I think its ridiculous that we think that all brains are on the same development schedule.
Some people are ready for college level at 12, some won't be ready until they're 25.
If high school was better, would we need college?
41–50 of 66 posts
Re: If high school was better, would we need college?
#42I think there are probably a lot of fields where the knowledge needed can be covered in a lot less time with the right software designing the curriculum, It always seemed to me that certain course were specified for a program even if you only needed part of what was covered.
And then there's the need to make these programs all come out to exactly 2 or 4 years in length. I suspect there's a lot of padding going on.
Re: If high school was better, would we need college?
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's ridiculously overpriced, but the value added is very good. The first phrase makes the second less likely to be true. On the basis of international comparisons, including comparisons with a country outside the United States I have lived in for two three-year stays, I don't think K-12 schooling in the United States offers good value added or good value for the price paid by taxpayers. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/…
The first phrase makes the second less likely to be true. This makes no sense. As for your links, they provide the same data my links provide, but with less granularity. Why do you feel it is proper to ignore the ethnicity data? Simply because this gives you a conclusion you want?
Saying something is Overpriced (especially rediculously so) implies that it likely does not add enough value for the cost charged. Therefore, the more true your first statement is, the less likely your second statement is true.
Re: If high school was better, would we need college?
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
You don't think college―further education―is useful? Are you as good with code as you are in catering for thousands? It's impossible to be an expert in multiple fields. Specialized further education is essential―otherwise, we'd all be have the same small, limited, "high school" set of skills. When you develop a pill that can give every human all discovered knowledge, then there will be no need for further education.
you can self-educate. you can educate in ways/venues other than college. further education is-not-necessarily-or-only college however, college/university does typically take 4+ years, costs anywhere from USD$20-100k, and there's a lot involved other than actual learning. there are many ways in which we can improve upon it.
It's also a change in location. It's significantly easier to be driven and interested in a subject when there are a nonzero number of people sharing your interest to interact with.
Re: If high school was better, would we need college?
#45Re: If high school was better, would we need college?
#46I think about 98% of the population are what I'd call statistically and economically illiterate. Basic economics should be a mandatory lesson at school, but unless you picked the class you can leave without even understanding the law of supply and demand. And then politicians, whose job is mainly to interfere with economic activity, blast these people with statistics (the significance of which they barely understand)…
>The productivity of virtually every job in the country depends in part on the employee's ability to use a computer. Don't you think that's somewhat of an overstatement?
I also thought it's somewhat of an overstatement, but having worked on software for the construction industry (for the operators of paving machines and the like), I think we will eventually end up in a situation where most jobs involve computer use.
Re: If high school was better, would we need college?
#47The recent increase in reliance on college as a prerequisite for many office and knowledge worker jobs is more of an indication of the failure of the public K-12 education system than of the beneficial qualities of college. It's no longer feasible to assume that the holder of a high school diploma possesses a basic level of proficiency with the English language (written and verbal), mathematics, reasoning skills, and…
I agree 100% with your comment. I think it was incredibly frustrating going through college in classes where people were there just since it is a requirement for basic jobs today. University should not be forced upon these people who want a four year party away from their parents... let it be for people who want to do something more focused than a general education. The mandatory college experience has to be stopped…
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Re: If high school was better, would we need college?
#48The primary problem is the economics of school and the perverse incentives of public funding / private benefit. People view schooling as an entitlement and when the price becomes 'free' more is demanded than can be supplied, since the essential product of schooling is a piece of paper the quality of inputs can be greatly reduced with out affecting the quality of the final product. Only once people learn to educate themselves will the problem be fixed. We need a much bigger focus on learning and education and much less focus on attempting to make schooling deliver education.
Schooling is not designed to educate, it's designed to prepare people for factory work, military service, and obedience to authority via nationalism. Just like startups the whole system works much better when fueled by productivity and bootstrapping (working through school) rather than large capital injections (loans, parents, etc). If you go to school with a mind to be educated you can learn a lot, if you go to school with a mind to graduate you've mostly already lost.
Re: If high school was better, would we need college?
#49The recent increase in reliance on college as a prerequisite for many office and knowledge worker jobs is more of an indication of the failure of the public K-12 education system than of the beneficial qualities of college. It's no longer feasible to assume that the holder of a high school diploma possesses a basic level of proficiency with the English language (written and verbal), mathematics, reasoning skills, and…
I wouldn't entirely blame the school system. While I absolutely agree that there are lots of kids coming out of high school who aren't ready for a job in an office, you can't discount the availability of money for prospective college students.
Of course employers are using college as a filter now, "everybody" has a college education, which has driven the cost of labor low enough that they can afford to hire college graduates to answer phones.
Re: If high school was better, would we need college?
#50I think about 98% of the population are what I'd call statistically and economically illiterate. Basic economics should be a mandatory lesson at school, but unless you picked the class you can leave without even understanding the law of supply and demand. And then politicians, whose job is mainly to interfere with economic activity, blast these people with statistics (the significance of which they barely understand)…
>The productivity of virtually every job in the country depends in part on the employee's ability to use a computer. Don't you think that's somewhat of an overstatement?
Well, they could always be going on the internet to learn new tips/practices ;)