Thread: Don't Stay in School

I was taught how to apply for a job, how to prepare for an interview, and how to write a resume all on my 4 years of high school English... Including the two years of AP Literature I took my junior and senior years of high school. I was taught how to pay taxes as part of the 'personal finance' unit in my required Economics class senior year. In fact Economics was also about where money came from, how it's used by the government, and how to use your own money... Including how stocks worked, taking out loans, how banks work, etc. I was taught how and why we should vote in my required US and Texas Government class, as well as all of my 3 years of high school History classes. It covered major policies of both political parties and also how to realize and form your own political beliefs. Current events were always part of my high school curriculum, and not even just in history andor politics. I had to research and understand current events in STEM fields as well. Granted, no, I was not taught all the laws of the country, but I was taught the ones that were considered the most relevant for the American public to know. Basic first aid is generally taught as part of a required health class in high school. That health class also covers major diseases, sexually transmitted and not, and it also covers sex ed, drug use, and the cost of parenting. I almost always had life-application problems in my math and science classes, even in my AP Calculus and AP Chemistry classes my last two years of high school, which are generally not taught so you learn anything, but so you pass a long-ass exam at the end of the year for which you're supposed to earn college credit. Math is a universal language that can applied to literally everything in life... the language we use to understand the phenomena of life population models, epidemiology and biostatistics, knowing how much money you owe after interest has accrued on your student loans for 'X' amount of years, figuring out how much a shirt will cost after a 30 markdown and tax, figuring out how much materials to buy if you want to build something with specific dimensions. Mathematical applications are endless. This all being said, I went to an American public school, which many consider to be a pretty shitty school system, and I was in a state that doesn't have too hot of scores either. I wouldn't say my education was wasted. Even though the goal of public school now is to prepare students for college and higher institutions, there are still valuable things to be learned. It's about giving you the tools to do things for yourself. You want to relearn how to do taxes? Congratulations, school taught you how to do research and how to do simple math. You want to learn all the laws of the United States or whatever country? Congratulations, school taught you how to research and how to know which sites were reliable and offered quality information. You want to learn how to write a resume or business letteremail? Congratulations, school taught you all that and even taught you how to write properly, so that you don't look like an ass when you write to potential employers. School is not meant to hold your hand in life, and so many people walk away from school--public and private--knowing critical thinking and problem-solving skills that can be applied to other areas of life. Having said this, I am the first to admit that there are several things wrong with the American education system not really with the content of the material that is taught, but particularly with how the material is taught and tested. The original goal of university was to provide you with the opportunity to be educated. It was your chance to tailor your education to what you wanted to do in life, giving you the opportunity to be more inquisitive with what you learned and took away. Unfortunately, bachelor's degrees are often being treated almost like a technical school, where there are courses you have to take because that's the job you're going to do for the rest of your life. Not that technical schools are bad in fact technical school graduates often rake in the cash, woo!, but university is not meant to be a system for going into skilled labor. It's supposed to give you the basis for further learning in the career field you eventually want to work in. There is no chemistry major who is going to know how the chemical industry operates upon graduating that is something they learn when they actually work for one. But having the degree in chemistry means they are able to understand what they need to learn on the job. There is no university student that exits knowing any real skills, because that's not what university is supposed to be for. It's supposed to foster a mind for critical thinking. It's supposed to let you learn what YOU, as a student, want to learn so you can use those skills and general knowledge of your studies of choice and apply them to your career of choice. I'm fortunate enough to be attending a university that is consistently one of the best in the world by both academics and research, and that's the culture that is bred here. I do, however, know that culture is not bred everywhere, BUT I think it's possible to still take that way from any higher education if you're willing to put in the effort in school. Are you there to really learn and expand your understanding of the worldlife, or are you there to fuck around and have a good time? Coldchaos I'm also from Texas, so I know you had all of the things I had. I feel the exact same way as you do.