High School Subjects that Should be Taught

[Eliab ben Benjamin]

Errr. . . Linotype is worlds away from setting type by hand.

.

Words away perhaps, from a letter to a line.....

 

[ADigitalArtist]

It's be nice if basic finance, home ec and shop would come back but without the disservice of letting kids think that one is for boys and the other is for girls.

 

[Skwim]

It's be nice if basic finance, home ec and shop would come back but without the disservice of letting kids think that one is for boys and the other is for girls.

I agree in spades. When I went to school there was an obvious distinction between courses meant for girls and those only boys attended; however, I'm not sure there was any rule excluding one from the other.

.

 

[Father Heathen]

It's be nice if basic finance, home ec and shop would come back but without the disservice of letting kids think that one is for boys and the other is for girls.

My high school surprisingly had boys and girls take both. Finance is definitely one that should be taught, at least far more thoroughly than it is. I also think basic plumbing should be taught. A lot of times people spend hundreds on calling a plumber for a job that would actually be easy and inexpensive to do on their own. Also, a lot of people toss inoperable washers and dryers to the curb that could've been fixed by replacing a 10 dollar belt or coupler.

 

[sun rise]

Along with all of that, focus on propaganda including both political parties and business advertising. It can be a fun game. And perhaps structuring reasoning courses as a "spot the technique" game would spark interest.

 

[Revoltingest]

Desperately needed high school subjects.....
- Trade curriculums for non-college bound students
- Basic home repairs
- Personal finance & legal issues
- Real world math applications
- Basic business management, law, & communication
- How to find & conduct oneself in the working world

 

[bobhikes]

and some that shouldn't.

After reading thousands of discussions her on RF, both my own and others, I've concluded that it's a great disservice to our children not include a high school class on logic and clear reasoning.



On the other hand, because my high school had the materials with which to teach type setting by hand, (I'm sure they went back to the twenties or thirties) that's what I learned in one of my "shop" classes; an antiquated process by which each metal letter is individually placed in a galley

inked, covered with a sheet of paper, and then rubbed over with a rubber roller, which revealed our name and address, or some other inane message we were told to create. It was incredibly boring and totally irrelevant to any job in the printing industry.

.

I actually wrote a few people about making cultural awareness a priority. I still believe all students in 11 and 12 grade should have to spend at least 2 weeks in another culture before graduating. I think that would be a far greater educational value.

 

[SomeRandom]

I think schools should invest far, far less attention and funding on having the kiddies chase balls around. Give the coaches a mop and bucket and have them go do something useful.

I've always wondered, is American PE (or "Gym") really like how the movies and TV show it is?

 

[Revoltingest]

I've always wondered, is American PE (or "Gym") really like how the movies and TV show it is?

It is just as realistic as when I clean the halls of Springfield Elementary.

 

[Father Heathen]

I've always wondered, is American PE (or "Gym") really like how the movies and TV show it is?

"Gym" is short for "gymnasium" (a very large room that usually contains bleachers and a basketball court, often with side rooms with showers, lockers, weights and exercise equipment, etc.), where PE classes are typically held. As to whether or not the portrayals of gym in TV and movies are accurate, it would depend on the specific example. PE classes are often held outside as well, weather permitting, usually an area with a running track that encompasses a *football field.

*as in American football, not soccer, although some high schools may have soccer fields as well.

So, in what way are PE classes different from where you're from?

 

[Brickjectivity]

and some that shouldn't.

After reading thousands of discussions her on RF, both my own and others, I've concluded that it's a great disservice to our children not to include a high school class on logic and clear reasoning.



On the other hand, because my high school had the materials with which to teach type setting by hand, (I'm sure they went back to the twenties or thirties) that's what I learned in one of my "shop" classes; an antiquated process by which each metal letter is individually placed in a galley

inked, covered with a sheet of paper, and then rubbed over with a rubber roller, which revealed our name and address, or some other inane message we were told to create. It was incredibly boring and totally irrelevant to any job in the printing industry.

.

Typesetting? That's awful! The printers were out of work way, way back. They were committing suicide. The most useful class I ever had was touch-typing. That was in...1990. That's one class I can say has helped me. Our private high school had a few donated IBM style PC's but I was not permitted to use them. They sat unused in the private school classroom for fear that I might damage them because the teacher didn't know how to turn them on! I knew how to use them, but nobody would listen to me. Then I transferred to a public school where I was fortunate to be able to take Pascal and had access to some computers. My community college also had Pascal but not C++ which I wanted to take. In fact this kind of thing turned out to be a continual issue in colleges where I'd want to take Java or C++ but could only get some useless old language like Cobol or some proprietary language that benefited the university in some way such as Maple. On technical subjects universities actually sucked a lot. I really do think they should be deep-6'd and just replaced with home study. If its technical then you have to teach yourself, so the lectures are nearly pointless. Nobody helps you in technical subjects. The 'Tutors' are aimless students. The tests are what matter, and the profs have very little time to deal with BS students or AS students. What is the point of sitting through lectures and taking old material that is antiquated? Why even bother going to a technical university? Oh right its because unless you do you won't know what to study. High schools ought to be at least a little better, but are they?

Do you really believe that logic and clear thinking can be taught?

Its actually not 'Clear thinking'. Its formal logic he's talking about. The main takeaways in formal logic are the contrapositive and the if-then statement. Its not that complicated. In addition a student might learn some of the ideas behind logic.

 

[suncowiam]

I think sports is great for team building. Those that want to participate actually have to be very discipline and commit to a team mentality, otherwise coaches have very short patience for those that can't.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

and some that shouldn't.

After reading thousands of discussions her on RF, both my own and others, I've concluded that it's a great disservice to our children not to include a high school class on logic and clear reasoning.



On the other hand, because my high school had the materials with which to teach type setting by hand, (I'm sure they went back to the twenties or thirties) that's what I learned in one of my "shop" classes; an antiquated process by which each metal letter is individually placed in a galley

inked, covered with a sheet of paper, and then rubbed over with a rubber roller, which revealed our name and address, or some other inane message we were told to create. It was incredibly boring and totally irrelevant to any job in the printing industry.

.

I think philosophy should be taught in high school definnitely as well as logic.

 

[Jesster]

I agree with others about basic life skills and finance. Those were the two areas I struggled with most when adjusting to adulthood. I've almost figured it out now at 31, but not quite. I think a lot of schools expect your parents to guide you in these areas, but they don't account for parents who just don't care (like mine, even with both of their business degrees).

 

[SomeRandom]

"Gym" is short for "gymnasium" (a very large room that usually contains bleachers and a basketball court, often with side rooms with showers, lockers, weights and exercise equipment, etc.), where PE classes are typically held. As to whether or not the portrayals of gym in TV and movies are accurate, it would depend on the specific example. PE classes are often held outside as well, weather permitting, usually an area with a running track that encompasses a *football field.

*as in American football, not soccer, although some high schools may have soccer fields as well.

So, in what way are PE classes different from where you're from?

Ahh we have a gym too and we play outdoors as much as possible. We didn't have a track, but we had an oval. A large field that had lines cut in simulating a track of sorts. Don't have showers though. Maybe private schools might.
I don't know if they're different. Except I guess we don't care about high school sports like Americans seem to. It's just a class. The theory part changes depending on the grade level of course. With senior years focusing on skills to do with a job in physical fitness specifically (like if you want to be a physical trainer for a sports team or something.) So like the mechanics and science behind physical fitness and stuff. And junior years focusing on health and nutrition. And it's more or less optional after the first semester of high school, then you pick which subjects you wish to focus on. At least my school ran like that. Whether that is different to American PE I cannot say

 

[Araceli Cianna]

I wish programming was a class I had to take in school, as these days it would be so handy. But I think many schools are adding it to their curriculum now.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

The purpose of education is to make you diligently do meaningless tasks that you care nothing about, perfectly preparing you to enter the workforce.

My education gave me much more than that. Besides a fund of knowledge - assorted facts - I learned how to think critically, and how to keep on learning independently after graduation.

I also learned the skills of my profession, which provided me with a satisfying way to earn a living and avoid the mind-numbing, soul-crushing fate that you suggest awaits everybody in the workforce. That's more closely associated with not getting an education.

And to address Skwm's point about learning critical thinking skills in high school, although I never had a formal logic class or any class about thinking there or at university, the lesson was implicit in all academic classes.

We didn't see indoctrination (not after the Pledge of Allegiance, anyway), where teaching is done by repetition rather than demonstration, where the student is expected to believe without questioning, and where what the student believes is important to the teacher. Those are the methods of Sunday school and political propaganda.

Instead, we were given the opinions of the greats from history and shown how they arrived at them - the methods they used. Over and over again, we were treated as if we were not to believe for no reason, but to consider the arguments. We were shown the evidence available to the greats, the reasoning they applied, and how that led to the conclusions that others had arrived at. We were being taught critical thinking skills by example, not by rules.

I don't recall any teacher ever asking me what I believed, just what I had learned. I could have been a creationist that rejected evolutionary biology, and my teachers would never know if I didn't tell them, and would never ask. The would just test me on ideas like what an allele was, or what punctuated equilibrium meant. If as a creationist I had learned what the evolutionists believed and demonstrated that in tests, I'd get the same grade as the student who performed as well while believing it.

In this way, students can come to learn critical thinking without ever hearing the phrase or knowing the names of any logical fallacies. For me, that all came later, after graduation, much of which came from participating in forums such as this one.

 

[Revoltingest]

The purpose of education is to make you diligently do meaningless tasks that you care nothing about, perfectly preparing you to enter the workforce.

Where did you go to school?

 

[Revoltingest]

I wish programming was a class I had to take in school, as these days it would be so handy. But I think many schools are adding it to their curriculum now.

My high school taught it (CAL & BASIC) back in the 60s.
We had a teletype machine with a punched paper tape feed.

 

[Kemosloby]

My education gave me much more than that. Besides a fund of knowledge - assorted facts - I learned how to think critically, and how to keep on learning independently after graduation.

I also learned the skills of my profession, which provided me with a satisfying way to earn a living and avoid the mind-numbing, soul-crushing fate that you suggest awaits everybody in the workforce. That's more closely associated with not getting an education.

And to address Skwm's point about learning critical thinking skills in high school, although I never had a formal logic class or any class about thinking there or at university, the lesson was implicit in all academic classes.

We didn't see indoctrination (not after the Pledge of Allegiance, anyway), where teaching is done by repetition rather than demonstration, where the student is expected to believe without questioning, and where what the student believes is important to the teacher. Those are the methods of Sunday school and political propaganda.

Instead, we were given the opinions of the greats from history and shown how they arrived at them - the methods they used. Over and over again, we were treated as if we were not to believe for no reason, but to consider the arguments. We were shown the evidence available to the greats, the reasoning they applied, and how that led to the conclusions that others had arrived at. We were being taught critical thinking skills by example, not by rules.

I don't recall any teacher ever asking me what I believed, just what I had learned. I could have been a creationist that rejected evolutionary biology, and my teachers would never know if I didn't tell them, and would never ask. The would just test me on ideas like what an allele was, or what punctuated equilibrium meant. If as a creationist I had learned what the evolutionists believed and demonstrated that in tests, I'd get the same grade as the student who performed as well while believing it.

In this way, students can come to learn critical thinking without ever hearing the phrase or knowing the names of any logical fallacies. For me, that all came later, after graduation, much of which came from participating in forums such as this one.

Take a step back and ask yourself if you really care about evolution or creationism. Left to your own devices wouldn't you have done something else. Now you have diligently performed the task of considering evolution and creationism, both of which are flawed and probably waste of your time and life to think about.