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heidzo63 · 10-30-2006, 08:33 PM

Our idea of a "school system" and "learning" is completely backwards. What good is memorizing information if all you're going to do with it is regurgitate it on a test? I've had teachers who've let us memorize formulas 2 seconds before the test, hand out the test with some scratch paper, let us write the formulas on the scratch paper, then just use that on the whole test. I know after memorization like that, I've forgotten it within a month. This is NOT learning, it's NOT knowledge- it's having bits of information and then just spitting them out at the teacher. What we really need to learn is application. We don't just need to know- we need to know why. Instead of memorizing kinematic equations on a test his freshman year, by brother just knew the postulates and derived the equations he needed on each test. My teacher never taught us the postulates of equations. We're just supposed to memorize them. Not only is memorization useless, grades are also arbitrary. If I asked a fellow high school classmate, "Why do you want to know ____?" nearly all of them would answer "So I can get a good grade on the test. " "Why do you want to do good on the test?" "So I can get a good grade in ____ class." "Why do you want to get a good grade?" "So I can graduate from high school." "Why do you want to graduate from high school?" "So I can get to college." "Why do you want to get to college?" "So I can get a job." "Why do you want to get a job?" "So I can get money and not be poor." Pretty much, we want to get good grades because we want to get rich. What are grades a measure of, anyways? It sure isn't a measure of knowledge or intelligence. Anybody could get good grades-it's a measure of meticulousness, perfectionism, and how many hours you spend each night doing busywork.
We really have a lot to improve in our schools.

10-30-2006, 08:33 PM	#33
heidzo63 FFR Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 4	Re: School systems in America. Our idea of a "school system" and "learning" is completely backwards. What good is memorizing information if all you're going to do with it is regurgitate it on a test? I've had teachers who've let us memorize formulas 2 seconds before the test, hand out the test with some scratch paper, let us write the formulas on the scratch paper, then just use that on the whole test. I know after memorization like that, I've forgotten it within a month. This is NOT learning, it's NOT knowledge- it's having bits of information and then just spitting them out at the teacher. What we really need to learn is application. We don't just need to know- we need to know why. Instead of memorizing kinematic equations on a test his freshman year, by brother just knew the postulates and derived the equations he needed on each test. My teacher never taught us the postulates of equations. We're just supposed to memorize them. Not only is memorization useless, grades are also arbitrary. If I asked a fellow high school classmate, "Why do you want to know ____?" nearly all of them would answer "So I can get a good grade on the test. " "Why do you want to do good on the test?" "So I can get a good grade in ____ class." "Why do you want to get a good grade?" "So I can graduate from high school." "Why do you want to graduate from high school?" "So I can get to college." "Why do you want to get to college?" "So I can get a job." "Why do you want to get a job?" "So I can get money and not be poor." Pretty much, we want to get good grades because we want to get rich. What are grades a measure of, anyways? It sure isn't a measure of knowledge or intelligence. Anybody could get good grades-it's a measure of meticulousness, perfectionism, and how many hours you spend each night doing busywork. We really have a lot to improve in our schools.