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> Really? Learning how the history of your country has no value? Learning how to write properly, how to construct persuasive arguments is of no use? Learning ho
by u801e 9y ago
> Really? Learning how the history of your country has no value? Learning how to write properly, how to construct persuasive arguments is of no use? Learning how to break an argument down into smaller parts and analyze it for soundness has no practical application?
Shouldn't these things be covered in high school? Perhaps having a 13th or 14th year of primary education would allow for these concepts to be covered in sufficient depth. Then universities could concentrate on specialized concepts pertaining to the student's major.
- com2kid 9y ago> Shouldn't these things be covered in high school? A number of factors. High Schools are very subject to political whims of the local area. Teachers are often not tenured (especially in smaller districts), and school board members are frequently elected officials. There are schools that still teach that America is literally blessed by God to rule over the earth. Those schools aren't going to teach about the Kent State Riots, or Pinkertons. They sure as heck aren't going to have a class on dissecting political speeches (from all across the spectrum) for logical soundness. (One of the best college classes I ever took!) These are the same schools that avoid teaching literally anything about sex (other than don't have it), and skimp out on other large portions of biology. > Perhaps having a 13th or 14th year of primary education would allow for these concepts to be covered in sufficient depth. The problem with mandatory education is that since everyone has to go through it, there is an expectation that everyone passes, which means courses get watered down until everyone does pass. Tests are put in place to prevent this, and then school becomes prep work for those tests, as metrics take over the entire system. Community Colleges are, IMHO, a good stepping stone.
- dexterdog 9y agoAre you saying college courses don't get watered to to where nearly everybody passes? College (upenn for me) was trivially easy to pass. They need that sweet, sweet tuition money flowing in.
- gowld 9y agoNo they don't. They need those sweet grants and donations, and butts in seats justifies their presence.
- deadmetheny 9y agoIf all those butts in seats flunk out of classes, who's going to be giving them grants and donations? A record of failure isn't going to help any grant proposals.
- smt88 9y agoMy highly-ranked school was also trivially easy. I still learned a lot and was forced out of my intellectual comfort zone on many occasions. "Easy" hurts the goal of credentialing, but it doesn't really mean the education is poor. I also wasn't a STEM major. I know many STEM grads who had a hellish time getting good grades.
- com2kid 9y agoSome classes were easy, some weren't. I enjoyed my history classes, the professor was amazing. All the tests were essay style, failing was hard, the only requirement was being able to demonstrate an understanding of the course material and being able to put together a well reasoned argument about different historical events. Often times we would be asked to explain our understanding of some major player's reasoning. Was the course "hard" in terms of drop out rate? No. Was it rigorous and thorough? That it was.
- jotm 9y agoSadly, not in most western countries.