Education - more practical?

[Divinity11]

[Professor]

[Hyperion]

Your argument rests on the presumption that the workforce is all-encompassing and can't be changed. It essentially is an argument of pushing some kids to the back of the class, teaching them to just be another Average Joe. If a teacher thought like that, he or she should be a corporate manager, not a teacher. Your job is to not let kids become machines - and yet the system demands it.

When I have extra time, and when the admins aren't watching, I have the students plan out ideas about finances, small (tech) business ideas, etc. A lot of them enjoy it. Some have even started their own small business ventures because of these activities. And they're not considered the "brightest" kids. By far, it's usually the students who are classified as average. Teachers are more aware of the hidden potential inside everyone than any employer. I don't really like putting my profession on a pedestal because I value doctors and scientists a lot more than some of my peers, but I don't have such a cold view of people precisely because being an educator gets you to see through a lot of the crap. We aren't about crunching numbers to get a profit. (Okay, I lied, nowadays we are. Thanks school reform!) We're about people.

I actually do believe that everyone has a talent or two that if properly nourished can make that person stand out. Jill is an amazing artist with a talent for Victorian architecture. Joe is an amazing physicist. Lilly is an amazing guitarist. Rob is an amazing poet. The "pack" is mostly a social invention. That's the whole fricken' problem. We have business-minded people with no experience in education trying to fix the education system.

The curriculum we currently consider "pre-AP" and "AP" should be the curriculum for the majority of American students by the time they graduate. Plus they should have basic programming and designing skills. Plus they should understand basic finances and health. If you don't think it's possible, you have no business trying to decide education policy. You're just going to lower the bar further to make things look pretty with numbers.

[fstarcstar]

[Professor]

[Divinity11]