Math.
Sure the basics come in handy, that is undeniable, but when was the last
time you used a protractor? When
was the last time you used a compass?
If you think I’m talking about that little Boy Scout gadget that tells
you which direction you’re facing, you’ve only proven my point further. When was the last time you did long
division, or multiplied fractions manually? Do you even remember how? I don’t. If I
have a math problem to solve, I’m not reaching for my pencil, I’m reaching for
my calculator. They have those now
you know. Number of times I’ve
used a protractor since public school:
zero.
Gymnastics. In my public school for about one month each year the
gymnasium was turned into a gymnastics museum where ancient relics were hauled
out of storage and dusted off for us to admire, before finding out these were
to be used for some sort of athletic purposes, all having the potential of
causing us great bodily harm. The
spring board didn’t spring, the rope climb made me feel funny like I was going
to wet my pants, and most of the “equipment” was actually wooden boxes with a
thin layer of leather padding. The
scariest of all was the trampoline, especially for me being the tallest kid in
the class. Oh, did I mention the
metal ceiling in our gym was only 20ft high! Along with the anxiety of jumping on this thing without a
helmet or neck brace, I did not have a great deal of confidence that my smaller
classmates who surrounded all four sides of the trampoline with their arms up,
would actually catch me should I mistakenly take an errant trajectory. Number of times I’ve been on a
trampoline since public school:
zero.
French. I have nothing against people who know how to speak French,
in fact I applaud their ability to do so.
I wish I knew how to speak French, but I don’t, and do you know how many
problems that has caused for me during my lifetime thus far? Absolutely none. I’m pretty sure that if I was ever
dropped off somewhere in downtown Paris, I could walk out of there with a tasty
croissant. Je ma pelle
hungry. Or whatever. You know what I mean. I’d do just fine. Number of times I’ve spoken French
since public school: zero.
Art. Simply by showing up to art class you should be guaranteed an A+. Art is an expression of oneself, not
something to be graded on. But
were you ever allowed to express yourself? No. Sure, the
teacher would let us take turns sniffing the fruit scented markers repeatedly
until we got a nice little buzz, but then just as our creative juices started
flowing, she’d force us to twist a small square of tissue paper onto the end of
our pencil, dab it in glue, and paste it to a piece of cardboard over and over
again until we made something that resembled a turkey. That seems unnecessary. Number of times I’ve twisted a small
square of tissue paper onto the end of my pencil, dabbed it in glue and pasted
it to a piece of cardboard over and over again until I’ve made something that
resembles a turkey since public school:
zero.
Pfft… waste-o-time.
ROFL! It's true, there are a lot of things that SHOULD be taught in public school instead wasting the students' time. Consider the following ...
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2) How to pay your taxes.
3) How to calculate interest rates.
4) When to use your turn signals.
Sure, it's not BAD to know how to do long division or calculus ... these classes are supposed to teach us to "think" ... but the time could certainly be spent teaching something more useful.
GREAT POST!
Or perhaps...how to work...earn money...save...survive....nope...none of that in the system.
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