llf@houxz.UUCP (08/09/83)
Thanks to all who responded to my query on makeup and kids. The next question
is what to do if you don't care for the private schools either?
It's not that I have anything against anyone, I'm really just curious as to
the options available. Not only have I never read a good many of the books
considered to be representative of "literary art in the Western world", but
I would never try to do so. There is just to much to learn! As to other
subjects, I'm even less qualified. However, it seems to me that there are
some large gaps in my education that I am VERY slowly starting to fill in.
It would be nice if some of those gaps were filled in by the educational
system. Mostly, I'm thinking of things like world history, not Egyptian-
Greek-Roman-Western history, but India, Africa, South America, Russia, China
(Canada and Mexico, for that matter) etc? Some of my friends from China can
rattle off 3000+ years of history and philosophical development in China, plus
an extensive smattering of Western history. Come to think of it, my background
in American history is pretty poor too. I have had many (read at least four)
classes that started with the American Revolution but never finished it. Same
goes for early Greek history. And they were all 'mandatory'. I've learned
about the Depression, WWI, WWII through the newspapers and TV. Naturally,
that information is not complete.
I think the educational system (both public and private) is an inefficient
teacher. What do you think?
LyndaF
houxz!llfraf@hopd3.UUCP (08/09/83)
It's interesting to me that you (Lynda Feng) are not too crazy about your education, but in the area of liberal/social arts! One of my pet complaints is the inadequacy of my education but in different areas all together: 1. They never taught me how to apply for a job 1a. They never taught me how to write a resume 1b. They never taught me how to interview 2. They never taught me how to pick out a lawyer 2a. They never taught me how to recognize when I needed one 3. They never taught me how to pick out a doctor 3a. They never told me what kind of doctor was for what 3b. They never spoke to me about the merits of acupuncture or chiropractics, or yoga. 3c. They didn't teach me Tai-Chi 4. They never told me about insurance of any kind 5. Marraige, not a word 6. Being a parent, nothing. 7. Investing, nope. 8. Dealing with death - what's that got to do with education right? 9. Mental attitudes...correct thinking...self programming. 10. Politics, dealing with your representatives 11. Paying taxes, and not paying taxes 12. Career futures 13. Buying a car 14. Credit 15. The military. 16. How to talk to a policeperson. 17. How not to be a biggot/racist/chauvanist 18. Why are we here Oh I could go on and on. I was a teacher, and I know it's not easy to be one. But when I consider some of the subjects I had to take, and what they've done for me, as opposed to what I've had to learn myself it seems as though I was forced to waste a lot of time. Ron Flannery
laura@utcsstat.UUCP (08/10/83)
Here is 'my theory which is my own' about schools. They are founded on the premise that it is possible to teach people things. This may be the wrong way to think of the problem. It is possible to learn things, but whether a teacher can force a reluctant learner to learn any particular thing is moot. These days, my mother (a teacher) is attending seminars on "how to motivate your students" so educators are aware that a problem exists. The public may not, and may still trust the 'divine nature' of schools to succeed in teaching their children. I was never so bored in my life as when I was in grade school. My parents undestood this, and never forced me to go to school. I could list the useful things I learned at school on one hand. My standard procedure was to take home all the text books and do all the exercises in them. This took me until the middle of October. Then I started skipping school. I have learned far more from reading and from going to museums than my contemporaries seemed to know. Travel was also important. My grandfather was a high official for the Canadian Pacific Railway. We would often go on trips to far away places in Canada. Geography is much more interesting if you have been there. Museum curators and zoologists are wonderful people. If you are interested in what they are interested in they will spend their whole day doing what ever they do, and explaining to you all the while. Rabbis and priests (I dont know about Ministers, but I presume they will as well) are other people who will stop and talk to an interested child. The number one problem my parents and I had was that the staggering difficulty I had with my peers would make me some sort of freak. I found that as I got older, my peers matured. Now that I am an adult i seem to have no more problems than anybody else. had I to do it again, i would. I would also discover philosophy a lot earlier than I did. I discovered theology rather early, but missed out on philosophy for some reason. I think that physics, philosophy, zoologyy, theology and history have been most important to me. My little brother also was bored, and he decided to go to what is considered 'the best' private school in Canada. Right now, he knows much more economics and political theory that I do, but his theology is weak. i found that I had to attend high school every day. there was no way that one could just 'do all the exercises'. By this time I had built up a considerable wealth of knowledge though. the only disadvantage that I can see with what I did was that it did not encourage dicipline. I am not very long on discipline to this very day. I would think that only a very curious person, and an intelligent one could benefit from such a system, as well. Good Luck, laura creighton utzoo!utcsstat!laura
sts@ssc-vax.UUCP (Stanley T Shebs) (08/15/83)
Funny newsgroup for this, but what the hey - Sure wish I had the luxury of not going to school! Skipped a grade, but it's not quite the same thing. Eventually, I learned to have two notebooks on the desk, one for the class (just in case) and another for whatever personal project I was working on. It worked all the way through college... stan the leprechaun hacker ssc-vax!sts (soon utah-cs) ps hope the profs at Utah don't see this!