Replacing Classes in Middle/High School

[_Keno_]

While learning the history of your own country and the rest of the world is important, how much of it is really necessary? Should P.E. be required? Or is it a waste of time. How much schooling can probably be replaced with more important information?

The debate: Are our current school curricula maximizing student learning?

What classes do you think should stay? What isn't really helping? What else would be useful?

In my opinion, history is interesting, but other than for geography and my senior econ/govt classes, I dont know that I really learned a massive amount of useful information. I would say that at least half of history classes could better be replaced by philosophy, which would enable critical thinking about important issues.

 

[Izanagi97]

P.E. should be an optional but sorta recommended class.

It is fun to do (such as using the exercise bike as a **** measuring contest), but being required isn't fun (and online P.E. is a joke, though mostly because I can't hook my school laptop to the wireless network.)

 

[Budget Player Cadet_]

Okay, serious question - when was the last time anyone actually got anything out of the classics? Seriously. In Germany, we have this concept of "allgemeinbildung" (general knowledge) which is one goal of schooling, but honestly, the list of times I've brought up Goethe or Schiller and the purpose was not to slag them off as ****ty authors is... Um... zero. None. It's kind of disturbing that people leave high school knowing far more about old literature than they need to, and very little about, I dunno, balancing a checkbook.

Or how about nutrition? Being able to cook healthy meals? That's something they really oughtta teach.

How 'bout scientific thinking and source analysis? This is something that a shocking number of people don't get. You could easily fill a semester talking about basic science, the underpinnings thereof, and how skepticism works. Throw in some information about various news sources, talk about how to calibrate a "baloney meter", talk about how conspiracy theories work and the thinking traps people fall into, and you've got something that would put the Texas republican party up in arms faster than you can say "Left-wing atheist conspiracy". And, coincidentally, a class that virtually everyone needs. Throw in some talk about the scientific method and the peer-review system, and you're set to brainwash kids!

I disagree on history class - a good understanding of history helps inform the geopolitical and economic situation today. Much of economics is looking back through history to find analogous examples to support or refute models. Was the great depression caused by the government propping up the wrong subjects and being too kind to the unemployed? Or was it a market failure based on bank runs and nobody being willing to spend money? The answer to this actually matters, as it helps inform how we should respond to the current economic woes. Understanding the context in which the EPA came to be helps us understand why it's so crucially important for the government to have a hand in protecting the environment. Understanding the holocaust helps us be wary of warning signs for the future, and to watch ourselves for similar abuses.

Meanwhile, on the "let's cut this ****" list, the things that don't matter need to be electives. Classics. Music. Art. If you don't care about these things, there's not exactly a good reason why you'd need them. In return, beef up STEM to all hell.

 

[_Keno_]

The point of the classics, much like history, is really just the "life lessons" and a bit of general knowledge. I consider learning to think critically more important than these things. Really though, I'm just asking to cut out what's irrelevant to today. The gold rush? French and Indian War? I only really know about history directly related to America, and I haven't really gotten any life lessons out of them either. Most of the classics are similar for me, being unrelatable and unapplicable (though some books, like 1984, have been important).

I agree that the holocaust, slavery, along with all the great and terrible historical events are actually purposeful, but it's over the top being given an hour a day for years, at the same level as mathematics and science. Except for maybe Gov't, Econ, and Geography, which I also agree are important to know, but they are normally just taught in a single semester.

 

[AUS]

This is not a simple question to answer since there are many variables at play here, personally I like both History and P.E as required classes, and here is why. Physical Education, at least in my school, was not only about teaching basic exercise techniques, if it was I would consider it a course best left as an elective. However there is almost always a subsection of P.E for Health and in that class some very important fundamentals on good health are taught. In my Health class many years ago I recall being told everything about having a safe sex life, an awkward topic but one that is not often talked about with parents due to the awkwardness of the conversation. One might say that kids in grade nine do have a good grip on sex however they may be unaware of important ways of protection and legal requirements (Not going to go deeper than that for the sake of staying appropriate, but you get the picture). There are also fundamentals on drug and alcohol abuse that is incredibly important for grade nine students since they are at the age in which these things become a pressure. As for history it is always important to know history since it shows us what our ancestors have gone through and how we can attempt to never make the mistakes we made in the past.

 

[CArniE]

I think classes should be tailored to preparing you for college and the rest of your life. I can't say that any class in specific had really assisted me in college, except maybe finance. History was a waste of a class, I learnt about Indians, and a bit about Globalization, but nothing vast. As for PE being optional, i don't think it should, it honestly should be mandatory regardless of where you live, and what level of schooling you're in. There's to many clueless out of shape people. In short i just think they should re think what they're teaching you in school, rather than a social experience, high school should prepare you for the real world.

 

[muddykips]

I understand if a school finds it important to ensure students know that things are made of atoms, or that evolution is a scientific fact, or the reasons behind why iconic figures are important - but what I don't understand is why they make these classes so numerous, for instance at my school you have to take courses in chemistry, biology and earth science to satisfy the school's science requirement for graduation. The problem with that is that it's an entire class period out of your school year devoted to one specific field of study, and going in depth into it. If the goal is to give students a sample of various fields of study, or just teach them the basics, then why give them a full course meal? The majority of students won't grow up in an environment where identifying different types of rocks is going to be particularly important, and yet they insist on requiring certain full-year courses just to make sure kids have a general understanding.

In my opinion, there should be just one general course for each required subject like history or science (except probably language study / math), and make full-year courses of each specialization (e.g. civics, world history, etc.) electives. Of course, if students just take the bare minimum, they'd have a lot of free periods, but in that case then they should just require a certain number of electives that a student must take. Let them choose what to study for themselves! That'll help them a lot more in the long run.

Also I'd like to learn how to do taxes. That would be a nice class to offer.

 

[Maven89]

History is definitely important if you want to be an informed citizen in the world. Art/Grammar are to help you formulate your thoughts and be able to extract messages and gain meaning from art or anything else. Both of those are very useful tools to have to be a well functioning adult who contributes and is involved in his society

 

[_Keno_]

I think the argument against mandatory P.E. classes is that the results are temporary and that forcing kids to exercise will many times stop them from wanting to exercise at all. Instead, you should teach kids why they should want to exercise. Couple this with offering activities or having a pin-board of local sports/classes.

SexEd and whatnot is usually not even taught in P.E. here at least, it was a separate class called "Health" for a single semester.

As for history it is always important to know history since it shows us what our ancestors have gone through and how we can attempt to never make the mistakes we made in the past.

I dont like this simply because it's incredibly vague. I hear it all the time as a reason for history classes, but what does it actually mean? Same for what Maven89 mentioned. What about taking the history makes someone informed? If you don't know who the Huns were, are you an idiot and incapable of critical thought? How much is history can really be applied to today?

The majority of students won't grow up in an environment where identifying different types of rocks is going to be particularly important, and yet they insist on requiring certain full-year courses just to make sure kids have a general understanding.

In my opinion, there should be just one general course for each required subject like history or science (except probably language study / math), and make full-year courses of each specialization (e.g. civics, world history, etc.) electives. Of course, if students just take the bare minimum, they'd have a lot of free periods, but in that case then they should just require a certain number of electives that a student must take. Let them choose what to study for themselves! That'll help them a lot more in the long run.

I like the idea of general classes, especially extra ones oriented towards real-world living. Really, students just need to learn to learn. Critical thinking is not as important in a lot of math/science classes and memorizing procedure. Students don't need a massive depth of knowledge if they are more quickly able to comprehend material by approaching it to comprehend, and not just memorize.