School spends a long time “wasting” our time but learning things is a great way to learn how to interpret information and make actual informed decisions
School spends a long time “wasting” our time but learning things is a great way to learn how to interpret information and make actual informed decisions
There are many alternative teaching methods that are usually not used in public schools e.g. democratic schools. I don’t know how it is in the US, but in Poland there was not a single lesson about how to tell truth from the lies. We were always told to blindly accept that what teacher said and what was in the book. The teachers had, more often than not, problems in their life and instead of talking them through on a psychotherapy, they were acting like fucking dictators, pushing theirs own traumas onto the kids.
Schools are so that parents can leave the kids somewhere when they go to work and to accept authority without question. No wonder far-right is so strong now
In the US it varies widely. I was lucky to grow up in a small city with a university so we had some solid teachers who mostly made it clear that the goal of public education was to learn how to learn and think critically, including questioning authority.
I know quite a few people from rural towns the same state who were taught everything by route memorization and to obey authority.
And my college/university experience was that even those instructors were as bad or worse than grade/high school teachers - they lacked curiosity and only taught how to appease the bureaucracy.
In the US I think it varies a lot from town to town and teacher to teacher.
I had a history teacher in like 10th grade (age ~15). He spent the first bulk of a lesson one day telling us stuff. Everyone was wrapped up in what a good story this was about whatever. Then, in the end of the class he was like “everything I just told you is bullshit. It’s alterations, omissions, and lies to make the story sound better for the victors.”
I don’t remember what the actual subject was, but it was a good lesson in not blindly accepting what a charismatic guy in a suit tells you.