School

As many people know and agree, school isn't the best place on earth. It's almost like a life filler; just something to do to get you kicked out of the house (my parents used to tell me that when i was little ;D). But now as i look at it, i see that it does serve a purpose, no matter how much i hate it. i've never liked school because i prefer messing around and talking to friends than to studying (then again most people do.) It just seems like a general waste of time, and it always has felt that way even if i know for sure i am learning there. maybe it's the environment? Or the fact it's so long?

I know school isn't the same everywhere, neither are the classes, teachers or policies. That's why I decided to ask you all what your own school is like or was like. Same to you college people~ Is it a drag? What do you like/dislike about it? any interesting stories to share on it?

I started school last wednesday (i know some of you started early or haven't started at all yet) and it's not the most terrible thing, but I'd still rather be doing something that felt like it was helping me. My classes are a writing class (which i dominate at), a PE (physical education), anatomy and physiology (Study of body and functions), US history ( it sucks), honors german three, and adv algebra 2.

as for weird experiences, my school installed a new security desk at the front where you have to show your ID to get in. You also can't enter through any other the part of the building (which makes like 15 other doors useless now. tyvm school officials =_=) and also some dude snapped last friday and started pounding on the walls in one of the halls, screaming obscenities about there being a bomb in the wall. he got dragged away by teachers, still screaming and shouting about it. It was kind of weird. Other than that not much to report~

 

I loved US History

School is boring, but needed. Imagine where we would be today if we didnt learn about science or math. This site would never have existed (NOO), and we would still be living in caves hunting the wild beasts of the plains and forests.

The new security measure seems unneeded, it wasn't used when I was at your school (me and kurai are related since I know some ppl dont know that), and we never had any problems. It doesnt make sence to have the check-in desk only at the main entrance since busses dont drop off kids at the front, but on the side.

 

I thought that, too. But, if you look at it, we could learn at home and by ourselves. I agree school is required but jeez, what a waste sometimes, because half the time people are held back from their true potential because of their peers or because they cannot learn from a certain teacher. That happened to me, before. When i was a freshman i got Cs in math because the teacher was terrible and gave me no incentive to learn. My sophmore year I got As in math because i liked the teacher and i better understood what she said. I forgot some things going to this year though, so it makes me sad

And eon, I think it was because of the bomb threat last year. And yeah, we have to go around through the front, or there's that one back door that leads to the front, you can go through there too, but you still have to be checked at the front to make sure you have IDs and such. It's really dumb, because people who really wanted to get in would forge IDs for Christ Sakes. this is just a waste of time, since they only check to see you have it, not to check your name or picture or anything.

 

Hmmm


Im already out of school, So this is the way i see it.

School is hard? Dont cry about it. Wait until your paying 160 a month for car insurance, 300 for rent and about 69 for a phone bill. And to top it off, Food, gas and other things.

If you think school is hard and boring, wait until after you graduate, your going to miss it so much.


And school is very very important, True it does hold back some potential, however, what good is knowledge if you dont have anything to prove it with?

You know your going to be taken care of by a doctor becuase he has a degree that proves it, or would you want some random guy saying "Hey, i know how to operate, but i never went to school or have a degree for it, but trust me, i have the knowledge."

School is important your High school and College years. It determines who you will be and what you will be able to do after your finished. Most kids do high school, and dont go to college, who passed with a D in all classes, now they are stuck asking themselves what they will do next.

My Sophmore year in High SChool, i joined an internship as a college at there computer services department, Senior year, I was a full fledge tech with 3 years experience and 2 employers to back it up. This year im working at another company that pays me big bucks. Now im attending a tech school going to get that degree that proves i know my stuff.

If your in school, make the best of it. No Papers will get you no paper.

The more paper you got, the more paper your going to get. Keep that in mind.

 

School is a neccessary evil. One of the problems I have is that, at least in Poland, they have you study loads of basically useless knowledge, or something that will only come usefull if you go for related job. I mean, if I'm on math-computers related profile why should I be forced to learn about painters? Great deal of things we have to learn is only really usefull in shows like Millionaire (sp?)
Another thing is way too much theory, too little practical knowledge. Even if I brought something from my physics classes (which I didn't, I hate it with passion), I wouldn't be able to put any of these into practical use. I could probably count on my fingers the number of experiments we did during classes.

To comment on some things. Self-learning at home? No. Some people should be forced to learn things because there's no other way they'd learn anything. And we certainly don't need the average intelligence to drop any more. Sure some people do learn on their own and you can skip the things which don't interest you, but imo there's too high a chance that this just wouldn't work.
Another story is if you could skip classes and just come periodically to test what you've learned. That way you could only spend the neccessary minimum time on subjects you don't like.

IMO children should be exposed to wide range of subjects, but the way it is done they mostly just feel forced into learning things and don't want to have anything to do with them after they're done with the class. Also most teachers either don't help or make things worse. I've had the luck of not encountering anyone that bad, but I do believe that a bad teacher can make one hate a subject he/she would like if it was taught by someone else. That said, teachers should be better paid and educated on how to deal with children. Easier said than done though.

Never had to wear an ID for school, lucky me.

More to come later, if I feel like it.

 

I'm not neutral about my school but a bit more to the 'like'. The reason is that though there are useless things you need to learn, most of it is useful. And if you learn boring things at university then it's your own fault for going there in the first place (if you're not pressured by tuition fees). I'm studying things that I'm interested in, and so I quite like it.

 

I can atest to the fact college/university is much better than high school and more of what they teach you is relevant.

 

"Never had to wear an ID for school, lucky me."

Alot of highschools in the US are begining to do that to add a safety measure to look like they are protecting students, but in reality, it has a limited affect on safety. As kurai said, they are easy to replicate and forge.

At my first high school, the ID was in the form of a regular card that was put in your wallet or purse. Thus it was completely useless in safety terms and was just used as proof of who you are in the lunchline. The only way it effected safety was if teachers did random searches for people's cards, which noone ever did.


At my second high school(the one kurai goes to), it was in a for of a lanyard(worn around the neck). This idea is much better since the ID is actually visible.

However, many teachers dont enforce the rule of making students wear them in the hallways. I actually didnt even wear mine sometimes due to forgetting it or not realizing I wasn't wearing it, and not one person would point it out to me or make me get a temporary one.

As with temporary, that also caused a large hole in the safety feature. If a student forgot thier ID, and didnt have $4 for a new one, they could go to the library and get a temporary free of charge without having proof of them actually being a student. Though this was allowed only 3 times per semester without fines.

 

School is a lot of things. While I don't necessarily love the work involved, it is very necessary and definitely a good thing.

1) You learn relevant stuff. Important so that we don't all grow up to be idiots.

2) You learn non-relevant stuff. At first glance, it is hard to see the point, but it is actually equally important. School is less about learning actual material (especially in stages such as high school) than it is about learning how to think critically. This is a skill that is absolutely necessary for the real world.

3) You learn how to deal with other people. By making new friends and dealing with all the drama inherent in your social life, you gain experience in another important life skill.

Reason #3 you can't get from home schooling, which is why I think public schooling is the best way to go about it. Education is arguably one of the most important elements of life.

I voted "I love it". College is frickin' sweet. I'm upset that I only have one year left... but then it's off to medical school and I really start learning.

 

No knowledge is useless in my honest opinion. Math is stupid at times, but it gives you thought process and evaluation of problems. Math is essential in life. But yeah, if you wanted to learn computers, you wouldnt go to a college that teaches history.

 

I've got 16 credit hours this semmester but Im wondering if I should take Eng 105 now or next semmester

What to you have niner?

 

HAhaha, That is the truth!

 

It's never useless but teaching us geometry thet we are ever going to use is a waste of time they chould have spent teaching us something we are actually goning to use. If I could have not taken geometry but had an extra year of trig I would be so much better off.

Also my state seems obsessed with everyone learning to write a 5 paragraph essay and pounds that strict format into our heads. Once you leave high school you never use it again.

 

I've got 12 credits - the bare minimum. I'm reluctant to say my senior year'll be a breeze, but it definitely won't be as difficult as my first couple of years. I am taking "Biomedical Instrumentation and Design", "Materials Science Engineering", and "Quantitative Physiology" this upcoming semester.

 

During my senior year in HS, our English teacher told us to not use that '5 paragraph' rule since it is practically useless in college or the real world. The 5 paragraph rule should only be used in low level language classes to teach people how to write essays, and not treated as the only right way to write them (right? write? haha! -.- )

 

Bird, MA has the best School system in the USA. How do you think I feel? They stress and test us to death!

Geometry is useful but you wouldnt know it cuase you do it everyday. Like i said, it teaches us process and to think. Geometry is used in alot of today's building structure and CAD. Your house was build using Geometry. The Learning is essential to teach us how to think, how to evaluate and how to apply.

Paragraph writing, dont get me started, i hate it. But If your a big time company CEO or someone up there, You need good communication skills. It would look very bad for you if you emailed your boss saying

Hey, Im not gonna go into work today. As opposed to Hi, I cannot make it to work today due to reasons

And believe me, i hate math and writing, but you cant deny that it is useful for a professional career.

 

Shadow, the way you described 'papers' makes it actually sound good.
The problem I have with papers is that (at least here) they're often even more important than actual knowledge or skills. People with great self-acuired skills can't get a good job, while others who got their papers through cheating, contacts, etc. have it easy.

Also "The more paper you got, the more paper your going to get. Keep that in mind."
Personally I hate it. I mean, it's good that your effort and time put into learning new skills is being rewarded, but the perspective of constant studying is something I can't stand. You go to one school after another, then eventually college and you get a job. Then you still have to take courses, additional studies etc. to remain competitive. Seeing people in their 50s or older going to school makes me sick. Ofcourse this is just me whinning, because the world doesn't work how I'd wish it to. It changes to fast nowadays to just end studying once you leave school.

 

I have 4 years exp in Computer Hardware/Software/Networking. But I can only make so much money since i have no degree. But if i was to have a degree, that adds 4-6 more dollars to my hourly rate. Instead of making 100 a week, i could make 250. (Not my real rate )

But once i have a degree or even certification, my Exp + Degree = $$$

 

That's the problem
Degree > skill

About practical use. I don't know how it compares to others but Polish Highschool end with finals (matura) and pretty much everything they teach you they do with finals in mind. So instead of learning how can I actually make use of those sinuses and cosinuses (other than making pretty graphs), I get to learn that this part of finals will be ABCD, this will be descriptive and here are some example questions from previous years.
In the end everything you learn is how to pass an exam that proves little more than that you're able to pass it.
Okay, sure a lot of these things are revelant and useful in life, the problem is that you have to figure these revelances out all by yourself. Or be smart and go to college >.>

 

I never said learning how to write was bad.
What is bad is they only teach us one way to write and ignore the fact that there are different formats and hat people write differently.


As for geometry not everyone uses it. Geometry is useless to me but I am learning ow to program so it would have been nice to have had some extra time spent on algebra and calculus.