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Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech

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Re: Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech

#121
post #111

It is ironic that she is condemning an institution which made it possible for her to write so well and be able to think so originally and creatively. Perhaps she has forgotten, or is unaware, that without the schooling she received, without the need to complete those assignments, or prepare for those tests, she would hardly have been so motivated for the future and full of passion because whatever she might say, she…

She writes well because of her DNA. Both directly (because of her brain itself) and indirectly (because she's innately curious and was hence driven to seek intellectual stimulation just as a beaver builds a dam).

That's a strong claim, and I'm not aware of any support for it aside from anecdotes.

Re: Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech

#122
post #110

Oh come on now, Valedictorian, you can find plenty of important life skills to be learned in school if you only look hard enough: kindergarden - learn how to play nicely together first grade - learn how to read and write second grade - learn how to add, subtract, multiply, & divide third grade - learn how to spell fourth grade - learn how to play a musical instrument fifth grade - learn how to appreciate great litera…

If someone starts learning a foreign language at 7th grade something is wrong I think. Question: Is this the general case for US Education?

US education in regards to foreign language varies widely. I was not presented with the opportunity to take a foreign language until 9th grade (~14 years old), while the district I currently live in offers Spanish education to children age 7.

Edit: This is in Illinois. According to Wikipedia, we have the 7th largest Spanish speaking population in comparison with other states. In my experience, Spanish is the most widely offered secondary language, followed by French. More uncommonly taught languages include Italian and German, and rarer still are Eastern languages such as Japanese. Latin may still be offered in select places, but has been largely phased out.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_in_the_United_States#Cu...

Re: Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech

#123
post #115
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If school taught me anything is that unless im working for myself on what i want, its better to just half ass everything, and not do your best, because all it takes is to not be your worst This is so true. I realized this very thing myself in the second year in high school. I thought: what the hell am I doing trying to get good grades—from every subject? I had been doing precisely that just because I could and with t…

careful on dismissing which European country invaded which European country etc. Unless people have a good understanding of history, they're doomed to repeat it. Something that becomes very clear in times of strife such as the recent world financial crisis. One thing that school is good for is exposing you to ideas that are normally outside your sphere of interest, thus attempting to give you a balanced view of the w…

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Re: Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech

#124

It is ironic that she is condemning an institution which made it possible for her to write so well and be able to think so originally and creatively. Perhaps she has forgotten, or is unaware, that without the schooling she received, without the need to complete those assignments, or prepare for those tests, she would hardly have been so motivated for the future and full of passion because whatever she might say, she…

The institution she is condemning is not necessarily responsible for her talent in writing. It is entirely possible to learn facts outside of the modern school system, and many students learn outside of the classroom by pursuing their own interests.

The real issue here is that the modern American school system is not designed to facilitate learning and growth, but rather it is designed to act as a daycare that produces consumer-workers.

Re: Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech

#125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I beg to differ. People that develop a grit are the ones telling those that didn't what to do. If they couldn't get the work done, how else do you expect them to lead? You can't define a submissive person as simply as above. A submissive person is also one that didn't have the grit to develop his communication skills, his people skills, his critical thinking skills, and his creativity, etc.

Let's put that grit argument another way: Surviving prison develops grit. Therefore it is beneficial to go to prison. Counting the grains of sand on the beach develops grit. Therefore, it is beneficial to count the grains of sand on a beach. Point: not all activities that develop grit are beneficial. The implication of the grit argument is that any tedious activity has some benefit - if not for anything else, then at…

I bet reading those will develop grit... :)

Re: Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech

#126
post #18

There's a lot of selection bias here - the majority (all?) of the readers of this site are far more intelligent than the majority. So all (most? many?) of us will probably agree with her (at least as regarding our own schooling). I know I do. But the trouble, the reality, is that most students can't do what she suggests, using our minds for creativity, and not rote work. There really is a difference in intelligence,…

It's almost like one-size-fits-all is a bad idea. On that thought, I wonder why we get so much choice in so many services that we buy but so little in something that matters as much as education?

Because schools are cheap. And I'm not talking inexpensive.

Re: Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech

#127
post #110

Oh come on now, Valedictorian, you can find plenty of important life skills to be learned in school if you only look hard enough: kindergarden - learn how to play nicely together first grade - learn how to read and write second grade - learn how to add, subtract, multiply, & divide third grade - learn how to spell fourth grade - learn how to play a musical instrument fifth grade - learn how to appreciate great litera…

If someone starts learning a foreign language at 7th grade something is wrong I think. Question: Is this the general case for US Education?

Meant to upvote this. Started learning German in 2nd grade, but that's only because my dad was in the US Army and we were stationed in Germany at the time. Learning a language at that age (and younger) should always be an option for kids as their minds are like sponges at that point. That early exposure always kept me interested in foreign cultures and their languages, too: Japanese, French, and of course, German.

EDIT: Use of simile vs. metaphor for describing the kid brain when it comes to foreign languages. Semantics...

Re: Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech

#128
post #110

Oh come on now, Valedictorian, you can find plenty of important life skills to be learned in school if you only look hard enough: kindergarden - learn how to play nicely together first grade - learn how to read and write second grade - learn how to add, subtract, multiply, & divide third grade - learn how to spell fourth grade - learn how to play a musical instrument fifth grade - learn how to appreciate great litera…

If someone starts learning a foreign language at 7th grade something is wrong I think. Question: Is this the general case for US Education?

8th grade for me in the 80s, and it was quite possible to go through HS without a foreign language at all.

Re: Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech

#129
But without continuously increasing GDP we will have deflation and will not meet our national goal of... hey wait a minute... don't our national goals look a lot like standardized tests?

Maybe we were invaded by aliens a long time ago, and this is our prison.

Re: Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech

#130

ok, for all you school-haters out there on HN, one thing that i think is often overlooked in the 'discussion' of how public schooling is such a mind-numbing rote memorization grind is the fact that it is a way of developing grit, discipline, whatever you call it ... the ability to endure through boring or tedious tasks to achieve some measurable goal. i think that for most people, the biggest determiner of 'success'…

I didn't learn grit from school. I learned that life is pretty easy, and I could do well with very little effort.

Unlearning that lesson in the real world is how I learned grit.

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