"Wade" wrote:

This is my exact problem with how American education works. Instead of teaching concepts and applying them we're just asking students to memorize the information temporarily only to forget it later. Instead of teaching critical thought and analysis we give specific requirements (like length of a paper).

I had an English teacher Junior year of high school who assigned us a 2-3 page paper about a poem we had just read. After we turned it in he said "alright, now cut the fat and revise that paper into 1 page or less." It was an interesting learning experience and taught me a lot about trimming dead wood. He also said this "I don't care about the length of your papers, I care about the quality." Needless to say it was the best English class I ever had.

We're also not teaching students learning skills. Part of basic education should be helping children realize what learning style is most effective for them and then focusing on that. We're in an age where information is widely available and cheap. If only people knew how to teach themselves better.

"djcubez" wrote: