Education Changes

LostintheCycle

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Let's talk about the ways which we'd want to change the education system, because the education system will always suck and there'll always be something to complain about. Remember that some of what we say may be country-specific. Also nothing about politics or agenda please.
  • Give teachers some freedom in the classroom. The way teachers are forced to teach only what the curriculum says puts a noticeable strangle on classes.
  • Lessen the influence of exam preparation on classes. Most classes end up teaching the bare minimum to get past as well as 'exam tricks'. Why do we need exam tricks at all? That's stupid shit to learn. When there's exams breathing down your neck and then any class that tries to be different is bogus because the only thing you're in school for is the magic number you get from doing your exams, so then doing anything else feels pointless.
  • Basic and relevant medical education in younger kids classes, so that kids can understand what's normal and what's not health-wise, have some awareness of what ways people with some conditions are affected by them, etc.
  • Read more essays! We wrote so many essays but did not read a single one in class. I think that is why most people's essays are so clumsy and directionless. Reading essays would help broaden the student's idea of what an essay could be, and get more students to understand the true purpose of essay writing to refine their approach to them.
  • Get rid of our financial incentive for schools to push students into university. Australian schools get paid based on how many kids they force into uni straight after school, so schools end up fear-mongering a bit. It is a rare type of kid who knows what they want while in high school, so it's stupid for them to think they have to go into it straight away. It doesn't lock you out or benefit you to go straight after school.
  • Australia's Department of Education needs to stop funding private schools. Enough said.
  • Every school is meant to have Australian "literature" and we wind up reading shitty novels that make you want to throw up, written in the last five years by hacks. Not once do we ever encounter Henry Lawson, one of the greatest Australian literary figures, of which there are very few of! This is more of a school-by-school thing I guess, but I went to two different schools and it had the same thing. It's fucking bollocks!
I could probably rail off some more but I think that's a good list as it is.
 
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Junious

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I think one thing that could be improved easily is the actual buildings in which education occurs. The stark utilitarianism of the buildings used inspires no one to do better. Moreover, the poor ventilation and cheap construction materials, cleaning chemicals, and paints degassing likely leads to more brain cell loss than development. High levels of CO2 have been measured in many classrooms, to the point of minor toxicity. I was personally shocked when work brought me into a public high school as an adult. The whole place stunk like a pig sty. The kids were stewing in their own flatulence. What scholarship happens in such a toxic, thought destructive environment? No airflow, no ventilation. Won't somebody please think of the children!?
 
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PizzaW0lf

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I guess this is from a more American perspective but I have actually been thinking about how to solve education. Do you know what would actually be a good class, especially for men? A gun and firearms class. Teach kids what guns are, how to deal with them, shoot at target ranges, and what they are used for. I have a huge feeling that mass shootings would be completely minimized if we did this.

I'm just bouncing ideas.
 
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Miku Simpson

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I think one thing that could be improved easily is the actual buildings in which education occurs. The stark utilitarianism of the buildings used inspires no one to do better. Moreover, the poor ventilation and cheap construction materials, cleaning chemicals, and paints degassing likely leads to more brain cell loss than development. High levels of CO2 have been measured in many classrooms, to the point of minor toxicity. I was personally shocked when work brought me into a public high school as an adult. The whole place stunk like a pig sty. The kids were stewing in their own flatulence. What scholarship happens in such a toxic, thought destructive environment? No airflow, no ventilation. Won't somebody please think of the children!?
In my high school almost the majority of the classes still had asbestos in them and 50% didn't have functioning AC's and heating
they were probably too busy spending all the schools funds on building new STEM labs rather than fixing the buildings they already had
 
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handoferis

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Teach kids basic life skills, like understanding how taxes and employment rights work, how to make sense of bills, what credit is and how to use it properly, how to read news without getting brainpoisoned, etc

Absolutely mental that I got taught a load of utterly useless bollocks at school, and then had to find out everything that I actually needed for my life myself. I wonder why I think of school as prison for kids?
 
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LostintheCycle

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Absolutely mental that I got taught a load of utterly useless bollocks at school, and then had to find out everything that I actually needed for my life myself. I wonder why I think of school as prison for kids?
That's the funny thing for me. I disliked high school when I was in it but I always totally accepted that once I'm out I'd reflect on them as the "best years" and that I won't hate it once I'm out, maybe I'd even miss it. Well, I've been out for a year and I honestly hate it now more than I did then, because when I look back I feel cheated out of valuable time. I didn't even have a particularly terrible high school experience. Now if I ever hear people moan about how high school was better than adult life, I think to myself "Your life must be sad if you peaked in high school". Plus I learned very little; I'm heading into a career in IT, and practically everything I've learned up until now has been on my own instead of from school despite taking every IT subject. Even now I'm taking a course, and I've learned some stuff but not very much. It's still like high school in a lot of the ways it shouldn't be.
 
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Miku Simpson

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I also agree with the sentiment that it was time wasted, I feel like from years 9 to 12 we could have easily had valuable units about real life things that we would have to end up learning anyways, off the top of my head
-there could have been an extra curricular on driving saftey and preparing kids to get their learners, and even for the kids to get their hours up with an instructor if they don't have family members or cant afford an instructor otherwise
-we could have properly learned the electoral system and how to vote (in Aus it's basically mandatory to vote so we should may as well learn what the hell voting is beforehand)
-If there were students interested in going down a self business route our career guidance counselors could have taught students about registering businesses (ABN), what courses either in Uni or TAFE would be the best to go into, what the average wages are and to make sure you don't get screwed over by contractors
-credit scores (still barely know how those work
-Even just having a higher focus on small stuff like basic food saftey, how to report your tax income or even learning about that stupid mandatory Australian census

As far as I know my high school didn't do squat other than keep funneling students down into University courses they couldn't afford and didn't even want to do. They all feel sort of nit picky but it is things like this which suddenly just got sprung onto everyone out of nowhere.
And they're far more important than writing about symbolism in a fictional novel or staying up all night studying for an exam which has little dictation over my future as an adult. And I think there is a bit of sadness to it too, because i feel like the school system has made me both bored and resent certain things like reading essays or even reading those little plaques that they put next to pieces of art in galleries. It's probably to do with the hours and hours of cramming and writing and frustration I would get having to intake all that information, to a point where now I honestly struggle greatly to find enjoyment in reading essays or a lot of non fiction works admittedly, it's completely sucked out the fun.
 
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handoferis

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That's the funny thing for me. I disliked high school when I was in it but I always totally accepted that once I'm out I'd reflect on them as the "best years" and that I won't hate it once I'm out, maybe I'd even miss it. Well, I've been out for a year and I honestly hate it now more than I did then, because when I look back I feel cheated out of valuable time. I didn't even have a particularly terrible high school experience. Now if I ever hear people moan about how high school was better than adult life, I think to myself "Your life must be sad if you peaked in high school". Plus I learned very little; I'm heading into a career in IT, and practically everything I've learned up until now has been on my own instead of from school despite taking every IT subject. Even now I'm taking a course, and I've learned some stuff but not very much. It's still like high school in a lot of the ways it shouldn't be.
People whose lives peaked in high school are the people that go home from work and stand behind the door until it's time to go back to work. Literally the only bit of being in school I enjoyed was not paying bills, but that's nothing to do with actually being at school and everything to do with being a minor at the time.
-credit scores (still barely know how those work
-Even just having a higher focus on small stuff like basic food saftey, how to report your tax income or even learning about that stupid mandatory Australian census
1. credit scores are intentionally vague so they can just fuck you for any reason they like, hard to teach that
2. lol mandatory census. we had that in 2011, i refused to fill it out, they came to the house, i just told them i didn't have a name and wasn't authorized to talk to them and they got super butthurt and eventually went away
 
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eve

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I think one thing that could be improved easily is the actual buildings in which education occurs. The stark utilitarianism of the buildings used inspires no one to do better. Moreover, the poor ventilation and cheap construction materials, cleaning chemicals, and paints degassing likely leads to more brain cell loss than development. High levels of CO2 have been measured in many classrooms, to the point of minor toxicity. I was personally shocked when work brought me into a public high school as an adult. The whole place stunk like a pig sty. The kids were stewing in their own flatulence. What scholarship happens in such a toxic, thought destructive environment? No airflow, no ventilation. Won't somebody please think of the children!?
second this, the actual physical schools are a HUGE part of the education process. What it ultimately all boils down to is, still, money. (sadly)
Whether there isnt enough of it, or its just not being managed correctly, no matter what, almost every single public school without fail always seems to miss the mark when it comes to the buildings itself.
 
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Orlando Smooth

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A gun and firearms class. Teach kids what guns are, how to deal with them, shoot at target ranges, and what they are used for.
This used to be a thing decades ago, especially in more rural areas. My parents are old enough to remember a time when guys would come to school with guns in gun racks on their trucks so that they could immediately go hunting after school. If someone in my class had've done that (and I went to school in the same district as my parents) they would have immediately been arrested and charged - understandably so given how the world has changed since then. Also keep in mind that most of the kids who would've been doing this in my parents generation were likely bringing home dinner for that night/week, these were not privileged kids who just wanted to run around in the forest after school.

And yes, firearms education tends to eliminate both the extreme fear and the extreme carelessness that people have towards guns in America today.
 
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I like this thread and I wish to contribute it but I have today so I'll make brief for the time work being. I'll make a more serious one later.

In a nutshell: get rid of school unions, remove the board of education, encourage school choice, and have local governments to decide on what should be taught in school. Basic education is what everyone wants for new generations of people and a call for transparency in public schools too putting especially bad teachers under scrutiny.


View: https://youtu.be/WH4MkHcG8n0
 
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Jessica3cho雪血⊜青意

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As a 2E student, and someone who hyperfixates, I would entirely focus any education reformation campaign on a fluid approach education system. One wherein the needs of individual students can be addressed and managed at an appropriate time, place, and in an appropriate manner.

Proposed Concepts:
• Teachers should be trained in both general education as well as a specialized method of teaching
- Classroom rosters should be organized by general disability/capability metrics with teachers specialized in the appropriate methods of education for the group
• Greater public funding should be allocated to teacher resources, including material and education opportunities for maximizing success in the classes demographic
• General life skills courses should be made readily available and mandatory, with focus on addressing particular challenges a demographic may face in learning those
• Standardized testing should be seen as a tertiary metric, only used in conjunction with a greater breadth of social and cognitive tests
• Standardized success and graduation metrics should be replaced with a more fluid system, based on both a demographic's disability/capability, as well as field specific metrics, such as ability to perform efficiently in a work like environment pertaining to the demands of that career/field of work.
 
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Jessica3cho雪血⊜青意

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1. credit scores are intentionally vague so they can just fuck you for any reason they like, hard to teach that
Credit Scores are actually really easy. Its entirely based on a debt-to-credit ratio. The higher your credit and the lower your debt, the quicker your score will raise. There are also number of accounts and length of accounts, but those are almost entirely irrelevant in the equation, unless you only have 1 very small credit account.
 
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Orlando Smooth

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There needs to be a balance between personalized education and standardized measures.

I recently read a story about a scandal where teachers were inflating high schooler's grades in order to show "district improvement" and secure more funding from the state. This shows the perverse incentives teachers and districts face because their funding is often based on statistics that do not capture reality. But at the same time, there does still need to be some sort of standardized exams so that people who evaluate students (colleges, employers, etc.) can actually understand the quality of candidates. The key is to create incentive structures that do not promote "teaching to the test" or other such ass backwards policies.
 
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Junious

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Have schools been taken over completely by special interest groups? Standardized testing makes federal control of curriculum our reality. The federal government has certainly been taken over by special interest groups, hence the frequent disputes over history curriculum in particular. Who's version of history is taught? Corporate influences abound. I remember the name "Jostens" far better than almost anything else I learned at school. Why? Because they were the company that made yearbooks, class rings, cap and gowns, etc that chose to heavily advertise their presence despite a monopoly on what was sold. Channel 1 and CNN have taken over what is considered "news" in the classroom by "donating" federal curriculum conforming classroom material and activities. Viewing these materials is made mandatory, and in my case were integrated into the homeroom period so there was no opting out, as that was when attendance was taken. In a curious, 1984-like twist, my homeroom period had the viewing of the news immediately following the pledge of allegiance, which I also see as an infiltration by the security state into the classroom. Pledge loyalty to your country and then watch the approved news -- priming for conformity to the desired ethos. The military seeks employees freely at American schools, and are even integrated into the curriculum through JROTC programs and asvab testing during school hours. Many examples exist of corporations being given unfettered time in schools to "recruit employees" during which time they generally advertise their product. What time is left for education between this bombardment of young minds by the psychological warfare of advertisement and conformity inducing exercises? I believe the whole system needs to be torn down and rebuilt. It is completely toxic.
 
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bnuungus

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Credit Scores are actually really easy. Its entirely based on a debt-to-credit ratio. The higher your credit and the lower your debt, the quicker your score will raise. There are also number of accounts and length of accounts, but those are almost entirely irrelevant in the equation, unless you only have 1 very small credit account.
That's not entirely true because in order to even have a credit score in the first place you need to go into debt, so it can't be that simple. Also what is credit exactly? I thought it was borrowed money. So by necessity if you have a high credit on your card one month you are in more debt right? Also I heard somewhere (haven't verified it) that your credit score will increase faster if you don't just pay off your credit card all at once at the end of the month but rather pay it off in increments during the month. Also I just remembered how you will lose credit every time a company looks at your credit score. How the hell does that even work? You sound like you know a lot more than me on this subject but it also seems like your original proposed answer is over-simplifying things.

Me personally I just forget about my credit score and it tends to just go up so I leave it at that.
 
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Orlando Smooth

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That's not entirely true because in order to even have a credit score in the first place you need to go into debt
This is objectively false, unless you somehow consider using a credit card and paying the bill in full and on time to be "going into debt." Having a large but responsible debt (e.g., a mortgage) that you reliably make full payments on will certainly boost your credit score, but it's not at all a requirement for getting a credit score.
 
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bnuungus

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This is objectively false, unless you somehow consider using a credit card and paying the bill in full and on time to be "going into debt." Having a large but responsible debt (e.g., a mortgage) that you reliably make full payments on will certainly boost your credit score, but it's not at all a requirement for getting a credit score.
credit cards literally are going into debt for a short time. The whole point of them (originally anyway) is to be like "oh I can't pay this right now so I'll pay you back at the end of the month when I have my paycheck." Nowadays it's pretty much required for you to use a credit card just so you can boost your score so you can go into more substantial debt at a later date, but credit cards are a mini form of debt.
 
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