Shriya Nevatia
FremenLearn What Most Interests You
July 15th 2009 10:01
For the past two days, I have stayed up into the wee hours of the night (so much so that they blended into the morning!) going on Wikipedia and starting with about 4 articles that branched into well over 50. I opened them in tabs (thank god for firefox, really) and have subsequently been shuffling through them, reading and absorbing, when I realized--why can't we learn like this in school? Couldn't there be a way to learn all the basics that are necessary in each subject area while having sufficient extra space to investigate as we wish into any topic that interests us? Of course, this is what often happens in college, and arguably is the purpose of higher education forms that are separated from career-preparation, but in middle and high school only the most academically interested of students end up discovering things for themselves on their own, while others are left in the dark and funnel their interest and attention at other, "damaging" or "useless" areas of culture and knowledge (as in....celebrity gossip, memorizing fashion designers or famous athletes....while useful to a point of you are really interested in those fields, these are always regarded as very far from academic disciplines).
It would be so magnificent if we could take the ideas of open education and alternative education and blend them nicely with the rigid, standardized-testing-based system currently in place that dominates American Education (the only kind I can speak for, more specifically the NY State Regents) to create a flexible education system with defined minimums for learning at each progressive grade level, classes (as previously stated) divided by academic ability, potential, and ease of learning, where the lowest classes would finish all required minimums for their level in intensive, encouraging work while each step higher would have a greater and greater opportunity to learn beyond the minimums what they wished in an organized manner.
My ideas, as usual, are too lofty and vague for now, but if I pick away at this with specific, small goals in mind to start out and the larger overarching goal stretching above everything, I truly believe that people as a whole benefit from an opportunity to learn more in everything they do in their life.
It would be so magnificent if we could take the ideas of open education and alternative education and blend them nicely with the rigid, standardized-testing-based system currently in place that dominates American Education (the only kind I can speak for, more specifically the NY State Regents) to create a flexible education system with defined minimums for learning at each progressive grade level, classes (as previously stated) divided by academic ability, potential, and ease of learning, where the lowest classes would finish all required minimums for their level in intensive, encouraging work while each step higher would have a greater and greater opportunity to learn beyond the minimums what they wished in an organized manner.
My ideas, as usual, are too lofty and vague for now, but if I pick away at this with specific, small goals in mind to start out and the larger overarching goal stretching above everything, I truly believe that people as a whole benefit from an opportunity to learn more in everything they do in their life.
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Comment by Chemisme
Chemisme
I often feel frustrated because I feel like as students progress education gets more and more boring, and by the time they've hit high school, they just don't care any more - just serve their time in their own personal prison.
Comment by Fremen
Tennis
Progressively Worse
Studying what you want is good advice, but economically, in a lot of cases it won't pay bills. Examples for these lie in high demand industries, like the Arts.
Many, many people like Art, but only a select few can make it into a career or money making venture. This applies to painting, acting, cinema, writing, and almost any creative undertaking. It's ok to study what you want, but if that doesn't work out you need some sort of back up. this is where the "conventional" thinking comes from. Understanding that will help you understand why people can't always "study what they want".
One great thing about the internet is that it removes one layer of distance from information. With a couple clicks and search engine savvy (and probably a bookmark to Wkipedia), one can learn about almost anything. Even when I was growing up, if I wanted to learn something, I'd have to go to a library and read a book. Now, while I learned a lot by doing this, I didn't have the same learning pattern. I just found books that I was interested in and read them. That's the equivalent of having a list of Wikipedia articles, and choosing a couple of them to read. And that's it.
With Wikipedia, you can learn in more of a fountain way, which is like having an encyclopedia (duh) with you while you read an interesting book. This takes more time, but more completely shows you what you want to learn, plus showing you things that you are curious about, and are only a click away.
Open learning, like what you'd do on Wikipedia will never be implemented with our current educational and occupational system. First of all, all education is based on Economics. This means that the whole system is skewed towards capitalist earnings models. the people who do well in school are the ones who end up making the most scaled income. They are the best employees. Sometimes, these people are also leaders or creators (as I like to think of it, watch Oliver Stone's Wall Street for his take on the "creator" issue), but more times than not, they are the ones who can best follow the rules, and do what they are hired to do. This is why our education system exists as it does.
Until our economic system changes to support creation, the educational system won't change. And even if it does, I still don't think that open learning won't be the best solution. Maybe a controlled, semi-open learning governed by some sort of all knowing computer program or a teaching system that has a very small student to teacher ratio, with students that have similar interests and capabilities.
bleh
Comment by Fremen
Tennis
Progressively Worse
I think I went over my self imposed 140 Character limit on anything I type from now on...oops
Comment by Shriya Nevatia
Go Arty Farty
Current Art Pics
Questioning Non Thinkers
Stingy Stitches
Fashion Kitten
i am all for students being in different classes according to interests or ability but that's a whole other topic that i'm pissed off about,
that little "even when i was growing up" crap is amusing since you're 18, so nice job with that,
but generally i agree with you, except for that nice pessimistic last part---I feel like faaar too many smart people throw their hands up and say "you know, the education system sucks too much to do anything about it, so let's just not and leave it to the idiots" ....don't you realize that's why it sucks so much in the first place? i honestly don't think most of the people know what they're doing.
i don't really know what else to ramble about but whatever it's easy to see aaaaall the problems but we can't just say "too hard"...SOMEONE has to change it.