3 ms·

There's an argument that the role of school is not just to dispense knowledge, but to also act as a gym for the student's brain, teaching and training it how to

There's an argument that the role of school is not just to dispense knowledge, but to also act as a gym for the student's brain, teaching and training it how to process different kinds and structures of information, how to solve different kinds of problems. And I would add that one aspect of this training is the ability to deal with subjects student isn't particularly interested in. With this in mind, I don't see what subject would be safe to sacrifice early in school without danger of crippling some aspect of development. And as for mid-high school, I would imagine specialization is already practiced. High school specialization got introduced in a number of schools in my city in the early 90s - pretty much immediately after the collapse of USSR.

valenterry 4y ago
> And I would add that one aspect of this training is the ability to deal with subjects student isn't particularly interested in. What good does it do? I don't think that you improve the ability to ingest irrelevant information and make them stick. What you can do is to try to trick your brain into thinking it's relevant - but then, why not make it relevant? In the end, we don't learn for nothing, we learn because it should help us. If one can't answer why something would be helpful, then I say: don't teach it. If it is helpful (even if it's in the far future) then find a way to show that relevance right now or find something for which the learning is helpful _right now_ on top of the actual purpose.
- SyzygistSix 4y ago
  It teaches you that you don't just get to do that things you are good at and enjoy, which is an important life lesson.
  - balfirevic 4y ago
    Aren't you going to learn that eventually, out of necessity? But hey, this way you get to start hating the school (including the interesting parts - if there are any left) and you might also get the (incorrect) impression that the only reason you need to do things you don't enjoy is because some assholes decided that you must. Great life lesson.
  - valenterry 4y ago
    I think pretty much every child learns that lesson way before they even enter school.
stared 4y ago
> but to also act as a gym for the student's brain It sounds like a good goal. But in most cases, it is the opposite - based on memorizing facts or applying simple algorithms. These tasks are easy to measure and standardize, and after reducing their difficulty, ensure everyone can pass. It's all incentives for the administration (who are the decision-makers), not - students.

valenterry 4y ago

> And I would add that one aspect of this training is the ability to deal with subjects student isn't particularly interested in. What good does it do? I don't think that you improve the ability to ingest irrelevant information and make them stick. What you can do is to try to trick your brain into thinking it's relevant - but then, why not make it relevant? In the end, we don't learn for nothing, we learn because it should help us. If one can't answer why something would be helpful, then I say: don't teach it. If it is helpful (even if it's in the far future) then find a way to show that relevance right now or find something for which the learning is helpful _right now_ on top of the actual purpose.

SyzygistSix 4y ago
It teaches you that you don't just get to do that things you are good at and enjoy, which is an important life lesson.
- balfirevic 4y ago
  Aren't you going to learn that eventually, out of necessity? But hey, this way you get to start hating the school (including the interesting parts - if there are any left) and you might also get the (incorrect) impression that the only reason you need to do things you don't enjoy is because some assholes decided that you must. Great life lesson.
- valenterry 4y ago
  I think pretty much every child learns that lesson way before they even enter school.

stared 4y ago

> but to also act as a gym for the student's brain It sounds like a good goal. But in most cases, it is the opposite - based on memorizing facts or applying simple algorithms. These tasks are easy to measure and standardize, and after reducing their difficulty, ensure everyone can pass. It's all incentives for the administration (who are the decision-makers), not - students.