My Opinion/Rant on the World's Education system[Please Read]

[Dank420]

if my parents forced me to do that Good, i would go insane (literally be one of those sociopaths on the news)

 

[RishSA|Imaboss2414]

If I could like this post 100 times I would. Pretty much everything he said is true (coming from a Junior's perspective).

It maybe true but, I'd like to point out a few things.

- Pretty much Anyone who cares about their grades/getting into a good college will take at least 1 or 2 AP/Honors courses throughout their high school career. In fact, some courses are only offered in AP/Honors form, like Calculus.

- I don't take any AP courses yet, (I was a freshman last year) And I hardly had any time to do what I wanted. Every single day I would be packed until 9...... Once again, all of that stress wasn't necessary.

-While all of it is applicable, most people use way less than 10%/will use 10% of that stuff in real life. I don't see me using anything further than maybe Trig(If I'm being generous)

- While shoving you with classes to help you find out a proper career path is the actual purpose, it doesn't exactly work. I remember very well having to study for a bunch of classes which I didn't care about at all. Also, while you may not know exactly what you want to do, most high schoolers can at least narrow it down. Say your sitting throughout a class, and you feel like sleeping/you hate it. You already know what you don't want to do.

 

[Col_StaR]

It started a few weeks ago, when I asked my parents if I could file a utility patent. I created a way to make swimming goggles impossible to leak along with easy removal, and nothing like it existed. I also contacted my other friends dad who is the CEO of a fairly big company and has experience doing it, and he said that it would most likely be accepted, and has tons of practical uses. I mean I could license this to one of the big swimming companies like TYR/Speedo, and have a chance of making a lot of money.

I went to my parents about this and they got extremely angry. - They said I was wasting my time because I was doing something that wasn't necessarily "fun for me" or wasn't any thing that would contribute to a successful future, so it was instantly looked down upon. On top of that, my parents decided to take control of my stock portfolio, because I was worrying too much about money, and all I should do was study ,and every now and then have fun.

I was pissed at this moment, because I really thought I could do a lot with this. Then my parents literally decided to tell me my life. "Alright heres how its gonna work. You go to school. Get all A's. Do some sport to up your chances of getting into a good college. Do some science project, and make a club to get into a good college. Get into a good college, then get a good job.

Then I thought over this again. This sort of helped me realize what this world is actually like. You go to school to learn a bunch of crap that you never will lose to go to a school where you learn more junk, and then you go work for someone else. Is that really our world? What happened to pushing innovation, active thinking? Our entire education system is pushing the kids of america to go work for someone else.

I'm not saying that everything we learn in school is useless but a lot of it is. I mean come on. I'm probably never going to use social studies, or calculus in real life. Ever. The only sort of applicable class is Literature/Writing.

On top of that, my parents keep asking me to read these university magazines, and are showing me how all these kids are doing great things, yet when I ask them to do something that has extreme potential, they refuse to let me?

Does anyone know why our education system is like this? Why is it completely useless? I mean I get that some people are fine with working for someone else, but we shouldn't be trained to do that. Can someone help me? Give me some advice? Please if your reading this, at least say something, or give your opinion on this topic. I'm desperate.

Firstly: your parents are idiots, and they don't recognize they're idiots. Any parent who espouses intellect and education should encourage their child to file a patent for a unique design that could be profitable and beneficial in the future. It's like if a child is an Olympic athlete, but their parents are ashamed of them because their child didn't adhere to the diet regimen that they created.

Suggestions:

• Network. Make friends with your friend's CEO dad, and ask him for advice on how he would proceed; he may know some investors who'd be interested in investing into the idea, or he might have some information on where to seek them out.
  
• Make a prototype (if you haven't already) to determine if the idea itself is viable.
  
• Consider crowd-funding the idea if the goggles work as well as they do.

Your main objective right now should be fundraising to pay to file the patent, which is relatively expensive for a kid but going to be incredibly cheap relative to the viability and profitability of the product over its lifetime.

Regarding the topic of the thread, I'm afraid that you're directing your anger and frustration at the wrong target. There are definitely legitimate grievances to be had, but just because your parents are pushing you through their specified albiet-flawed system does not mean the system is, "completely useless". School has its purposes and its problems, but there is no reason why you would be, "desperate" in an institution that you admit to doing very well in.

Everyone who's still in secondary school: of course you hate it, it's school. But you won't learn to truly appreciate what it until you've graduated and realized all that you've acquired while going there. I'm a college student right now, well removed from high school, and I now know that every class I took was essential to me, even if what I took away from it wasn't academic in nature (for example, I was basically teaching portions of my 10th grade World History class because I knew more about the military and political events of the 20th century than the teacher did, but I gained an insight and appreciation for teaching that I never held before).
That being said, no one needs 12 years of English, and all maths past Geometry should be optional for college-bound kids. End math and English at the 9th grade level, and fill the other classes with more practical classes, be it work study, more lab sciences, or a class that will help with mundane-but-crucial things like taking out loans or filing your taxes. I took over 2 years of calculus, and can solve differential equations using power series in my sleep, but I was absolutely lost in knowing what accounts to in which box on what tax forms.

... If you know what you want to do, lets say you want to be an enginner, start learning what you need to know for that job, not spending 16 hours a day because also homework for AP classes on some random crap you dont give a heck about. ....
Do you think Bill Gates needed that trash. No he dropped out of college because he knows what the heck he wanted to do and did it.....

Actually, I'd argue that engineers, especially the softer-science engineers such as social engineers, benefit the most from having a wide-ranging curriculum. Even if they're studying AP art or World History, the best and most inspired engineers are able to take lessons learned from those classes and apply them to their job (e.g. stylish designs for sewer pipes to improve the look of the city, or historical events or cities that offer incite on the best way to approach a social problem). Truthfully, that's why we have general education and all: students who are pigeon-holed into knowing only their topic are less enriched or exposed to the wealth of knowledge and creativity the world offers, and thus are less likely to be as effective as their well-rounded peers. Learning the benefits of general education is something I personally had to do too, and I now support a well-rounded education (I just don't agree with how it's implemented now).

Also, for the record, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard, and he was very well educated and accomplished even before then. Gates did well in school at both his core classes and the general ed classes as well. Considering his love and support for education, I think he appreciated his well-rounded classes.
Perhaps the best example of the benefits of general education in this same vein is Steve Jobs. Here's a quote I nabbed from Wikipedia attributed to Jobs:

"I always thought of myself as a humanities person as a kid, but I liked electronics … then I read something that one of my heroes, Edwin Land of Polaroid, said about the importance of people who could stand at the intersection of humanities and sciences, and I decided that’s what I wanted to do.”

Basically, you get out of education what you put into it. The difficult part is convincing yourself to put yourself into it.

 

[P3num6ra]

School is the biggest waste and is only harming kids. If you know what you want to do, lets say you want to be an enginner, start learning what you need to know for that job, not spending 16 hours a day because also homework for AP classes on some random crap you dont give a heck about. Our education system is trash, throw crap in your head just for some dumb test. Do you think Bill Gates needed that trash. No he dropped out of college because he knows what the heck he wanted to do and did it. He didnt need to be learning some World Geography. -Still an all A student because grounded for year for B's. what bs

Oh my god

 

[Walrus Warrior]

Do you think Bill Gates needed that trash.

Oh dear God not this.
Okay let's just clarify something, Bill Gates dropped out of HARVARD because it was too easy for him, not because the classes were "useless", in fact he knew the classes were very useful but because he already had a thorough understanding of all the topics and no trouble with it he decided to leave. If you honestly think you should just leave school because it is a "waste" and "harming kids" then you need to really think about what you're saying.

To people saying things like how schools are "damaging youth", or are just damaging in general, please understand that schools are extremely beneficial. Yes, there are going to be somethings that you learn that you may not need, but do you really want to isolate yourself from education simply to focus on one single field? What if that field doesn't work out for you? Now what happens? Are you going to go back to high school in your 20's to try and learn some subject that you would have been able to learn about 5+ years ago?

That being said, there is a certainly a stigma around entrepreneurs and how their ideas and inventions can constantly be bashed on and how they're being foolish. Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Bill Gates, these men were all great thinkers but at one time they were called crazy or just plain dreamers. There's a bit of a business ethic, if you will, that goes along the lines of "If it works, run it into the ground". This is certainly the culture we have been building up for decades, and it's a respectable one, but for those who strive to push the envelope and be an entrepreneur then it is not necessarily one to follow.

Regardless, education in school settings has been around for centuries, and education itself has been around since the dawn of man, when parents would teach their infants. It is not something that should be neglected or scoffed at simply because you don't see a use of every detail you learn.

 

[RishSA|Imaboss2414]

Firstly: your parents are idiots, and they don't recognize they're idiots. Any parent who espouses intellect and education should encourage their child to file a patent for a unique design that could be profitable and beneficial in the future. It's like if a child is an Olympic athlete, but their parents are ashamed of them because their child didn't adhere to the diet regimen that they created.

Suggestions:

• Network. Make friends with your friend's CEO dad, and ask him for advice on how he would proceed; he may know some investors who'd be interested in investing into the idea, or he might have some information on where to seek them out.
  
• Make a prototype (if you haven't already) to determine if the idea itself is viable.
  
• Consider crowd-funding the idea if the goggles work as well as they do.

Your main objective right now should be fundraising to pay to file the patent, which is relatively expensive for a kid but going to be incredibly cheap relative to the viability and profitability of the product over its lifetime.

Regarding the topic of the thread, I'm afraid that you're directing your anger and frustration at the wrong target. There are definitely legitimate grievances to be had, but just because your parents are pushing you through their specified albiet-flawed system does not mean the system is, "completely useless". School has its purposes and its problems, but there is no reason why you would be, "desperate" in an institution that you admit to doing very well in.

Everyone who's still in secondary school: of course you hate it, it's school. But you won't learn to truly appreciate what it until you've graduated and realized all that you've acquired while going there. I'm a college student right now, well removed from high school, and I now know that every class I took was essential to me, even if what I took away from it wasn't academic in nature (for example, I was basically teaching portions of my 10th grade World History class because I knew more about the military and political events of the 20th century than the teacher did, but I gained an insight and appreciation for teaching that I never held before).
That being said, no one needs 12 years of English, and all maths past Geometry should be optional for college-bound kids. End math and English at the 9th grade level, and fill the other classes with more practical classes, be it work study, more lab sciences, or a class that will help with mundane-but-crucial things like taking out loans or filing your taxes. I took over 2 years of calculus, and can solve differential equations using power series in my sleep, but I was absolutely lost in knowing what accounts to in which box on what tax forms.


Actually, I'd argue that engineers, especially the softer-science engineers such as social engineers, benefit the most from having a wide-ranging curriculum. Even if they're studying AP art or World History, the best and most inspired engineers are able to take lessons learned from those classes and apply them to their job (e.g. stylish designs for sewer pipes to improve the look of the city, or historical events or cities that offer incite on the best way to approach a social problem). Truthfully, that's why we have general education and all: students who are pigeon-holed into knowing only their topic are less enriched or exposed to the wealth of knowledge and creativity the world offers, and thus are less likely to be as effective as their well-rounded peers. Learning the benefits of general education is something I personally had to do too, and I now support a well-rounded education (I just don't agree with how it's implemented now).

Also, for the record, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard, and he was very well educated and accomplished even before then. Gates did well in school at both his core classes and the general ed classes as well. Considering his love and support for education, I think he appreciated his well-rounded classes.
Perhaps the best example of the benefits of general education in this same vein is Steve Jobs. Here's a quote I nabbed from Wikipedia attributed to Jobs:

Basically, you get out of education what you put into it. The difficult part is convincing yourself to put yourself into it.

A few things first off,

A. Money isn't really the problem, I've earned beyond enough to pay for the patent/it's fees.

B. It isn't an idea, it's a tested prototype and fully works, and I have everything ready.

I'm planning to make this into a business after college, or maybe just license it for now. Either way, I'm probably going to talk to my friends dad about helping me file my patent.

I don't think school is useless. There are just lots of parts that could be made better, and parts that are not needed to make children successful in the future.

Also, for the school topic, what you said earlier about high end math/english is sort of what I was saying. I said earlier, more people don't use calculus, than those who actually do. It isn't really required in the future for most of the population, and shouldn't be essentially mandated down on by colleges/high schools. I don't know why it is like this.

Also, I feel that in some sense a lot of school shouldn't be mandated on memorization based type of things. Cause let's be honest. Most of school is just testing how well you can memorize a pattern on how to solve something, or memorize a fact, and they test you on it.

I feel like it should be pushing you towards learning whatever you need to know in realistic life knowledge that you should obviously know(Like algebra), basic chemistry, standard essay writing, etc. Then you should take classes. Because the way it works right know is weird. For a UC (University of California) College, you are required to go up to an Algebra 2/Trig level and do at least 3 years of math. I'm going to be in Pre-Calculus as a Sophmore, and I've already finished part of Calculus out side of school. In real life, I think the highest level of math most people use is either Algebra, or Geometry(Typically Engineers, Architects, etc.)

And for high end colleges like Stanford, Harvard, Yale, MIT, most people need to have that kind of knowledge to get into the college, even though they aren't ever going to use it.

Oh dear God not this.
Okay let's just clarify something, Bill Gates dropped out of HARVARD because it was too easy for him, not because the classes were "useless", in fact he knew the classes were very useful but because he already had a thorough understanding of all the topics and no trouble with it he decided to leave. If you honestly think you should just leave school because it is a "waste" and "harming kids" then you need to really think about what you're saying.

To people saying things like how schools are "damaging youth", or are just damaging in general, please understand that schools are extremely beneficial. Yes, there are going to be somethings that you learn that you may not need, but do you really want to isolate yourself from education simply to focus on one single field? What if that field doesn't work out for you? Now what happens? Are you going to go back to high school in your 20's to try and learn some subject that you would have been able to learn about 5+ years ago?

That being said, there is a certainly a stigma around entrepreneurs and how their ideas and inventions can constantly be bashed on and how they're being foolish. Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Bill Gates, these men were all great thinkers but at one time they were called crazy or just plain dreamers. There's a bit of a business ethic, if you will, that goes along the lines of "If it works, run it into the ground". This is certainly the culture we have been building up for decades, and it's a respectable one, but for those who strive to push the envelope and be an entrepreneur then it is not necessarily one to follow.

Regardless, education in school settings has been around for centuries, and education itself has been around since the dawn of man, when parents would teach their infants. It is not something that should be neglected or scoffed at simply because you don't see a use of every detail you learn.

First off, that's not why Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard. He dropped out because he wanted to build his company and it was right at the beginning of the technology boom, so he wanted to focus on it.

While he did say somethings that I don't agree with he had a few valid points - AP courses. And also, I believe I said you should get to a certain level of education and then only have to focus on that area. What I'm saying is that it should be "enforced." You shouldn't be mandated to take any class. A lot of the top colleges want to see kids who take lots of AP courses. In fact some courses are only offered in AP form, building up more stress. And a lot of the time, the AP course has material you won't ever use in real life.

 

[TheRealAussie]

In fact some courses are only offered in AP form, building up more stress. And a lot of the time, the AP course has material you won't ever use in real life.

I don't know about your school...but every core class at my high school has the option for either regular or Honors/AP. If you don't like the material then don't take the AP class?

 

[Divining]

Firstly: your parents are idiots, and they don't recognize they're idiots.

Sorry, but this sentence here just made me burst into laughter.

 

[zAlbion_]

 

[SnoopSean]

If you are doing what you know you are enjoying, just keep on pushing for it. It will come to you! I guess your parents took this the wrong way and want you to keep figuring out what to do in the future, when really you already know.

Just keep going for it!