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This has always been true in a way. A lot of schools have nothing to offer the top 10% of students, so the students/parents of the students who broke away from

This has always been true in a way. A lot of schools have nothing to offer the top 10% of students, so the students/parents of the students who broke away from the pack were finding ways to learn on their own/have their kids learn on their own.

analog31 5y ago
Top 10% of what? I was technically in the top 10% of my high school class, GPA wise. I also got a national merit scholarship, and had learned computer programming. I would simply not have had the self discipline or motivation to learn everything on my own, no matter how good the learning materials were. Oddly enough, even through college, there were subjects that I easily taught myself, such as electronics and programming, others that I needed to learn in a classroom, such as math and physics. I would have had no parental supervision at home -- both of my parents worked. The kids who succeed will succeed. That's not to say that everybody succeeds in school either.
- Valakas_ 5y ago
  I was in the top 1% both in highschool and college and for me going in person, in terms of learning, was (and still is) a waste of time. I would learn MUCH faster outside of classes. I much prefer a recording of a class which i can watch, rewatch, play at 2x, take notes without stress and note down all my questions, than a regular in person class. The only thing I got from being in person was friends. But that can be achieved in other ways without having to be forced to sit on a class. Group studying is one, and helps a lot in learning. If people choose a course and then don't have motivation for it that's a totally different problem. The problem lies not in tricks to make the person do it anyway, but on them reassessing why they chose that course in the first place. I always had motivation to do my course on my own because I chose it for a reason. And if kids are too young to see why they might want to do this specific course, then maybe the course itself needs to change to be a tiny bit more practical and fun.
mavelikara 5y ago
> A lot of schools have nothing to offer the top 10% of students IMO, the ability to self-study ahead of peers is a defining criteria for being in that top 10%. So, the system is working as designed.
- MattGaiser 5y ago
  But to succeed in the educational system, you have to self study in a way that the system appreciates. That usually requires at least some external guidance. A student who studies the wrong subjects in chemistry gets no credit for that on the exam.
  - whimsicalism 5y ago
    If the school is so easy that you have to self-study to stay engaged, then you don't have to worry about flunking your chemistry exam. This is very different from, say, perceiving school to be "so easy" that you are too advanced for it.
  - daniel-cussen 5y ago
    No, they still get something out of it. If they just study. Study anything, learn anything, actually open a book, it'll pay off in time.

analog31 5y ago

Top 10% of what? I was technically in the top 10% of my high school class, GPA wise. I also got a national merit scholarship, and had learned computer programming. I would simply not have had the self discipline or motivation to learn everything on my own, no matter how good the learning materials were. Oddly enough, even through college, there were subjects that I easily taught myself, such as electronics and programming, others that I needed to learn in a classroom, such as math and physics. I would have had no parental supervision at home -- both of my parents worked. The kids who succeed will succeed. That's not to say that everybody succeeds in school either.

Valakas_ 5y ago
I was in the top 1% both in highschool and college and for me going in person, in terms of learning, was (and still is) a waste of time. I would learn MUCH faster outside of classes. I much prefer a recording of a class which i can watch, rewatch, play at 2x, take notes without stress and note down all my questions, than a regular in person class. The only thing I got from being in person was friends. But that can be achieved in other ways without having to be forced to sit on a class. Group studying is one, and helps a lot in learning. If people choose a course and then don't have motivation for it that's a totally different problem. The problem lies not in tricks to make the person do it anyway, but on them reassessing why they chose that course in the first place. I always had motivation to do my course on my own because I chose it for a reason. And if kids are too young to see why they might want to do this specific course, then maybe the course itself needs to change to be a tiny bit more practical and fun.

mavelikara 5y ago

> A lot of schools have nothing to offer the top 10% of students IMO, the ability to self-study ahead of peers is a defining criteria for being in that top 10%. So, the system is working as designed.

MattGaiser 5y ago
But to succeed in the educational system, you have to self study in a way that the system appreciates. That usually requires at least some external guidance. A student who studies the wrong subjects in chemistry gets no credit for that on the exam.
- whimsicalism 5y ago
  If the school is so easy that you have to self-study to stay engaged, then you don't have to worry about flunking your chemistry exam. This is very different from, say, perceiving school to be "so easy" that you are too advanced for it.
- daniel-cussen 5y ago
  No, they still get something out of it. If they just study. Study anything, learn anything, actually open a book, it'll pay off in time.