Thoughts on school

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TensorMatrix
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Re: Thoughts on school

Post by TensorMatrix »

Rachael wrote:I do plan someday to become a teacher. I'll probably be an old woman when that happens, but I do love helping people and I know the power a teacher can have to make a positive impact on a person's life.
Having worked in a elementary school as an IT support dude and classroom assistant/teaching assistant at the same time i think it's really awesome place to work at once get to know all the people. I mostly helped students (1st to 3rd graders mostly) with ipad stuff and sometimes on regular classes like maths, technical work and english. Seeing them getting better everytime and improving their skills where they previously had problems, is really good.
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Enjay
 
 
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Re: Thoughts on school

Post by Enjay »

I was on a tour of a Uni with my work about 5 years ago and one of the professors told me that these days, Honours is the new Ordinary degree and if you want to be taken seriously, you need a Masters because that's the new Honours.

The real question is why? Is it because more people have degrees so there needs to be some way of still finding those individuals that are the type of people who 20 or 30 years ago had a degree and that put them in a certain position "above" others, as far as some jobs are concerned? Employers still want that same group of people but with so many people having degrees, they've just upped the bar to find the same type of people.

And why do so many people have degrees now?

In the UK, I think Tony Blair's policy of trying to get 50% of school pupils to university is at least partly to blame. I never understood the logic of that one. I mean, most jobs do not need a degree level of education and many people will not want, or particularly benefit from, spending 4+ years at uni to come out and walk into the same job as they could have done 10 years earlier with normal high-school qualifications. All that's happened is they have delayed the day when they start actually earning money. There's nothing wrong with leaving school and not going on to further education if it's the right thing for you and you still have a positive destination.

Why did Blair want so many students? Keep people off benefit? Bragging rights in the international arena? I don't know.

And what about the quality of degrees and students? There is no question in my mind, having worked closely with quite a few university employees, that there are now many degrees where the standard simply isn't that high; where it might be a degree on paper but there really aren't the same levels of academic standards and rigour that you might expect from a degree-level education. So, a school leaver goes on to uni, spends 4+ years doing a degree and comes out the other end having earned almost nothing in that time, probably in debt and with potential employers knowing that the degree certificate may as well be signed by M. Mouse Esquire. And as for my question about the quality of students; more students at university means more unsuitable students at university, more poorly motivated students at university. I know a number of lecturers who have commented that they regularly have discipline issues in lectures of the type that you might expect in a high school classroom. That simply wasn't a thing in the past.
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Zen3001
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Re: Thoughts on school

Post by Zen3001 »

Rachael wrote:I do plan someday to become a teacher. I'll probably be an old woman when that happens, but I do love helping people and I know the power a teacher can have to make a positive impact on a person's life.
you definitely don't want to be a teacher of a class like the one I'm going to right now and I'm pretty sure there are a lot of these out there
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Re: Thoughts on school

Post by crazyflyingdonut »

Wow... These replies are... interesting...
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Re: Thoughts on school

Post by lizardcommando »

All I can really say is that high school wasn't that great for me, but college was better. I had more friends in college and I had the opportunity to help run the college's radio station and had my own show there for a year which was cool.

As far as education and whatnot goes, don't take it for granted. Don't get a useless degree. Take it from someone who made some crappy choices in college. Don't just major in something because "Oh, if I get any degree, I'll get a good job." Those days are over. If you don't know what you want to do in college, just get a practical degree like accounting, business or programming. If you have something on the side you like but still don't want to fully commit to a degree, take a few classes in it for elective credits. You could probably minor in it along with your major degree if you want. Make connections and network with people while you have the chance to in school. It'll come in handy after college for job opportunities. Anyone who is pursuing an art degree of some kind, you're going to have to be 110% committed, especially if you're going for a BFA or MA. You will need to eat, breathe, shit, live art. Don't half ass your work, full ass it. Most importantly, keep an updated portfolio. That is VERY important, especially after college. Otherwise, if you go in to some interview with a crappy, out of date portfolio, you'll be laughed out of your interview.
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Re: Thoughts on school

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lizardcommando wrote:All I can really say is that high school wasn't that great for me, but college was better. I had more friends in college and I had the opportunity to help run the college's radio station and had my own show there for a year which was cool.

As far as education and whatnot goes, don't take it for granted. Don't get a useless degree. Take it from someone who made some crappy choices in college. Don't just major in something because "Oh, if I get any degree, I'll get a good job." Those days are over. If you don't know what you want to do in college, just get a practical degree like accounting, business or programming. If you have something on the side you like but still don't want to fully commit to a degree, take a few classes in it for elective credits. You could probably minor in it along with your major degree if you want. Make connections and network with people while you have the chance to in school. It'll come in handy after college for job opportunities. Anyone who is pursuing an art degree of some kind, you're going to have to be 110% committed, especially if you're going for a BFA or MA. You will need to eat, breathe, shit, live art. Don't half ass your work, full ass it. Most importantly, keep an updated portfolio. That is VERY important, especially after college. Otherwise, if you go in to some interview with a crappy, out of date portfolio, you'll be laughed out of your interview.
The Lizardcommando Show! Featuring everything about Lizardcommando, like... bunnies... and ice cream... and crying...
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lizardcommando
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Re: Thoughts on school

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crazyflyingdonut wrote: The Lizardcommando Show! Featuring everything about Lizardcommando, like... bunnies... and ice cream... and crying...
I... Don't know what that means. I was just giving my two cents.
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Re: Thoughts on school

Post by Matt »

I thought that was a spambot until I saw that it was the OP.
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Reactor
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Re: Thoughts on school

Post by Reactor »

School is only fun if you've friends. I had none, so I hated school. Bleurgh.
If you're a loner such as meself, your best bet to...um..."enjoy" school to some degree is to commit various mischiefs. Back then in elementary, I was a regular and dauntless rogue. Hell, if only you'd know how much trouble I caused! The period of the secondary school was much more insignificant, as most guys were in going to parties and heavy drinking, thinkin' that this makes them MANLY men. Of course I didn't fit in, I never wanted to.
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Re: Thoughts on school

Post by wildweasel »

A thing I've found about school is that, once you're out of the "compulsory" part of school (i.e. high school level), you start finding that the classes are generally much more willing to be there. Instructors actually know their subjects, students have a desire to learn instead of slacking through the whole class and being disruptive, and overall it's an environment much more conducive to learning the things you want to learn. That was my experience through college, anyway. Loved the actual classes (most of the time), but could really do without the $19,000 debt...
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Re: Thoughts on school

Post by crazyflyingdonut »

lizardcommando wrote:
crazyflyingdonut wrote: The Lizardcommando Show! Featuring everything about Lizardcommando, like... bunnies... and ice cream... and crying...
I... Don't know what that means. I was just giving my two cents.
oh my god you changed your icon and description right when I said that haha
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Enjay
 
 
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Re: Thoughts on school

Post by Enjay »

wildweasel wrote:A thing I've found about school is that, once you're out of the "compulsory" part of school...
Compulsory schooling is a weird one if you think about it. Everyone has the right to an education - I'm 100% behind that - but no one has the right to refuse an education. I've often wondered how it would stand if someone took that to a human rights court or something.
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Re: Thoughts on school

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In the end I think it's better to make education compulsory. Look to America for a good example of what happens when it's even slightly substandard... we really don't need that getting any worse.

Some children may not like it - and that's perfectly normal. But they'll be thankful for it in the end.
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Re: Thoughts on school

Post by NeuralStunner »

Just like properly feeding them is compulsory. And proper discipline should be, too.*


* I don't mean physical punishment - although I don't disagree with that within reason - I mean teaching them to just not be hellions. "Kids will be kids" is bullshit. Strong-willed children do exist, but 90% of it is the parents going "not my problem". If you don't want to be responsible then you shouldn't even have them to begin with...
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Rachael
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Re: Thoughts on school

Post by Rachael »

I know some younger folks are going to hate me for saying this - but trust and believe, that like every other adult, I was a kid once.

Yeah, I had a rough childhood, and I was sick and tired of adults telling me what I could and couldn't do. I felt like school was a prison, and that the whole system was just a system of control, and that it was our responsibility to rebel against it. Even had fantasies of defeating the evil lord that invented school, for the freedom of children everywhere.

But that was before I began to appreciate what those adults were actually trying to do for me. Yeah - they were controlling - because I needed control. I was brave and foolish in ways I could not today imagine, even thinking myself immortal and better than everyone else. (We all went through THAT phase, didn't we?)

But they taught me a number of essential skills - such as how to communicate, and how to read and write - something I cannot imagine being able to live in today's society without. How to do math - so that I can do the complex problems that I enjoy doing in my spare time. The wonders of science - so that I can understand physics, electricity, and chemistry, and why "magic things" happen and why they aren't really magic. The history of our world - so that the things that I see in the news have context and meaning. How to take care of my body - so that I am stronger, and that I don't die of clogged arteries at a young age. And how to appreciate art - so that it's that much more magnificent, and that much more enjoyable when I see it.

Basically - yeah, I could have grown old without all these skills. But I think my life was so much better with them. And it's worth what really is a pretty minor inconvenience when you're young, to go and learn these things - and life is not always going to give you second chances. Trust me - the bigger inconvenience is to fall into that trap, of a daily drudge, from 9 to 5, every single day, for the rest of your life... you can't wait for summer break now, can you? Imagine never having a summer break again.
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