probably made more money too, this one guys makes 33/hour and probably pulls in $100,000 a year. Exception to the rule? Maybe but it just goes to show you can't categorize people's intelligence based on a sheet of paper.
     
    #4 Caltex2, Feb 4, 2013
  5. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Member
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    school was about that for me (most of the time) until University. There were a couple of teachers that made it different, and actually one of the best was a sub that we had for about a week in high school. He was super knowledgeable and when we expressed an interest in Hunter Thompson he just broke out all this information about Gonzo journalism, and brought out a whole list of books and authors to school the next day. While he was there, I was very interested in learning.

    In college I was interested because the professors knew a lot, and it made a huge difference. Also being able to often pick classes that were of interest made a huge deal. Before that school was almost always just about making the grade.
     
    #5 FranchiseBlade, Feb 4, 2013
  6. Dairy Ashford

    Dairy Ashford Member

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    Education has always been a means to an end and nothing more. K-12 coursework and curriculum are like household chores, the kids are learning worthwhile habits, and developing both the patience and discipline to perform related tasks later on life when their goals and obligations are more fully formed.
     
    #6 Dairy Ashford, Feb 4, 2013
  7. JunkyardDwg

    JunkyardDwg Member

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    Education became that way when the focus was placed on standardized testing. There's something clearly wrong when Kindergarteners have to take such tests and when 8-9 year olds are having meltdowns because of the incredible stress placed on them to pass these things.
     
    #7 JunkyardDwg, Feb 4, 2013
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  8. Caltex2

    Caltex2 Member

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    Great point though with that said, I think they were put in place due to people graduating school virtually illiterate.
     
    #8 Caltex2, Feb 4, 2013
  9. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Member

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    School becomes more irrelevant as you grow older. If kids develop poor study and learning habits early, it will carry on into their adult years. What you learn is not as important as learning how you got it. If knowledge has been spoon fed and testing has been setup to meet a certain thresh holds to appease stats and accolades, kids won't learn how to find the information on their own or find the initiative to improve themselves.
     
    #9 Space Ghost, Feb 4, 2013
  10. JunkyardDwg

    JunkyardDwg Member

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    Certainly there is a place for standardized testing, but there has been far too much emphasis placed on them. At the end of the day, you're just teaching to the test rather than truly developing the mind of a child.
     
    #10 JunkyardDwg, Feb 4, 2013
  11. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Member

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    I rarely over achieved so i didn't chronically cheat or felt dishonest about my mediocre grades. But damn, being lazy and needing a God score to get a C really shot up the adrenaline
     
    #11 Invisible Fan, Feb 4, 2013
  12. Rocket River

    Rocket River Member

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    You forgot a place for them to garner MASSIVE DEBT
    The Debt Enslavement begins at the university

    Rocket River
     
    #12 Rocket River, Feb 4, 2013
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  13. Caltex2

    Caltex2 Member

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    Yes is does, rep'd.

    Who needs a God score when you can get a Jesus-like one?
     
    #13 Caltex2, Feb 4, 2013
  14. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Member

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    Seminary school or crappy mobile phone auto correct
     
    #14 Invisible Fan, Feb 4, 2013
  15. Northside Storm

    Northside Storm Member

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    all good---

    http://www.gq.com/entertainment/tv/...acklemore-bible-of-thrift-store-shopping.html
     
    #15 Northside Storm, Feb 4, 2013
  16. juicystream

    juicystream Member

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    Average American is an idiot.

    School was way too easy.

    I went through the vast majority of my high school and college career without reading anything, and it was still fairly easy.
     
    #16 juicystream, Feb 4, 2013
  17. Rocket River

    Rocket River Member

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    School is about creation of workers and consumers nothing more
    Its purpose is to FEED THE CAPITALISTIC Machine

    They not interested in teaching your kids anymore
    Which is why they trying to make it into an industry
    Vouchers etc . . .

    Rocket River
     
    #17 Rocket River, Feb 4, 2013
  18. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Member
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    That may be what a lot of it has become. But ideally the best schools are there to provide a good education.

    At the university level this should be true even more so. It shouldn't be mainly about job training. It should be about getting a good education. Specialized training for a job could also be a part, but shouldn't be the main reason for going to a university. Companies should want to hire the people who've gotten the best educations.
     
    #18 FranchiseBlade, Feb 4, 2013
  19. Rocket River

    Rocket River Member

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    Think of it like BRAVE NEW WORLD
    some colleges will be for those deemed worthy to lead
    and
    the rest will be regulated to worker mills

    More and More we are told THIS SCHOOL is BETTER than that one
    then they limit the people who go there
    They all teach the same knowledge but we allow our selves to be manipulated
    by reputation and advertisement

    We actually beleive the D student at Harvard is better than the A Student at no name university
    So when the D Student gets jobs over the other we accept it as fact

    Upward mobility is being stifled more and more

    Everything is being turned into a commodity to be sold
    for the creation of new markets
    School, Water, next up is the post office
    everything that was once free or through the government
    will be moved to private industry to the enrichment of a few
    at the expense of the many


    Rocket River
     
    #19 Rocket River, Feb 4, 2013
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  20. Caltex2

    Caltex2 Member

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    Exactly. It was too easy to coast, cram and cheat, I know I did (maybe I should call that the Three C's of lazy learning, which is also funny because getting a C is being average). If more teachers gave unique essay questions instead of a multiple choice that was usually way too easy, we might actually have to try harder to learn. Here's an example of the type of a multiple choice question I got many times:



    And what's funny is that some were easier than that. So the teachers become just as responsible as the kids because they just hand out the answers to anyone with half a brain. Students then feel better and smarter for getting good grades because it was all handed to them. Here's a better essay question that at least forces you to show you read and thought about something:


    That one could still be graded easy but it has the potential to at least force someone to try and learn the material. It's tough enough that it could be open note or book and still not be "correct."

    This not to mention some teachers/professors see cheating going on and actively let it go on, even during a test. I know I should have been busted numerous times.


    And I'd have no problem with a college diploma being a standard like the high school diploma if the colleges did something like a final test after the completion of each major or minor. Unlike a regular test though, it'd be similar to a job interview where you can't just have an inside connection to know what'll be on the test or can cheat off the person next to you.

    In a one-on-one session, you'd be asked questions on your discipline or the curriculum of your major of choice that would show you actually learned the material because anyone can BS their way through college and each class but not a final, interview-like test. There wouldn't have to necessarily be any right or wrong answers either but the point would be to show you've learned what the department was seeking to teach you and that you truly grasped the field you were being led into. And schools could still make money off of it while students could take and pay for the test as many times as they want so it wouldn't be a major change that causes too much complaining because students could make sure they're ready for the test before taking it.

    I think this is a great idea because students graduating represent the school going forward and if students somehow make it through without being ready for the work world, it'd be as much on the school as it is on the student, though that could be argued now.
     
    #20 Caltex2, Feb 5, 2013
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