I've learned more from listening to KaTG than I ever did in school.

william · 11-08-2005, 09:57 PM

Well, not actually, but it did get your attention.

I was thinking the other day how so much of school was a waste of time. To this day I can't figure out why so many professors were obsessed with how you quoted references - how you formatted it, what had to be underlined, what had to be in caps, etc.. and points were taking off your final grade if anything was formatted incorrectly. I never saw the point in it. It wasn't as if any of my papers were ever going to be published - and if they were that's why editors and proof-readers exist! Figuring out how to quote your sources was one of the most painful parts of writing a paper. Hopefully now they have software for this.

And you could never use an encyclopedia as a reference! My mother spent two years getting me one of those supermarket encyclopedias. Each month a new volume would come out and she would save up to buy it for me. I remember being so upset the first time I used it in school and a teacher told me you couldn't use an encyclopedia as a reference. My mother fucking spent months saving and buying this for me and I can't use it for school!?! You $@#$!!

And then there were all the math classes one had to take. Here's what you need to get by in 99% of the jobs:

Basic arithmetic
Basic algebra - and probably for 97% of the jobs this is useless too
How negative numbers work
How to figure out percentages
What's a ratio
What are fractions
How to turn a fraction into a percent.

...and you're done!

Geometry should be left to the smart kids who want to take it. Forget calculus - that's only for the super-smart.

As for history - the way it's taught is so boring that they might as well give up. I've learned more about Cesar watching "HBO's Rome" that I can recall from all my years at school.

Social Studies? Every time there's an election they have to explain what the electoral college is and most people can't tell you the difference between a senator and a representative nor what they do. I learned more about our government watching "Schoolhouse Rock" than I ever did in school (man! It seems like the only way I can learn things is by watching TV - then again - so? It's a different medium - if you can recall what you learn from watching TV but forget it when you learn it from a teacher then what's the better method?). Government and Social Studies shouldn't take more than six months of a student's life (and only in High School).

Anyone take a foreign language in school? Ask someone ten years later after they've taken 3 or 4 years in H.S. and they'll remember how to say "Hello" and "My name is." You want to teach a kid a foreign language? Have them use it all the time not just when the teacher calls on you. Teach the rules of grammar and spelling after they've mastered speaking it.

Shakespeare? Zzzzzz.... (and this from an English major.) "Look! Little Jimmy got the lead role as Hamlet!" Great - now for the next six months he's going to spend hours learning lines. I'd rather have use that time to learn how to build an engine.

I sucked at reading - always a low scorer until I was in the sixth grade and for some reason we were allowed to read whatever books we wanted. I remember taking months to read "A Dog on Barkingham Street" and when I finished it I was like - wow! That was actually fun! Within a year I was an avid reader and aced reading. I wound up amassed the largest library of books of anyone I know until a few years ago when I needed to make more space. (I kept a few volumes of my Mom's encyclopedia because I just couldn't part with the whole thing.)

You want kids to develop good reading habits? Give them stuff they'd like to read. Read Stephen King if you have to.

(On a side note I once took a drama class and I didn't get around to reading one of the plays. Instead I watched it. For some reason the professor asked he a question which lead me to reply that I didn't get to read the play but I did go see it the week before - to which he replied, "Excellent! Plays are meant to be seen, not read!")

Art? When I was in grammar school art consisted of having one of the parents come over once a month, handing out a bunch of construction paper and then asking us to draw something. When ten minutes were up she would ask us to hold up our stick figures crayon blobs. Once we were done humiliating ourselves she would hold up her superior drawing and listen to us all ohhh and ahhh. So much for art. Art should be fun but don't bore them with elaborate long histories of who painted what and when. They'll worry about that stuff later when they're trying to impress their date.

Gym? Gym was doing jumping jacks for 10 minutes, running around in a circle, and then getting whacked in the head playing dodge ball or being almost blinded from a field hockey stick. Why isn't cycling a sport in school? Even the geeks can ride a bike.

BTW - I have learned a lot about the Clown profession from KaTG! And I'm sure other things...

stjoe · 11-08-2005, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by william

And then there were all the math classes one had to take. Here's what you need to get by in 99% of the jobs:

Basic arithmetic
Basic algebra - and probably for 97% of the jobs this is useless too
How negative numbers work
How to figure out percentages
What's a ratio
What are fractions
How to turn a fraction into a percent.

...and you're done!

Geometry should be left to the smart kids who want to take it. Forget calculus - that's only for the super-smart.

I'd have to agree with most of what you said here. I've often wondered the same thing. One thing I don't agree with though is the Calculus remark. I loved Calculus, Number Theory, and Discrete Combinatorial Math. They helped further develop the problem solving techniques I use every day. And no, not Math questions. I'm talking about being able to look at anything from different points of view, working through things backwards like you would with Proofs, etc. I know, it's probably just me, but Math was fun and useful.

rellek · 11-08-2005, 11:05 PM

When I look back at my school experience I find that I'm not the ignorant, uninterested person that I was led to believe, school was boring and didn't present itself in a manner conducive to my learning. I used to think that I hated to read, as it turns out, I dislike reading materials that induce a willingness to die. Ever read The Old Man and the Sea? The book is over 120 pages of apathy, it could have been told in a sentence - An old man goes on a boat to catch a fish, he endures some challanges but catches the fish, THE END. For the most part student don't fail at education but rather its the opposite. I can recall several students failing health, a class in which above all things, you learn about sex and reproduction. Show a porno for crying out loud that will at least hold a students attention.

LD · 11-08-2005, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rellek

Ever read The Old Man and the Sea? The book is over 120 pages of apathy, it could have been told in a sentence - An old man goes on a boat to catch a fish, he endures some challanges but catches the fish, THE END.

nothing kills a kid's interest in reading faster than being forced to read a book and then continuously analyze every paragraph as you go.

Thanks a lot school.

unknownsoldier · 11-09-2005, 01:45 AM

I'm still in school and its the complete opposite. Usually i find that within school most kids like **one** part of school. They like gymn class or science... Some schools do mechanical engineering which will teach you how to build an engine you know! The idea of school is to give you a nice rounding so that you know at least a little bit about everything when you leave.

You can't learn more about a political system from a tv show than what you can get from reading the paper, reading academic's opinions and such. There just isn't the time.

Studying one or two books such as shakespeare helps you more deeply understand all books and the characters inside them and the motives they have. It changes your thought patterns, and turns a 2dimensional book into a vivid landscape.

The same with math. Of course most people will never find a use for calculus. But they teach you different ways of thinking. The ideas of proofs, working backwards, dealing with information and finding solutions! All of these things develop the mind.

I don't think raw information retention should be the test of the value of an education. There is more to it than that.

goran_d2003 · 11-09-2005, 02:44 AM

All of you stop bitching, at least it over for you. I'm still at school and I'm couting the minutes till I get out. I agree with most of the things said, except maybe the foreign languages cuz I speak four (English, German, French and Spanish) and they'll sure come in handy when I move out, like I'm planning to. And I sware to God, I have learned more from KatG than anything at school.

-goran

PS: I just got my first F in Math yesterday, yaay!

MichaelG · 11-09-2005, 07:18 AM

High School was the easiest time in my life. The school work was easy, the classes were easy, I played some sports. After HS things got tough. Enjoy it now and realize if you are struggling now you may not be a productive citizen for your country.

Good Luck.

OSLIN · 11-09-2005, 10:12 AM

After several post-graduate hours and degrees, I find that probably just one class would have sufficed for my undergraduate education (maybe even my graduate school education). Seems like all the other classes were more skill-specific, but a year of Western Civilization changed the way I viewed the culture in which I had lived for 18 years. It was like one of those twilight zone episodes where at the end the camera pulls out and you, the viewer, realize these characters were just little people running around in a child's playhouse and the kid is just fucking with them for fun.

MichaelG · 11-09-2005, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OSLIN

After several post-graduate hours and degrees, I find that probably just one class would have sufficed for my undergraduate education (maybe even my graduate school education). Seems like all the other classes were more skill-specific, but a year of Western Civilization changed the way I viewed the culture in which I had lived for 18 years. It was like one of those twilight zone episodes where at the end the camera pulls out and you, the viewer, realize these characters were just little people running around in a child's playhouse and the kid is just fucking with them for fun.

Is there a podcast for that class? I would like to hear it?

What do you doi now? Play Civilization III for a living? or do you have a real job regarding your post graduate degrees.

OSLIN · 11-09-2005, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelG

Is there a podcast for that class? I would like to hear it?

What do you doi now? Play Civilization III for a living? or do you have a real job regarding your post graduate degrees.

No podcast. Part of the value of the class was the format. Assigned readings, discussion, midterm and final. Grade was 1/3 discussion; 1/3 midterm; 1/3 final. Nice and easy, no fucking papers. However, the instructor required you to say SOMEthing about the readings at each class session.

No game, but I think somebody owes you a dollar as Chemda might say. That sounds like a good idea.

Yes. I am gainfully employed in the area for which I was trained in my post-graduate education.

11-08-2005, 09:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
william Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: McMurdo Station Posts: 1,461	I've learned more from listening to KaTG than I ever did in school. Well, not actually, but it did get your attention. I was thinking the other day how so much of school was a waste of time. To this day I can't figure out why so many professors were obsessed with how you quoted references - how you formatted it, what had to be underlined, what had to be in caps, etc.. and points were taking off your final grade if anything was formatted incorrectly. I never saw the point in it. It wasn't as if any of my papers were ever going to be published - and if they were that's why editors and proof-readers exist! Figuring out how to quote your sources was one of the most painful parts of writing a paper. Hopefully now they have software for this. And you could never use an encyclopedia as a reference! My mother spent two years getting me one of those supermarket encyclopedias. Each month a new volume would come out and she would save up to buy it for me. I remember being so upset the first time I used it in school and a teacher told me you couldn't use an encyclopedia as a reference. My mother fucking spent months saving and buying this for me and I can't use it for school!?! You $@#$!! And then there were all the math classes one had to take. Here's what you need to get by in 99% of the jobs: Basic arithmetic Basic algebra - and probably for 97% of the jobs this is useless too How negative numbers work How to figure out percentages What's a ratio What are fractions How to turn a fraction into a percent. ...and you're done! Geometry should be left to the smart kids who want to take it. Forget calculus - that's only for the super-smart. As for history - the way it's taught is so boring that they might as well give up. I've learned more about Cesar watching "HBO's Rome" that I can recall from all my years at school. Social Studies? Every time there's an election they have to explain what the electoral college is and most people can't tell you the difference between a senator and a representative nor what they do. I learned more about our government watching "Schoolhouse Rock" than I ever did in school (man! It seems like the only way I can learn things is by watching TV - then again - so? It's a different medium - if you can recall what you learn from watching TV but forget it when you learn it from a teacher then what's the better method?). Government and Social Studies shouldn't take more than six months of a student's life (and only in High School). Anyone take a foreign language in school? Ask someone ten years later after they've taken 3 or 4 years in H.S. and they'll remember how to say "Hello" and "My name is." You want to teach a kid a foreign language? Have them use it all the time not just when the teacher calls on you. Teach the rules of grammar and spelling after they've mastered speaking it. Shakespeare? Zzzzzz.... (and this from an English major.) "Look! Little Jimmy got the lead role as Hamlet!" Great - now for the next six months he's going to spend hours learning lines. I'd rather have use that time to learn how to build an engine. I sucked at reading - always a low scorer until I was in the sixth grade and for some reason we were allowed to read whatever books we wanted. I remember taking months to read "A Dog on Barkingham Street" and when I finished it I was like - wow! That was actually fun! Within a year I was an avid reader and aced reading. I wound up amassed the largest library of books of anyone I know until a few years ago when I needed to make more space. (I kept a few volumes of my Mom's encyclopedia because I just couldn't part with the whole thing.) You want kids to develop good reading habits? Give them stuff they'd like to read. Read Stephen King if you have to. (On a side note I once took a drama class and I didn't get around to reading one of the plays. Instead I watched it. For some reason the professor asked he a question which lead me to reply that I didn't get to read the play but I did go see it the week before - to which he replied, "Excellent! Plays are meant to be seen, not read!") Art? When I was in grammar school art consisted of having one of the parents come over once a month, handing out a bunch of construction paper and then asking us to draw something. When ten minutes were up she would ask us to hold up our stick figures crayon blobs. Once we were done humiliating ourselves she would hold up her superior drawing and listen to us all ohhh and ahhh. So much for art. Art should be fun but don't bore them with elaborate long histories of who painted what and when. They'll worry about that stuff later when they're trying to impress their date. Gym? Gym was doing jumping jacks for 10 minutes, running around in a circle, and then getting whacked in the head playing dodge ball or being almost blinded from a field hockey stick. Why isn't cycling a sport in school? Even the geeks can ride a bike. BTW - I have learned a lot about the Clown profession from KaTG! And I'm sure other things...
(Offline)

11-08-2005, 11:05 PM	#3 (permalink)
rellek NO BRUMSKI Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: NYC! Posts: 966	When I look back at my school experience I find that I'm not the ignorant, uninterested person that I was led to believe, school was boring and didn't present itself in a manner conducive to my learning. I used to think that I hated to read, as it turns out, I dislike reading materials that induce a willingness to die. Ever read The Old Man and the Sea? The book is over 120 pages of apathy, it could have been told in a sentence - An old man goes on a boat to catch a fish, he endures some challanges but catches the fish, THE END. For the most part student don't fail at education but rather its the opposite. I can recall several students failing health, a class in which above all things, you learn about sex and reproduction. Show a porno for crying out loud that will at least hold a students attention.
(Offline)

11-09-2005, 01:45 AM	#5 (permalink)
unknownsoldier Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Melbourne, Australia (I'm 18 keith!) Posts: 166	I'm still in school and its the complete opposite. Usually i find that within school most kids like one part of school. They like gymn class or science... Some schools do mechanical engineering which will teach you how to build an engine you know! The idea of school is to give you a nice rounding so that you know at least a little bit about everything when you leave. You can't learn more about a political system from a tv show than what you can get from reading the paper, reading academic's opinions and such. There just isn't the time. Studying one or two books such as shakespeare helps you more deeply understand all books and the characters inside them and the motives they have. It changes your thought patterns, and turns a 2dimensional book into a vivid landscape. The same with math. Of course most people will never find a use for calculus. But they teach you different ways of thinking. The ideas of proofs, working backwards, dealing with information and finding solutions! All of these things develop the mind. I don't think raw information retention should be the test of the value of an education. There is more to it than that.
(Offline)

11-09-2005, 02:44 AM	#6 (permalink)
goran_d2003 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Skopje, Macedonia (Southern Europe) Posts: 1	All of you stop bitching, at least it over for you. I'm still at school and I'm couting the minutes till I get out. I agree with most of the things said, except maybe the foreign languages cuz I speak four (English, German, French and Spanish) and they'll sure come in handy when I move out, like I'm planning to. And I sware to God, I have learned more from KatG than anything at school. -goran PS: I just got my first F in Math yesterday, yaay!
(Offline)

11-09-2005, 07:18 AM	#7 (permalink)
MichaelG Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: In my chair Posts: 4,566	High School was the easiest time in my life. The school work was easy, the classes were easy, I played some sports. After HS things got tough. Enjoy it now and realize if you are struggling now you may not be a productive citizen for your country. Good Luck.
(Offline)


Keith and The Girl is a free comedy talk show and podcast Check out the recent shows Click here to get Keith and The Girl free on iTunes. Click here to get the podcast RSS feed. Click here to watch all the videos on our YouTube channel.

11-09-2005, 10:12 AM	#8 (permalink)
OSLIN Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 317	After several post-graduate hours and degrees, I find that probably just one class would have sufficed for my undergraduate education (maybe even my graduate school education). Seems like all the other classes were more skill-specific, but a year of Western Civilization changed the way I viewed the culture in which I had lived for 18 years. It was like one of those twilight zone episodes where at the end the camera pulls out and you, the viewer, realize these characters were just little people running around in a child's playhouse and the kid is just fucking with them for fun.
(Offline)

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Join the Show