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Originally Posted by Alex Stroup
I guess where I differ is that I don't think it is the job of schools to teach children to be "well rounded human beings."
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Yes and no. Maybe I should have just said "human being." I think parents, churches, extended family, whatever, are also responsible for producing a functioning member of society. But schools get a big chunk of kid's time so I think they have a big chunk of the responsibility.
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I think the big problem with our society is that education has come to be defined solely as something that happens between the ages of 5 and 18, between the months of September and June, and between the hours of 7:30 and 3:00 inside a building placed within a few miles of your home. And therefore we feel that everything we think a person should know has to be crammed into that window.
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Or not included at all. When will I ever use calculus in real life? Why do I have to know about the Magna Carta? Just teach me to balance my checkbook and I'll be set. Wait, I can hire someone to do that. Never mind.
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A certain subset then extends this to the age of 22 or so. But then the vast huge majority of people stop their "education."
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I totally believe in lifetime learning. This isn't supported in our society though. Most people are just interested in results. (What are you planning to do with that degree anyway?)