Anti-Neocons Forum

Imagine if schools for even just a month taught practical skills. What if kids learned things that were actually useful, not in a broad way but specific things they could do? Fill out a tax form, cook a turkey, run a register, set up a basic website, put up a dry wall, common car maintenance (change an air filter) set up a CD at a bank etc etc these things take about 20mins each, you could fill a whole 7hr days with common useful skills.

I think they wouldn't be board and would be motivated for a day of school because they'd actually learn things they could use right away and the rest of their life. As it is now they learn abstract often fictional stories in school, and then have to learn everything else starting at zero in the real world. All of us understood even at an early age that after the basic skills taught in the first couple years of school, from about 4th grade through all of Jr High and most of High School, you really aren't learning anything.

The subjects are staggered oddly. Why is English a staple course while Health is an elective? Economics and Philosophy usually don't even appear until college. Shop and Home Eco are reduced to the lowest rung of electives usually with pass or fail grades and watered down to the lowest common denominator. Do you know what is a better measure than grades? "Can you do X?" If you can, then you learned how to do it and if you can't then you didn't learn how to do it. How much you learned is very clear as the skill can be preformed. The goal should be to teach everyone how to do it and the test just a way to check it.


The time spent in schools is being wasted. Why not have a course called, "pragmatic skills for daily life" where they could learn sets of skills that were hands on and useful? Think of all the things you had to teach yourself outside or after school. Just an idea.

They used to have a lot of real classes, at least when I went.

You had woodshop, metalshop, vehicle repair, etc.

But kids can get hurt running a table saw, or cut them selves on sharp metal, or drop a transmission on their toe. So with lack of funding, and fear of lawsuits, it all stopped.

Anything that clearly demonstrates not everyone is equal, has to go because it hurts the widdle feelings of the equality cult.
It used to be a kid was responsible for their grades. Now if they get a bad grade it's the teacher's fault.
If little Susie can't get an "A" by simple obedience doing all her homework, and memorizing spoon fed answers for a test, then all hell must break loose. School teaches obedience little more.

Not sure which school system you are referring to but here in Texas practical skills are taught. Kids can take shop (mechanical, wood, HVAC repair, etc), computer troubleshooting classes, cosmetology, cooking classes, agricultural and basic bookkeeping all as electives. Also kids who want to go to the military can take ROTC.

Economics is a class that is required to graduate. Also juniors and seniors can be part of a co-op program where they work and go to school. Kids also can take part (provided they have the grades) in a dual credit program where they attend college but also get high school credit for those classes. My son takes part in that program. He is getting his economics course taught to him by a college professor.

Maybe you are talking about Japan where all kids have to like science and math.

I forgot a program that works with the local hospitals that helps kids that want to go into medical fields. By the time they graduate, they are already certified as pharmacy techs.

There is also FFA and 4-H for rural schools and some larger cities. I know they even teach kids to weld in ag class (super dangerous).

i SAY TO TEACH A HIGH SCHOOL CHILD ....TO FIGHT AND WIN IN COURT...AND PLAY THAT BLACKS LAW DICTIONARY...PING PONG GAME!!!

ITS ASHAME THAT YOU PUT SON OR DAUGHTER IN THE BIG WORLD OF LIES...AND IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH SCHOOL!!

AND I AM LEARNING ALL OVER AGAIN...AND MY PERSONAL DE-PROGRAMMING

HERE IS A LINK ...THAT THE CONSTITUTION WAS NEVER RATIFIED .....9 OUT 13 COLONY STATES APPROVED ...AND THE PRESIDENT DOES NOT TAKE AN OATH ON PAPER ITS ONLY VERBAL!!!




http://www.edrivera.com/?p=1550" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Phys I think most if not every school has those things aside from economics. But they are electives and often pass fail. Shop class is more like ok everyone make a bird house or something stupid like that and practical skills are being left for students to figure outo n their own time outside of school. Musicians aren:t coming form music class, they are coming out of people's garages. Artist are selft taught, foreign lange is usually from private classes, history and economics from the internet, cooking probably form one of their parents or not at all. Banking on the fly or not at all, web design from a freind or a special higher ed course or not at all, and also not very good. Comuputing classes are so bad they have kids doing typing lessons. Thats one thing the internet proved in the three or even two finger method is just as efficiant as the ten finger rigid system for typing.

Why not start the school yourself?

Maybe create a Kickstarter campaign, gather some of the best minds (at least within your region) and go with it?

You can also use the school to teach kids how to reason & question everything.

Why not start the school yourself?

because I live in Japan. Kind of I have started a school online and its free and I teach politics and unravel the BS in the news.

edit cause i added a lot