Comments on: What’s the Point of Education?

By: Scotto

Scotto — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:42:43 +0000

Point number one is a classic example of begging the question.
Wikipedia reference
Point two: Everyone has a chance to go to school until grade 12, if you haven't decided on its worth by then, what is the point.
Point four: Amen!

By: Scotto

Scotto — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:42:43 +0000

By: Roxy

Roxy — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:39:14 +0000

Hi Jeffrey, I really like your blog and I really like you. We should become friends.

Anyway, here is Seth Godin's take on school that I think could add to the discussion.

He says the two jobs of school have been to

1. Train you to work in a factory
2. Train you to want to buy things made in a factory

You should check out the video he did for Acumen Fund fellows. I have it on my blog here: http://roxyallen.com/2009/09/the-2-jobs-of-school/

By: Nathan

Nathan — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:30:56 +0000

I definitely agree with your two main points, though I think the real issue is actually how you learn it, not what you know. Of course I'm not referring to whether you learn from an institution or independently, I'm referring to the method and process of education.

I went to a Montessori school for about 12 years and we had no homework, tests/quizzes, grades, lectures, and pretty much anything else you'd normally associate with a formal education. The Montessori method and many like it are learner-centered methods that emphasize independence. Also, my friends from my Montessori days are by far outperforming and out-achieving my friends from my middle/high school years--MS and HS I went to one of the top schools in the state so it's not a socio-economic issue as everyone at both schools were from the same class.

Good post and keep tackling these issues. That TED talk is one of my favorites.

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:53:56 +0000

I like the way you distinguish between informational and practical education, though I've never thought of it in quite that way before. I agree that certain things can be efficiently taught in a somewhat standardized system. Part of challenge, then, is figuring out which things can be taught in which ways, and realizing that arts and creativity cannot be taught in the same ways as science and mathematics, for example.

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:51:50 +0000

Power and responsibility – two very scary words. But very true as well. One size can't possibly fit all, so we need to take on the task of finding what individual people are capable of, then helping them achieve that.

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:50:33 +0000

Absolutely. The problem with standardized schooling is that it shoves everyone into the same mold and expects great results. I agree that there are some basic skills that everyone should learn – but these are the basics, not something to build an entire educational career around.

By: ilhamH

ilhamH — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:55:08 +0000

Hi Jeffrey, great post and I agree with everything almost. I do agree that the North American educational system is in dire needs of a reform. But I also think what we need is not a new educational system or schools, rather we need to reinstate the old idea of mentors. If we take a look at todays world, we can see all the great resources we have on information: ex. Wikipedia, amazingly large libraries that carry books on everything from arts to sciences, and finally the internet which allows us to share ideas and learn from strangers in a community such as forums.

But what the world truly needs to do, is separate informational education and practical education. Getting information is something in todays time everyone knows how to do, just search it up on google or your nearest library. Knowing how to do practical things is something we lack and is the reason we still need schools, a good example would be research of the sciences, chemistry, biology, etc.

This is why we need to reform education and re-invent the idea of mentors, who will teach our children how to do research that will be innovative and productive and effective.
~"We need to create a system that teaches our children how to use the tools of their time, but let them learn about all the simple ideas and theories of the tools."~

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:19:19 +0000

Test comment

By: Ken Kurosawa

Ken Kurosawa — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:28:40 +0000

In a sense, this is also a call to embrace diversity. Some are going to be inherently better at things that others are not. We need to be ok with that and give people freedom to build their own strengths.