what is understanding something anyway.

Scots Taffer on 27/10/2006 at 07:55

Shug lives in my backyard. Or rather, my home is in his backyard.

ercles on 27/10/2006 at 07:56

So the GPS system schools are a big deal up north as well?

Scots Taffer on 27/10/2006 at 07:59

Apparently. I won't be worrying about that for another few years yet.

Aja on 27/10/2006 at 08:25

The education system is failing, but not for want of good teachers, at least not here. One of the main problems with our education system is that from at least junior-high onward (that's grade 7 and up), the system is geared to prepare kids for post-secondary. Obviously, not everyone is an academic. Here, some 60% of kids graduate high school, of those, something like 25% pursue post-secondary. That leaves a very large percentage dropping out, and an even larger percentage of kids being prepared for a future they will never pursue.

It's fairly obvious from elementary school onwards which kids are suited for academia and which are not. Last I heard, at my high school they were discontinuing the woodshop program... there's a nice message for those inclined towards the trades. No wonder kids are dropping out of high school.

And you can't even do anything about it: this problem would require such a dramatic overhauling of the entire education system that it's virtually impossible. I've known some great teachers who became involved in the system to the point that they couldn't bear the politics and the bureaucracy, and eventually were driven give up the profession altogether :erg:

ercles on 27/10/2006 at 08:28

You'd prefer a streamed system like Germany? They have three levels of schooling, where only the top can go to Uni, and the other two are geared towards other ends. If your grades slip (it's a pretty tight cutoff) you either repeat the year or go down a stream. The inherant pressure of this system leads to a lot of other rather unfortunate situations with kids dropping out and having breakdowns

Aja on 27/10/2006 at 08:31

I would rather see the choice left up to the child, the parents, and perhaps the teacher. There's enough room at University for everyone, but clearly, not everyone wants to go.

jimjack on 27/10/2006 at 14:43

What is the percentage of those students enrolled in college who aren't prepared to be there or are too ignorant to even be there? I heard that courses in colleges have expanded their remedial classes of maths and english covering material that should have been learned in highschool.

I have also gone over all the fees that have had to be covered for the school year. Totalling over $350. in text books, field trips and use of equipment. More bothers about my education...My fee for World history has cost me fifty dollars. In this class last week the teacher was going on about the Spanish conquest of Mexico and that it was all fronted by religion and the missionaries. I had always thought it was something else and raised my hand asking him if gold and silver played into the conquest of Mexico and he fielded my question by saying the Spanish conquest had nothing at all to do with minerals, it was religion as it has always been through the course of history..wtf!

Gorgonseye on 27/10/2006 at 15:54

Quote Posted by jimjack

I had always thought it was something else and raised my hand asking him if gold and silver played into the conquest of Mexico and he fielded my question by saying the Spanish conquest had nothing at all to do with minerals, it was religion as it has always been through the course of history..wtf!

Aye, I used to think it was minerals too, but, in the end, the Spanish conquest was due to the beleif that Jesus wanted them to spread the "Will of god" essentially, by murdering those who refused to convert to Christianity. ...Have fun with that...

TTK12G3 on 27/10/2006 at 16:00

God, Glory, and Gold.

Agent Monkeysee on 27/10/2006 at 16:01

Well I guess there's a gross example of educational negligence. Of course it had to do with gold. And minerals. And exotic luxury goods. And land. I don't care how religious your culture is, the Crown doesn't bankroll an expedition to unknown lands on the other side of the damn planet if there isn't something in it for them.