High School Education should be simplified and focus on specialization.

Criticism: 1.The benefit that I am trying to reach with my plan for math is not simply to make sure everyone knows how to graph a parabola. Math benefits the brain by making it think in a more abstract numeric way. "That thinking process causes the brain to work, much like a muscle. The more that muscle works out, the better it performs on OTHER tasks." [1] The basic math classes do not get into hard enough math to truly stretch the brain. Math has the benefit of expanding the brain, creating problem solving skills, and educating students on an important subject in modern society. The Pro"s social studies plan will only help create problem solving skills. 2.Because most jobs do not require sales or persuasion skills beyond what most people naturally have, English classes should focus more on reading than public speaking. Everyone can read, no matter what job they have. As I have said before, reading helps stimulate your brain, expand your vocabulary, and increase creativity. 3.The Pro says that his version of science classes would teach important things like the difference between viruses and bacteria, but this would be no more important than chemistry and physics. It is good to be educated about the world around you, including your body, but doctors know everything that is important for your health. Very few non-doctors actually use their knowledge of the difference between bacteria and virus. 4.If we followed the Pro plan, there would only be room for one or two classes of a limited number of subjects. Pro would not be able to offer a large selection of courses and would not be able to develop the classes he does have. Students would either have a very limited field of career classes to choose from, or they would only be able to take one or two years of any class. 5.The Pro says that the cost for college level classes would not be a large increase on the government because the school could just have the teachers teach at a higher level. Once again, he is only transferring the cost, not getting rid of it. You cannot ask more work of the teachers without paying them any more. College professors are paid more than normal teachers for a reason. You cannot expect a teacher to do a professor"s job at their current salary. Also, the government pays for AP classes because there are very few of them. The government would not pay for all classes to be AP. 6.The Pro"s point about an idea not being learned following a student around works against him. In Pro"s plan, the concept not learned would be forgotten, making the class a waste of time. In my plan, building of the concept would allow the student an opportunity to get help and master it. 7.Firstly, I am not proposing that architecture be a required class. Second, all classes that are required will provide a large benefit to the student. In your example of biology, while the student might not enjoy touching dead things, they would gain important information about the world and the human body. Also, I don"t know about your school, but my school allows students to just watch another group if they are unwilling to touch the dissection. Defense: 1.As I have said before, it is not about the specific formulas that are taught in math, it is about the brain development. Math develops the brain in a way that no other subject does. 2.As I said in round 2, the books read in required English classes would be more modern and enjoyable books. I agree that reading Shakespeare would be counterproductive and that is why my plan focuses on books that students will enjoy. Also, most jobs do not require research or presentation. 3.As I have said before, all science is important to understanding the world, including medicine and anatomy. It is important to be educated about the world we live in. Our society is run on technology and science and it is important to understand those things. Also, the classes would go more in depth than saying that gravity exists. 4.Four seems to be getting a bit repetitive, so I"m skipping it. 5.I was under the impression that we were debating the plans presented in round one, not the implied parts that were not in the original plan. Either way, it would not be enough to simply "emphasize computer use". That is like saying we should get rid of English classes and just write essays every once in a while in other classes. In both situations, you just wouldn"t develop the skills needed or learn the important information. 6.As I have already shown, high school with college classes would not be cheaper than college. Also, when you first start at college, most of your classes are usually more general, with a few specific ones mixed in. Because of this, most classes you take before switching majors would still be beneficial for you. This means that you would not be wasting too much money by switching. 7.The Pro says that he wants to get students to decide on career choices before they go to college, but contradicts himself when he says that they already are being prepared. He says "Today, many students are being asked to come up with a list of careers before they reach high school. Then, they are pushed into taking those classes." If this is already happening, then the students would be prepared under both plans. Also, if they are being pushed into taking those classes, then that implies that there are already classes for them to take. Because my plan has everything the same as the current system except for what I specifically changed, then this is true in my plan as well as his. In the Pro"s closing statement, he is once again changing his plan. He did say that his social studies classes would focus on problem solving, but there was nothing about that in his English plan. Because the English part is new and should not be acknowledged as legitimate, the only part of his plan that follows the divergent teaching method is his social studies program. One class is not enough to make an entire education system divergent. I am wining this debate because I have shown how my versions of English and Science classes are more beneficial than Pro"s. I have also shown how the Pro cannot feasibly teach a good selection of career classes without a large cost. Finally, I have shown how it is important to expose students to all core subjects instead of letting them choose which classes to take. 1. http://www.mathmedia.com...