bungalow

this is retarded. if you let a child do whatever they want, they're not going to chose to educate themselves. it takes time to mature to realize the value of your education and until then you begrudgingly endure it. some people realize the importance of education sooner than others, but does it really make sense to let a fourth grader decide what he wants to learn and when? there is a fundamental educational groundwork that has to be established and it has to be forced on kids, they aren't just going to decide to learn it.

also this idea that public schools should be focused on teaching kids what they want to learn about is a little silly too. high school aged kids should not be tailoring their class load for a predetermined career path--very few high school aged kids have any sort of firm idea about what they want to do with their career so to tailor their education around a career path that will likely change dozens of times as they mature and head to college is ridiculous. public schools exist to provide a well balanced education to kids whether they think they want it or not. reform needs to come by way of better trained teachers, a system that is focused on fostering critical thinking and not just passing tests (which usually comes with a good teacher), more money for school systems, etc. and not by letting kids control their own education.

there is no single person of group of people to blame for the failures of the education system in this country--there is blame to go around. parents need to spend more time encouraging their children to learn and open their minds, exposing them to different viewpoints, teaching them to not be judgmental. teachers need to be passionate about the subject they are teaching and hopefully pass that passion on to their students through their enthusiasm (i know i always got more out of a class when it was obvious my teacher/professor was very enthusiastic about what they were teaching) and they also need to be knowledgeable in the subjects they are teaching (sounds like a no-brainer but it's shocking how many gym teachers out there are giving our children history lessons or teaching government classes with no passion or real knowledge of the subject). the teachers also need to be focused on making sure their children understand the material they are presenting and are able to think about it critically--not just memorizing material or having a shallow understanding so that they can pass a test. i think in our public school system it is almost impossible to get a decent education without taking advanced placement or honors courses where your school offers them--college prep classes operate on a standardized system that panders to the lowest common denominator and instead of challenging those people and offering resources to help them they just dumb down the whole system so the greatest number of people can pass. it's a horrible system and having sat through a couple college prep courses in high school i am amazed that kids who have taken nothing but college prep classes have learned anything at all in their years of schooling. it definitely puts in to context and helps me understand how millions of americans couldn't find great britain on a map if you asked them to, or name the vice president. the level of intellectual stimulation in those classes is dismally low and i'm very appreciative of the ap classes i was able to take. in my college prep classes there was very little discussion--no one ever took issue with or questioned anything the teacher had to say. no one offered their own ideas for debate or responded to anyone elses--it was mostly vocabulary words and note-taking from lectures in which the girl's basketball coach simplified the workings of the US government to an elementary level and then gave us ridiculously easy, multiple choice tests every few weeks that he specifically told us would be easy because he wants us to pass (it was a gov class, needed for graduation)--what kind of educating is that?

another problem for many people is our culture of anti-intellectualism (especially where i'm from, the south, but all over the country i'm sure) in which people who are intelligent are viewed as pretentious or arrogant and it is considered 'uncool' to value learning. this mentality is widespread and can be reinforced by parents (if not directly then by the parents' own lack of value placed on education and literacy) and often infects a person for life if they don't snap out of it. as a whole our populace is not very well educated i would say and as a result does not pass a love for learning on to their children, continuing the problem.

i don't know what it would take to make all children (and anyone else for that matter) WANT to learn and actively pursue an education but it certainly isn't just to tell them to learn about whatever they want to learn about. learning independently is important--it is good to have outside interests and hobbies and passions, learning about these things on your own will also help you become a better learner in school, but it is still important to have that general education framework pushed on you because you aren't going to get it otherwise. i think the key to having children want to learn though is good, passionate, knowledgeable teachers. one good teacher can completely change your entire life by sparking an interest in a certain subject within you which leads you to devote your life to that subject--if all teachers were that good i imagine we would be making progress in educating the children of this country.