Does school honestly prepare/help young kids for life???

ForJesusChrist said:

Be honest here, does school really help prepare kids for what they will face in the future?

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Yes.

ForJesusChrist said:

filing taxes

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Tax software/accountants.

ForJesusChrist said:

preparing for a job interview

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Universities do this extensively.

ForJesusChrist said:

Pythagorean theorem or whatever it is.

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ForJesusChrist said:

And to be honest, I ask that question to.

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Math is essential for STEM careers.

ForJesusChrist said:

Many people say things they learned in high school never benefit them in the real world.

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Cite your sources.

ForJesusChrist said:

Plus, the best practice is to actual practice something.

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That's what homework is.

ForJesusChrist said:

the rest is just pointless busy work.

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It taught me to do bland, repetitive "busy work" for hours on end, along with teaching me not to ask why I had to do bland, repetitive busy work for hours on end for fear of punishment.

So, in a way, I think so...

I graduated from school many years ago but it did prepare me for life in the world. I learned how to do basic taxes in civics class. I learned math that I use everyday. I can type this response because of school. Did I learn stuff that I am not using now? Yes, but I would be willing to bet that everything taught in school has been used by lots of people. Since there is no way to know what a person is going to need later in life then they have to try to cover as much as they can.

KitKatMatt said:

It taught me to do bland, repetitive "busy work" for hours on end, along with teaching me not to ask why I had to do bland, repetitive busy work for hours on end for fear of punishment.

So, in a way, I think so...

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heh. Excellent response.

I do wish there was more of a 'personal finance' class that explained loans and mortgages and compound interest and investing and retirement...
I think there was something like that at my high school, but if you were on the college-bound track, you didn't take it. Just because you're in calculus doesn't mean you automatically understand ARMs and IRAs.

ForJesusChrist said:

Be honest here, does school really help prepare kids for what they will face in the future? I find there is a huge lack of hands on in schools today. There is little to no education based on things such as filing taxes, preparing for a job interview, stuff of that nature. For some reason we are taught the Pythagorean theorem or whatever it is. And you have probably heard when you were in school (or you said it yourself), "why are we learning this", or "how will this help us in life". And to be honest, I ask that question to. Many people say things they learned in high school never benefit them in the real world. Plus, the best practice is to actual practice something. School is attempting to simulate the real world, when in reality the best way to prepare would be to go out and experience it and make mistakes and learn from them.

I know this will get mixed responses as some feel school is very important and others could care less about it, but I just wanted to get a general idea. Personally, I think that once you get to middle school, or about halfway through it, the rest is just pointless busy work.

Please be honest when posting here, I want to see real opinions!

God Bless

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School isn't just about preparing you for a particular job or lifestyle. It's about creating a well-rounded person with a wide variety of knowledge and skills. Things like learning how to do job interviews and prepare simple single-person tax forms can be learned in about an hour, and many high schools DO offer training in those types of things.

Sorry dude. You still have to learn the Pythagorean theorem lol.

Heck, without school and a naturally curious brain, I wouldn't be slaughtering my friends on Trivia Crack right now Who needs to know how to do their taxes when you can have bragging rights about a game?

School is important becuase there are to much information for living in the modern world to be taught by a busy parent. Though parents can add and imporve on what kids learn from school.

That said, I learned just as much about home economics from school as watching my parents. Granted I didn't start watching until I started the home economic classes, but once I got the idea I wanted to see how my family did it.

It's all on the web. Schools are a waste of money. Public babysitting for working parents.
Any parent that takes the time with their children on the computer can learn, and teach.
Brick and morter is old fashioned.

Norah63 said:

It's all on the web. Schools are a waste of money. Public babysitting for working parents.
Any parent that takes the time with their children on the computer can learn, and teach.
Brick and morter is old fashioned.

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Sticking kids in front of a computer is better than having them learn from actual human beings? Or are you saying that all children should only be taught by their own parents? Not all parents make decent teachers... some are downright awful.

To prepare for life (and I mean the real world), you have to be able to deal with and get along with people, of all types. You also need to be able to learn concepts and be able to think your way through to come up with solutions and strategies.

I believe, school for youth, prepares them well in this regards. They are around people they will be around when they become an adult and they need to think and think sometimes out of their comfort zone.

What bhsmte said.

Computer knowledge comes from 'real people'.
Time for parents to take responsibility of their children once again.
The system is broken. Government schools have not done their jobs, because they are not parents.
Violence, bully's, compitition, peer pressure, it needs replacement.
We are living in the age of information, get it or lose out.

Norah63 said:

Computer knowledge comes from 'real people'.
Time for parents to take responsibility of their children once again.
The system is broken. Government schools have not done their jobs, because they are not parents.
Violence, bully's, compitition, peer pressure, it needs replacement.
We are living in the age of information, get it or lose out.

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If a person is going to live a life where they do not have to relate with real people, your philosophy would work just fine.

I'm thinking of living aboard a spacecraft with a Hal9000 as your best friend.

Oy veh.

Besides my little dig on the first page:

I think school really does do a lot of good. I also think it does a lot of bad, though. It's not perfect, and we need to start fixing some of the stuff that's wrong with it.


Standardized tests taking over, subjects in textbooks being pushed and pulled due to politics and not science, no comprehensive sexual education, etc., all really need to be fixed.

bhsmte said:

If a person is going to live a life where they do not have to relate with real people, your philosophy would work just fine.

I'm thinking of living aboard a spacecraft with a Hal9000 as your best friend.

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Sure until you upset HAL and keep getting:

I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.

I'd much prefer a computer who referred to his best friend as Man, as long as he considered me 'not stupid'.

KitKatMatt said:

Besides my little dig on the first page:

I think school really does do a lot of good. I also think it does a lot of bad, though. It's not perfect, and we need to start fixing some of the stuff that's wrong with it.


Standardized tests taking over, subjects in textbooks being pushed and pulled due to politics and not science, no comprehensive sexual education, etc., all really need to be fixed.

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Why is it that when I see over the top general complaints I always get the impression that the poster has not done their job and is looking for someone to blame?

I'm replying to yuo because I don't feel like a flame fest today and your complaints are specific and not over the top.

But you do deserve a little dig back for your dig on the first page.

I had little trouble with bland repetitive work. (OK spanish class was an exception). But a lot of not having that problem came down to my choices. I took the hardest Math and Science classes available so while not challenging they at least were not horribly boring. My one huge at risk area was History. I was hardly a History student but because of mess ups with my schedule I ended up in the class of one of the history teachers most students tried to avoid.

I can't say I loved his class without being a liar. But it was far more tolerable than most. But there was a cost and that was the reason he was not popular, he actually expected students to put in some effort.

Worked out very well for me as it was always easy to get in his class.

Try for easy and you get boring and repetitive.

keith99 said:

Why is it that when I see over the top general complaints I always get the impression that the poster has not done their job and is looking for someone to blame?

I'm replying to yuo because I don't feel like a flame fest today and your complaints are specific and not over the top.

But you do deserve a little dig back for your dig on the first page.

I had little trouble with bland repetitive work. (OK spanish class was an exception). But a lot of not having that problem came down to my choices. I took the hardest Math and Science classes available so while not challenging they at least were not horribly boring. My one huge at risk area was History. I was hardly a History student but because of mess ups with my schedule I ended up in the class of one of the history teachers most students tried to avoid.

I can't say I loved his class without being a liar. But it was far more tolerable than most. But there was a cost and that was the reason he was not popular, he actually expected students to put in some effort.

Worked out very well for me as it was always easy to get in his class.

Try for easy and you get boring and repetitive.

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You have to apply for AP classes here, and have to go through a whole slew of testing to get bumped up a grade level.

I applied for AP classes, I took the tests to get bumped up a grade level. I was denied both and sent back to regular classes.

While I was given six weeks to read Call of the Wild (which I had read before, and honestly takes me like three days of lazy reading), my friend (who had gotten accepted into AP English) was reading four books in six weeks.

I got in trouble for reading too fast when I answered an essay quiz question with information that happened later in the book (since I had finished it way before).

I tried to get into AP English, though. I went through all the right channels. How is it my fault if I wasn't accepted? I didn't want to stick with what I had.

I hate all of this "IF YOU PUT IN THE EFFORT, IT WILL HAPPEN" crap, because I've put in effort in a lot of my life and got nothing back. This just taunts me. I put in effort (not to mention money) to get a relevant college degree, only to be rebuffed by employers because I didn't have five years experience. Now I'm stuck in a minimum wage job with no prospects, but hey, that's my fault right? Since I didn't put in the effort? Oh wait, I did.

The truth is, a lot of people put in the effort and never succeed. And it's the most terrible feeling ever, especially when people are insisting that effort=success. Effort does not always equal success, and by saying that it does, you are hurting the people who have put out the effort and have still not succeeded.