I've got to say, I agree almost 100% with Terrace's post.
. Our school curriculum is based a lot on text, and books, which is ironic because humans process and remember information a lot more accurately from what they see visually and or from media. Without the actors, commentators, or feelings the feelings and settings of of say an informational tv show or news program, our minds have less trigger points or highlights to help us remember what we learned in the past. A lot of the time we remember things not because we remember the exact thing that happened, but because we can link other triggers such as the reporter or the circumstance that the information was given in order to get to the subject that you are forgetful of. The fact that visual media is so much more effective and proportionately favored in schools, I feel that it is unnecessary to continue to teach from textbooks and old curriculum. Textbooks are expensive, cannot accurately relate to the student in most cases, and are a burden to obtain. Media via the web or videos are much easier to access, are practically free, and are much more appealing to students.
Many conservative people want to keep the textbooks as a cultural preservative, but I feel like when it comes down to the effectiveness of teaching and learning, we must adopt whatever gets the job done best.
A lot of curriculum taught in school is considered "unnecessary" and unhelpful in ones future. There is a lot of truth in this, and the fact that our futures depend on our ability to accurately repeat and apply old theories is a little sketchy. A lot of things we learn, we will never refer to again in life, and I feel the time spent memorizing a formula in math on how to find the derivative of something can be better spent in other ways. School's focus on health and well being has taken a downturn as standards have risen and workloads doubled, as well as the pressure to succeed.
The fact that another student worked his/her ass off studying for the SAT and lost out on sleep and fun, and you spent your time hanging with friends, playing sports, getting a good nights rest, exersizing, etc. and the other student is rewarded, diverges from the common perception that a "balanced" individual is what everyone should strive to be. But instead we spend 8 or more hours at school, only to do more schoolwork at home, and be given assignments over the weekend, during holidays, and even when we don't even have school (summer). I mean I know this is "supposed" to be a competitive world, but holy shit! Some people cannot successfully prioritize their lives to fit in family, friend, and enrichment time, and that's a shame that these people have to go through so much crap. I don't mean to sound too cynical, but what the hell kind of system do we live in? But whatever you happy. haha I really just want to be a rich hippie and spend my life enriching myself and others, and not having to abide by a rigid educational system to gain the money to make it possible.
Please don't forget what you've written about here if and when you ever have kids and start facing the choice of where you'll send them to school...We have SO MUCH WORK to do to overturn the false assumptions about how learning works which you point out here--and many others I could add to your list.
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