Outdated Education
Does anyone get the feeling that the way we approach education is completely wrong now a days? Although I think what I’m about to say can apply to the entire world, I’m sure it’s not true every where and since I don’t know the entire world, I’m going to focus on the United States education system rather than anything else. Primarily because, I went through it, and I’m still going through it; therefore, I have a firm understanding for it.
Think about what is demanded to get a high paying job in a field you love. High School, College, Masters…up and up the ladder. Then, analyze what it takes to qualify for each one of those levels. Basically it works like this, you work hard in high school to get into a good college, you work hard in college to get in the program you want. Depending on your destination, your path might change a bit at this point, but basically, you work hard to get to a level…to get to yet another level. As the years go by, it seems that more levels are added to convince ourselves of qualifications in the field.
50 years ago, high school was the general level of education that people reached and finished. At the time, many people didn’t even make it to that, never-mind past that.. You really didn’t need a high school diploma to get a job, but if you did, you’d have a decent one. Then came the need for an associates degree, then society demanded an bachelors degree. For the past 10 years or so, society has demanded the need for a bachelors degree to “guarantee” success in your career. However, now, it’s becoming more and more common for people to get their masters too. What is society going to demand next? A doctorate? Honestly…do I need 8 years of college to run a business, 6 of which has nothing to do with how to do so? Well…maybe, I suppose it depends on how you look at it.
It’s too much to take in at once. So I’ll go slower…
Look at your educational background…take a minute to consider the classes you’ve taken all the way from Preschool up until the end of a typical four year college program. You learn the same things that you learn in 4th grade, in 8th grade. We learn grammar…every year. We learn fractions in 5th grade, then again in 8th grade. We learn basic algebra in 6th grade, then again in 8th grade. It gets even worse when you elevate to the high school level. We continue this trend through graduation, on to college. The first thing any college english professor tells you when you take their class is…”Forget everything you learned in high school”. They re-teach, re-do and we just re-learn. People argue that it’s this repetitive nature that helps us learn. The enforcement is what drives it home; however, if you were to stand outside of a physics class when they had a final on a Friday and question students, and then come back on the next Friday and ask those same students the same questions, 75% of the students who answered correctly on Friday, wouldn’t know the answer the second time around. Why?
It’s the way we learn. The “repetitive educational system” that they claim helps enforce the theories is merely an excuse. We don’t learn more, we learn less, and forget it quicker. Instead of a progressive extension of knowledge, we retain less to do more. This “style” of teaching is why teachers need to review previous years on an extensive basis. 33% of a teachers actual classroom time in America is spent re-teaching the previous subjects that are required. Instead of moving forward a couple of steps with each class and each subject, we are barely crawling forward.
But let’s ignore that…let’s say that the subjects the teachers are trying to teach, are getting into the minds of the students. (Even though they’re really not.) The material is another problematic area. I’ll use math, as it’s a good starter. Let’s take a basic theory, the Pythagorean theory for instance. In the typical class where this is first taught, you are showed what it is, a question that’s associated with and how to solve that question. At this time the typical teacher will go through variations of the question and how to solve them. Rather than explaining the history and conception of the theory and explaining how it works and how it’s applied, students learn how to solve questions. Learning by example, is a great way to learn; but it can only work when you first make the students understand the underlying problem and teach you the basic solution and expand on it. Outside of the classroom, 90% of the students who were taught the pythagorean theory in class, have no idea how to use it outside of that class. So, 5 years down the line when they’re in an engineering class and they need to know how to calculate something where the theory can be applied, they won’t know how to. As a result, the professor compensates by re-teaching it. Again.
Which brings me to my next point. Why is it so absurd to expect some type of knowledge outside of what’s taught in the classroom. I’m currently enrolled in a Computer Programming 1 class at my college. I have no need for this class. I’ve been programming for nearly 5 years in a variety of languages and I consider myself to be a bit higher than this class; however, you need to start somewhere in the educational system and no matter how hard I tried to convince the computer science advisor that I was advanced enough to jump ahead, they wouldn’t allow me to do so.
As a result, the first day of class I learned what a CPU did and how a computer worked. I’m sorry, but if you don’t know how a computer works, you shouldn’t be in a computer programming class. While I understand there has to be a starting point, this class is primarily Java programming. If you don’t know how a computer works, you should be learning QBasic or Logo, or some basic introduction class that allows you to get a grasp for the CONCEPTS before diving into a high level programming language like Java.
No one is learning…no one understands programming. You can’t learn to program by solely learning from a programming class. They teach you how to process input and turn it into output, and maybe throw a loop in there with a few mathematical functions. Nothing useful is ever taught in these classes. It doesn’t matter how high level you go, you only learn for the situation. Maybe Programming 10 involves utilizing peripherals to capture scanning results, but they teach you the functions in the API and that’s it. The teachers never teach you what an API is…you never learn how to use objects, you don’t learn theories of programming, or even basic logic. The learning system is flawed, and I see it best when it comes to technology. In fact, most companies now a days will frown upon technological education and certification and prefer self-taught individuals. Why? Because when you teach yourself…you learn as you go and you learn what you NEED to know. It’s real world…it’s applied. It’s what you need to know and not an example that can’t be applied outside the constructs of the experiment.
And there it is…why do we have to wait until the 3rd or 4th year of college to learn something that applies to the real world. Why do we focus on basics all the time? Why is it…that I need 6 years of X to do 6 months of Y. I’d like to say that it’s not the teachers, but it is. It’s not something personal though. They’re told to teach this way. The state dictates the way the districts must educate their students. They only prepare students for what’s next; however, what’s next is reliant on what’s been previously learned. As a result, you step into a catch 22 where college can’t reform until high school reforms and high school can’t reform until college reforms. Quite the issue, right?
Aside from the high school and college issues, upper education in the masters and doctorate level is just as bad. English is learned…over and over and over. How many times have you taken a class where you’ve already read 50% of the literature? This is common among the upper level classes. While the professors and doctors will claim that they take a “different approach to the same material”, it’s obvious that it’s only an excuse to justify the means.
So how do we fix it? Well, I have no idea. I honestly can’t propose a logical solution to the problem. Every year it gets worse. The more years we add to prove qualification, the worse the educational system becomes. Instead of working from the bottom up improving and re-structuring, we are working from the top…and just adding on.
Education needs an overhaul…a serious one. And fast.