The Point of education

[blahblah18]

Well as I"m sitting here racking my brains to try and finish my last take-home final, I was just wondering about the state education has become in the world. Does it really serve any asthetic purpose anymore? Do people actually learn for the sake of learning? How much has colelge merely become vocational training rather then the bastion of learning that it was meant to be, and do we blame the makeup of society or our own ambitions for this?

[jewpinthethird]

RE: The Point of education

We (my friends and I) discussed this in Philosophy Club. Basically we came to this conclusion:

In a capitalist society, one only attends school inorder to get good grades, so they can get into a good college, so they can get a good job, so that they can earn the most money. Think about it, have you ever met anyone who was enthusiastic about going to school to learn? If you have, then consider yourself lucky, they are very rare, and you should probably vacuum bag them and stick them in a chest for the next 20 years so that you can sell them on eBay for a fortune.

[Tasselfoot]

RE: The Point of education

Tass thinks blah should go back to typing class.

But, i do agree with you completely. both of you. i had 2 finals today, 1 tomorrow, and 1 next week. i have yet to open a book. i haven't been to class in a month, nor done a homework assignment. i will pass every class with at least a C+. i will graduate. i will get an average job (not a great one, because my grades do suck). i will make plenty of money. i will open my own business. i will make more money.

Tass is a very happy boy. i understand the choices that i make now affect my life later, and i am content with those decisions.

[Squeek]

RE: The Point of education

I want someone to explain something to me. Actually, a few things. Hopefully you can give a better answer than Kefit.

1) Why is math a required course for Computer Science majors?

This one bothers me the most. Why am I taking a class where I am forced to memorize insanely useless functions and such without the aide of a calculator just to pass? If I'm a COMPUTER programmer, you don't think I could possibly ever look up the functions on the intarwebs should I ever need it? (which I won't, by the way).

2) What's the point of paying $2,000+ a semester if you know more than the professor?

My CS teacher is not at all intelligent. She lectures on (reading from a powerpoint slide every time, which has its own set of errors) and tells the class incorrect information, then gets mad at me when I correct her. Look, you can't be a college professor and teach students incorrect information. That's just wrong. She can't even operate a computer right. It bothers me so.

Also, just as a rambling side-note, she decided it was better to use this really old camera projection thing to write things with her crappy handwriting instead of using, oh, I don't know, WORD? Or better yet, the actual programming SOFTWARE?

3) Why are CS classes still doing things by hand?

Ok, seriously now, we are a COMPUTER Science class. That means we use COMPUTERS to code things. We do not write them out by hand. It's also completely unimportant to learn all these useless concepts she tries to teach us. Instead of teaching the class code, she taught them all the other aspects of Java that don't matter. Most of the time, even that information was wrong.

I can't remember the rest. I had two finals yesterday, followed by work until closing. I have my last one today and I've not prepared for it at all.

~Squeek

[Tasselfoot]

RE: The Point of education

Squeek... perhaps you should speak with the head of the department or the dean regarding your professor and the matierial in the class.

obviously math is a foundation in any computer based job. just because calc itself isn't directly applicable doesn't mean that there aren't purposes for it or uses for it. there are. also, its college. they want you to have a well rounded education

lastly, perhaps you should transfer to a better institution of higher learning. i've had a few professors that don't know how to teach, but i've yet to have one that doesn't know the material down pat. then again, my classes are more than $5000 each.

[GuidoHunter]

Re: RE: The Point of education

have you ever met anyone who was enthusiastic about going to school to learn?

I absolutely love learning, though the grades part kind of gets in the way of all that. That and required classes. But yeah, I am always excited to start a new semester and learn all sorts of new and awesome things. Math and science blow me away with their awesomeness.

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com

[jazzmosis]

RE: Re: RE: The Point of education

Psych Exam tomorrow that I'm probably going to fail. One chapter of 8 is worth nearly 50% of the mark, so I've only studied that chapter. I figure if I can get 70% on that chapter, then I only need about 20% on the rest of the exam to pass.

It's multiple choice, with 5 answers to each question. For some reason the prof is giving us 5 "gimme" marks on the exam, which leaves me with a need to only get 8 marks total out of the remaining 28 questions. And given probability of just guessing, (20% chance to get it right), I should end up with about 55% on the exam all from knowing one chapter.

Wish me luck on my crackpot "studying is unneccessary" theory.

I put more effort into figuring out this formula than I did studying for everything. For me, if I like a subject (1 of the 5 I'm taking) than it doesn't feel like learning because I enjoy it (Film). Otherwise I don't care and I don't do the work because if I'm not ever going to persue it, there's no point in me knowing it.

[blahblah18]

RE: Re: RE: The Point of education

I like our CS department, I don't like math now that I"m doing abstract theory :/

[jewpinthethird]

Re: RE: The Point of education

have you ever met anyone who was enthusiastic about going to school to learn?

I absolutely love learning, though the grades part kind of gets in the way of all that. That and required classes. But yeah, I am always excited to start a new semester and learn all sorts of new and awesome things. Math and science blow me away with their awesomeness.

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com

Learning is great. I love to learn new things...well, I like to learn new things that I actually care about. I am facinated about Symbolisms in Art, and recent Art History, as well as Astronomy and Philosophy. I would love to take an automotive class, or even Woodshop. However, not one of those courses is offered at my school.

I have a question for those who plan the "California Standards":

You want kids to stop dropping out of school? You want kids to actually look forward to going to school? Yes, I believe a well-rounded education is needed, but the requirements for the High School Exit Exams are 8th grade material...so why the f*ck should I spend 4 years of my life learning stuff I dont ever plan on using outside of school.

When am I going to need to know the structure of an Animal cell if I plan on becoming a mechanic? Why should I be forced to learn Iambic Pentameter if I am going to become a carpenter? Why should I be forced to take 2 years of PE if I plan on becoming a Writer? What good is the quadratic formula going to do me if my goal is to become a concert pianist?

Course requirements are stupid. "No Child Left Behind" is a stupid program that causes more trouble then it solves (basically schools get less money if they score poorly, where is the logic in that?). Little kids dont want to be constantly tested.

Schools need more funding so that more courses can be offered.

[The_Q]

RE: Re: RE: The Point of education

My views on school:

It's like the market, natural selction on steroids. Through school you will meet many people: those who are intelligent and work hard, those who are intelligent and slack off, those who are average and overachievers, those who are average and underacheivers, the truely stupid who overacheive (Girl in my chem class doesn't know how to spell chemistry but somehow gets B's), and the stupid who don't do anything.

Through showing how much work and effort you produce, as well as your intellect and resourcefulness, you get your grades. Of course, you don't get grades over things like lunch (which is an important thing to grade. Watching how someone spends money instead of time is just as important) or recess. Those who get good grades move to better schools where the process renews itself. The great minds and overacheivers manage to float to the top and the unfortunately stupid and lazy manage to sift down to the bottom. Over and over.

As a capitalist I think that the whole system would work better if all schools were not government funded at all. As a capitalist, I would say that it is my duty to acheive the highest rung on the ladder and exploit that position to my best abilities. As a realist, I know that won't happen at all. Instead, I choose to live where I land, show my colors, and end up making just more than Tass. How? I hope to become part of the natural selection process. Wouldn't you love me as a teacher?

Q

[Tasselfoot]

RE: Re: RE: The Point of education

so your goal is to make more than me? <3

[blahblah18]

RE: Re: RE: The Point of education

so is mine actually... its what i thought when i read your post

[Tasselfoot]

RE: Re: RE: The Point of education

aight.... ITS ON!!!

[evilbutterfly]

RE: Re: RE: The Point of education

I have a very objective view on learning. As little of my college education as possible will be wasted on stuff I won't need. Hopefully I'll get enough AP credit to test out of the basic requirements. Then everything I take will be geared towards game-making.

Obviously I'll take programming, but I may also take some music theory classes and such so I can compose some good game melodies. I might even take like, military strategy classes or something, just for the hell of it. I wanna be good at what I do, not know a bunch of useless facts and read what some famous guy wrote in some famous book.

[Jpec07]

RE: Re: RE: The Point of education

What is the state of education? When I first read this, I thought it was a mimicry of this year's LIONS Club Essay.

Education today does not mean as much to our (teenagers) generation as it did in the past. If you poll most people, they will probably say that they don't enjoy school, and that they wish they didn't have to go. Why is this? Part of it tells me that highschool drama has a lot to do with the decline in the desire to learn. Teenagers' lives are so flooded with social crap that they aren't able to maintain a consistent desire to learn. Sure, every few weeks a teen will suddenly remember how much fun learning actually is, because in spite of it, learning is fun. Why are people so unwilling to learn? What drives this distaste for school? For one part, the social structure of schools causes so much pressure, with the desire to fit in, the pressures of having the right clothes, the right music, and saying the right words, the whole spectrum of teenage emotions running high, and the inevitable concept of the clickes (sp?). In truth, the pressure of school is what drives students' interests away, not education itself. If the superficial and meaningless crap could be removed from schools, then learning could abound.