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Post by Discoalucard on Apr 18, 2006 14:33:55 GMT -5
I've been out of school for a few years, but looking back, I can't help but think a lot of it was a waste. Not that I regret getting a degree or anything, but there's just basic knowledge that we just aren't taught, or at least weren't part of the core curriculum. Like, yesterday was tax day. I only know how to do it because I followed Turbotax, but I certainly don't know what the hell any of it means. I currently work for an insurance company, and we all had training courses on how insurance works. Considering all of us need to get it at one point or another (unless you don't drive) it seems kinda stupid that school never teaches you any basics about it.
I bring this up because I spend most of my offtime writing about and critiquing stuff, yet I don't think it was a skill that we ever went over in English class. We may have had an argumentative or persuasive essay, but very little was about picking things apart and giving your opinion. I mean, why? We're in the internet age and everyone is eager to give their opinion on anything, so why not teach people the proper way to express them without sounding like a complete idiot? I would've enjoyed English class in high school/college a lot more if we got to talk about our opinions on books instead of analyzing them, although I'm not so sure too many lit professors want to read 2000 words about how the Great Gatsby can go fuck himself.
I don't know, for some reason I find stuff like this to be a major issue.
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Post by Shinigami on Apr 18, 2006 16:30:05 GMT -5
One of the things I would have liked to learn in school: how to get a job. Or maybe more specificaly, how to use that degree to get you a job. Everywhere we hear about how the job market is very competetive. No shit it's competetive, no one wants to be unemployed. No one wants to have a shitty job either. No one tells you anything. All you hear is "go to college, get a degree." Well I got a degree. Now what? No one taught me how to make a resume. Actually I still don't know how to make a real good resume, I just put what I think should be in it, but that doesn't mean it's good. I suppose in this land of oppurtuniy no one wants to say anything because everyone is so greedy they want the good jobs for themselves even if they can't do it right. After all, if you know something others don't you have an advantage and your chances of scoring that job are better, if you tell anyone how to get it you lose your advantage.
Another thing I would have liked to learn in school: how to shop for a car. No one teaches this. Why not? It's very important knowledge! I suppose it must be good for the economy for people to buy fucked up cars every three years. If everyone knew how to shop for a car the sleazy car dealers would be put out of bussiness. Things that you can do yourself to fix your car should be a required course in school, for both men and women. It's very sad that in this country with nearly as many cars on the road as there are people, very few actually know how a car works!
Kurt, a class (or even a lesson) where you can learn how to express your opinion without sounding like a complete moron (like I do write now) is something I believe we all wish for. School just isn't what it's cracked up to being.
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Post by Weasel on Apr 18, 2006 17:10:04 GMT -5
I would've enjoyed English class in high school/college a lot more if we got to talk about our opinions on books instead of analyzing them, although I'm not so sure too many lit professors want to read 2000 words about how the Great Gatsby can go fuck himself. The sad truth. Instructors tend to stamp opinions out of their students - to the point where they are incapable of writing opinions, for the most part. I sure would have loved to express to my freshman English teacher about how dull I found The Odyssey to be - unfortunately that would just end up knocking a few points off the analysis paper.
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Post by Brand on Apr 18, 2006 20:16:58 GMT -5
I would have like how to mange money for a moron (I suck with money, and I liked to better know how to invest my money more so then just putting it in the bank).
And how the fuck to deal with retarted customers in retail.
And God I don't know what teachers are thinking when they made us read half those books in high school. Book I most wanted to rip apart while reading "In the Heart of Darkness" OMG I wanted to stab my eyes out after reading that.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2006 20:53:27 GMT -5
I would've enjoyed English class in high school/college a lot more if we got to talk about our opinions on books instead of analyzing them, although I'm not so sure too many lit professors want to read 2000 words about how the Great Gatsby can go fuck himself. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! THAT QUOTE WINS!!!!! ;D ;D ;D When I first read it, I was thinking....... "Que? No comprende. Es muy aburrido." Now, I fucking hate that book! And This Side of Paradise! F. Scott Fitzgerald can travel eighty years into the future to suck my cock in the present! Heh... somewhat irrelevant. Anyway, the English class I had this year was AWESOME, mostly because my teacher was just so freaking cool. Contrary to the above, she heartily encouraged us to give our own opinions on the books we read. I had quite a mouthful to say about Ethan Frome... heh. I... don't know if I can really say much about the topic at hand, as I haven't finished high school yet... however, I will concur that street smarts hold much more practicality than book smarts.
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grad
Full Member
Enlarge my avatar, yea or nay?
Posts: 129
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Post by grad on Apr 19, 2006 1:40:32 GMT -5
I wonder how things would be if education were taught from the bottom up--like how a basketball coach won't let someone shoot 3's until he's got a consistent lay-up; or how a professional programmer has to make his own 3d engine from scratch before using one of the commercial solutions: There's a reason why they do it that way. It anchors you in reality and broadens your perspective. People might appreciate life more if schools taught them what it really is. Anyway, it's just a thought.
Also, I never learned how to tie a tie.
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Post by Discoalucard on Apr 19, 2006 11:42:54 GMT -5
Also, I never learned how to tie a tie. I never learned how to tie a tie until I got a job that required one. I'm still not sure if I'm doing it correctly but I've been working for nearly two years and nobody has told me anything otherwise. As for finding jobs, the real way to get anything good is through connections. Of course, most places realize that's not exactly a "fair" way to explain things so they try to stress the little things that do matter. My college actually had a career center where they went over little things like that, but they weren't very good at it. I tried a few times to get an internship/co-op, which is the only way to get one, and they could never help. Anyway, the English class I had this year was AWESOME, mostly because my teacher was just so freaking cool. Contrary to the above, she heartily encouraged us to give our own opinions on the books we read. That's awesome. I actually liked most of my teachers in English classes, just hated the material. Except for Catcher in the Rye, that book was awesome and I can't remember why. FACT: my high school AP English teacher was a guest star in an episode of Quantum Leap. www.imdb.com/name/nm0098099/
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Post by Weasel on Apr 19, 2006 11:53:31 GMT -5
Slightly off topic, but am I the only person here that liked Les Miserables?
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Post by Gilder on Apr 19, 2006 13:28:41 GMT -5
Slightly off topic, but am I the only person here that liked Les Miserables? Nope. It's one of my favorite musicals. Master of the House is an incredible song
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Post by Shinigami on Apr 19, 2006 14:35:53 GMT -5
Slightly off topic, but am I the only person here that liked Les Miserables? I'm an uncultured moron who never bothered to watch it.
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Post by wil327 on Apr 19, 2006 14:40:38 GMT -5
On Topic...
Well, as one of the oldest members on this board, I know quite a bit about how this so-called "real world" works. As such, I can say that a majority of the things you learn in High School / College are, for the most part, trivial at best.
When, in everyday situations, are you going to need to know the chemical composition of plastic? Who is going to quiz you on the state capitols? When will I get to use my history research skills in my current computer technician job?
All of these are valid questions. All of these have one answer. Never.
Sad to say that as more and more people realized that going to college gave you an advantage in the job market, the value of having a college degree diminished. Now, to get ahead, you need a Master's Degree or a Ph.D. to earn any accolades for educational achievement.
The sad sad fact is that it IS who you know, and not what you know that matters nowadays.
There are also no practical classes that are offered like: How to Prepare for a Job in the Corporate Sector, How to Manage Your Finances, and How to Get a Mortgage. Instead, we have: US History I & II, Chemistry, History of Social Thought, etc.
Now, I'll agree that everyone needs some exposure to history, culture, and physical education. People really need preparation for the real world.
What's even more sad is the fact that most people wind up with some addiction or another, because they get overwhelmed by things that they never learned how to handle.
It's not all bad, though, there are some people who are willing to help teach others how to deal with the things that no one has ever told them how to in the past.
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Post by Protodude on Apr 19, 2006 15:38:53 GMT -5
Slightly off topic, but am I the only person here that liked Les Miserables? I'm currently reading that in my Pre-AP English II class, and I think it's quite excellent. I don't know if I'll enjoy it as much as I did To Kill a Mockingbird, though. Cyrano de Byrgerac was cool, too. Speaking of Pre-AP Eng. II, I specifically signed up for it this year in hopes that I would be able to express my opinions more, but I was sadly mistaken. Like everyone's mentioned, it's nothing but boring analyzing, which is why I signed up for regular English III next year (plus, I'm pretty damn lazy). By the way, did you guys have to do some sort of discussion thing when you were (or currently are) in High School? Like, after we read a book, we have to sit in this circle, and basically say "I think the the theme is..." and someone else goes "Another theme present through out was..." and so forth. It's really boring and a complete waste of time, actually.
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Post by Shinigami on Apr 19, 2006 20:53:29 GMT -5
I had to do something like that in my Drama as Lit class (a college course, not high school). We didn't sit in a circle, but we talked what the plays were about and in many cases were incouraged to give our opinions. However, it was still a waste of time because we did this AFTER the assignment for whatever play we were discussing had to be turned in. Sometimes I wonder if the teacher really ever had a lesson plan, though I don't hold it against him since I thought he was a pretty cool guy.
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Post by MRSKELETON on Apr 20, 2006 16:52:24 GMT -5
I played the came based off of that. Regardless, Lot's of schools teach thing like reading writing and arithmatic. But do you ever use any of it? What is the purpose of learning things like Egyptian numbers and things like that?
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Post by Shinigami on Apr 22, 2006 12:02:31 GMT -5
To make you feel like you are being educated.
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