Yep,

...and this idea becomes even more apparent when you actually seen the kinds of things that the system COULD be teaching...but isn't.

Things that are so wonderfully superior to that which is actually taught, you can't help but conclude that the "stupid" way of doing things is in there on purpose or for some kind of agenda that would be the opposite of benefiting the citizenry.

specifically I'm talking about advanced memory techniques, human calculator techniques, Speed reading.

There are private groups of people who are taught to remember 80% of what they see or read, with very little exposure to that material.

People can be taught to calculate massive math problems in their head in seconds, and people can really improve their reading speed and initial comprehension by at least 3X.

...and there is nothing difficult about any of these skills....especially when taught young and gets naturally engrained in the brain's thought process.

If you go by what you see on TV and Online the public school system is a train wreck.
Obviously there are teachers and students who are there to teach and learn but what's happening in some of these schools is unbelievable.
Drugs, fighting between students and between teachers and students, teachers sleeping with students, rape, total disrespect, theft etc.

Imagine what they will be like 10years from now...

Yes, it is an indoctrination system. If it was about critical thinking and actually about learning, it would not be. Most kids have never even heard of the constitution nowadays.

It was obsolete as long ago as SIXTY years ago! I have been speaking against it since I was FIVE YEARS OLD! SERIOUSLY! When I was in the first grade, it seemed like I was the ONLY one in my class reading sentences! When I was maybe 7 or 8 I was exposed to a NICE system! It fit in a box that was maybe 4sf, It was a SELF DIRECTED teaching system! NOTHING fancy about it. Apparently it was used by some even in the 1940s, Who knows, maybe even the 1740s! NO batteries! NO electronics! It wasn't computerized! It basically allowed the slower students the ability to emphasize and improve their weaknesses, and the better ones to skip ahead. Ever see little house on the prairie? The slower students are helped by the more advanced ones. The better students could skip.

WHY isn't it popular? MAYBE because te government can't control the rate? MAYBE because teachers have less to do and the truth may be revealed? The school I went to that had them was a PRIVATE school.

HEY, when my father went to work for IBM, he likely knew LITTLE about computers. He was an insurance salesperson before that. Apparently he did well for IBM getting them some big contracts and apparently creating the basis for something even this FORUM relies on! Today, he has decided to whittle his customer base down to only a few customers, but they each pay about a quarter million a year for the privilege.

How did HE learn computers? Apparently IBM was well known for TEACHING also, and they gave him self directed courses THEY developed. HECK, he gave some of them to ME, and I learned COBOL that way! Funny, you will probably NEVER see them in colleges.

BTW in many grades, they have kids do things that are NOT original, creative, OR educational. You really have to wonder how this stuff was introduced.

And don't think Europe is any better. There are at least two idiots in Europe that have "created" some pretty dumb ways of "teaching" that have caught on.

Steve

Thunderbird, Is your professor friend correct!! THEY don't want educated citizens with a well developed critical thought ability...
WHY do you think Facebook was funded by the CIA!

I don't know how true this is, but THIS is kind of scary!

Why people think Americans are stupid - YouTube
As for the kentucky fried chicken, I GUESS I can forgive THAT! Look at Häagen-Dazs! The name, and map, make it CLEAR that it is a SCANDINAVIAN brand! It is from a SWISS company! So WHERE is it from? Founded in the BRONX in NEW YORK USA, and headquartered in CA USA! And if he thought it were from MARS, no harm done!

But to think a strong ALLY is an enemy, or call muslims "diaper heads", or to brand a large enemy as one to attack NOW, or a harmless country as an enemy? YIKES! When I was a kid, being THAT ignorant would make you a laughingstock! If they became "representatives"...? Well, that might explain where we are?

Steve

Chris Hedges is on Democracy NOW Today. Watch online.....FABULOUS!!
Is Edward Snowden a Hero? A Debate with Journalist Chris Hedges & Law Scholar Geoffrey Stone | Democracy Now!

Heysal, You are SO right. I tried to write amendments I thought would be nice. Here is the on that applies to THIS:

It WOULD be nice if I could discuss programmed or self paced instruction, but I guess even what I said HERE is too much. If someone wants to study art, dance, music, etc... They can do it on their own time and/or another grade. Most that do well do that ANYWAY.

I think the federal government should do ONLY what they are to do. With education, that is to provide a country standard. The current proposed standards they have are GARBAGE though.

Steve

Steve - the arts are an important part of developing creative thought - by neglecting them, you are making the same mistake as our gov. Anything anyone has a natural aptitude for should not be neglected as useless. Why teach a natural dancer manufacturing? What a waste of talent. While we do need a basic curriculum that rounds our understanding of our planet and society, we also need people who are experts in their OWN best fields instead of being forced to adapt to what other people's are.