Poll of the Day > I don't understand high school. Why do people endorse this scam?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm 26 years old, and you want to know how many times I've had to find the hypotenuse of a right angle trigangle since I've graduated? Zero. Wanna know how many times I've had to know the periodic table by heart? Zero. How many times knowledge of any of the ancient civilizations happened to make a difference? Fucking zero.

What the hell is wrong with the high school curriculum? It's a scam. It wastes tax payer's dollars, it wastes the money of the parents, and it wastes the time of the child.

You wanna know what classes I would have loved to have, now that I'm an adult?

- How to mortgage
- How to budget
- Basic car maintenance
- How to invest
- How to do taxes
- Basic home repairs
- All those numbers and words that come up in car commercials that mean literally nothing to me.
- How to maintain a balanced diet
Etc.

These are lessons I could use basically every single day. Where as 90% of what I learned in high school I've already forgotten because it doesn't matter.
The thing is, these are all things that I see parents teaching their kids after the finish high school. Why? High school should be getting teenagers ready for the real world. Also what about people like me who didn't live in a house with two parents, or whose parents were poor? Where are they supposed to learn these skills?

It's fucking frustrating that I wasted 6 years of my life in high school when I could have been learning more useful things.
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IceDragon77 posted...

I'm 26 years old, and you want to know how many times I've had to find the hypotenuse of a right angle trigangle since I've graduated?

Hey that's cool, but I use trig fairly regularly in my job and you're not the only person on Earth. It would have sucked ass if I hadn't learned basic math in high school and had to start from the beginning in college at age 18 at an age when my brain was already starting to become less pliable to new things. They can't tailor a curriculum for every individual's exact needs so they just have to do the best they can.

tbh, there are some high school classes which address issues like those, but they're electives.

IceDragon77 posted...

It's fucking frustrating that I wasted 6 years of my life in high school when I could have been learning more useful things.

Uhhhh.... Wait, is this a bit? Are you doing a bit?
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It's free?

IceDragon77 posted...

- How to mortgage
- How to budget
- Basic car maintenance
- How to invest
- How to do taxes
- Basic home repairs
- All those numbers and words that come up in car commercials that mean literally nothing to me.
- How to maintain a balanced diet

You could've learned all those in highschool, well, at least mine did, Housing, Mechanics, Statistics, and my school offered Fitness instead of Gym that was geared towards a healthy living rather than sports.
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While I do agree that those skills would have been nice to learn in high school, there are many careers and jobs that require this information, such as a civil engineer, draftsman, contractor, chemist, biologist, pharmacist, archaeologist, paleontologist, etc. Like @EightySeven said, public schools cannot tailor-make a student's curriculum to match their future. They just don't have enough foresight.

It's another "student couldn't understand simple math" post
Also there are people out there who happen to love history, they teach us it so that people can learn from it.

IceDragon77 posted...

- How to mortgage
- How to budget
- How to invest
- How to do taxes
- How to maintain a balanced diet

In my high school they taught us this so eat it lol
It was a charter school so maybe they made an exception but even my elementary school tried to teach us checks and savings

I don't get what you mean by maintain a balance diet, that's *all* the cafeteria tries to push with their bs food pyramid schemes and forced "fruit and veggie is required" policies.
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darcandkharg31 posted...

It's free?

Nah, he's paying for it now which is what chaps his ass. Wants to sacrifice future generations to lower his taxes.
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-Komaiko54- posted...

Also there are people out there who happen to love history, they teach us it so that people can learn from it.

Plus it's worth remembering that ignorance of history dooms us to repeat it. Of *all* the stuff you can learn in school, it ranks pretty highly there and most people don't know it well enough.
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Most high schools do offer classes in many of those things. You'd think that with two extra years you could have had time to take those electives

This topic just sounds like some edgy "I'm mad that I had to take classes I couldn't pass" whining

WastelandCowboy posted...

Like @EightySeven said, public schools cannot tailor-make a student's curriculum to match their future.

Why did you tag me for this? You could have just referenced my name without the @ giving me an annoying alert.

EightySeven posted...

WastelandCowboy posted...

Like @EightySeven said, public schools cannot tailor-make a student's curriculum to match their future.

Why did you tag me for this? You could have just referenced my name without the @ giving me an annoying alert.

Dunno man. Curiosity?

IceDragon77 posted...

You wanna know what classes I would have loved to have, now that I'm an adult?

- How to mortgage
- How to budget
- Basic car maintenance
- How to invest
- How to do taxes
- Basic home repairs
- All those numbers and words that come up in car commercials that mean literally nothing to me.
- How to maintain a balanced diet
Etc.

These are lessons I could use basically every single day

For what it's worth, my high school tried to have classes that touched on these sort of issues, but almost no one gave a shit, most of the class half-assed their way through it, and I guarantee not a single person there learned anything that they retained and used later in life. Like it or not, those are mostly lessons you have to learn by DOING, when you're at a point in your life when it actually MATTERS. Not when you're in high school and still convinced that you're immortal, invincible, and destined to grow up to be a celebrity rock star astronaut professor.

The average teenager doesn't give a shit about balancing their check book, investing in stocks, or carrying around a sack of flour/egg/crying doll to simulate parenthood. They're also (generally) not going to benefit from home economics classes, or sewing classes, or any of the other "lifestyle" classes some schools offer (like mine did). Ultimately, they're just going to be treated like a burden the student has to get through, not as something worth learning (like mine were).

As much as you can look back as an adult and say "Man, I wish someone would have taught me these things when I was younger," you almost certainly weren't ready to learn those things when you were younger, and wouldn't have gotten shit out of it anyway.


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I feel like those are all things your parents should teach you but a lot don't.
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I remember when we did a budgeting exercise in middle school, but the whole thing was kind of silly. It was basically just finding the highest-paying job with no qualifications beyond a HS diploma and the cheapest apartment possible. But this was when you could find studios or 1 bedroom apartments for $300 or $400 and by the time I actually became an adult those were more like $800 to $1000, with the wages not growing nearly as much

Zeus posted...

tbh, there are some high school classes which address issues like those, but they're electives.

IceDragon77 posted...

It's fucking frustrating that I wasted 6 years of my life in high school when I could have been learning more useful things.

Uhhhh.... Wait, is this a bit? Are you doing a bit?

High school where I am is grades 7-12.
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https://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/1479054311-20161113.png

IceDragon77 posted...

High school should be getting teenagers ready for the real world.

Cars and mortgages aren't "the real world". They're the current fads of society. Even if those fads coincidentally last your whole life, you can't know that ahead of time. Your schooling should be preparing you with the fundamentals you need to survive and understand any situation, and to even create new situations.

A combination of math and physics should teach you enough for you to figure out cars, if you choose to do so. And when cars are made obsolete, the same math and physics will prepare you to get the gist of hovermobiles. Basic reading is enough to figure out taxes, and basic math is enough for handling budgeting.

That said, the fact that you don't think history is relevant to you, and could inform your decisions today, is a bit worrying. You may have just gone to a terrible school?
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Jen0125 posted...

I feel like those are all things your parents should teach you but a lot don't.

And a lot of kids don't have both parents, or parents who can teach them.
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Lightning Bolt posted...

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/1479054311-20161113.png

IceDragon77 posted...

High school should be getting teenagers ready for the real world.

Cars and mortgages aren't "the real world". They're the current fads of society. Even if those fads coincidentally last your whole life, you can't know that ahead of time. Your schooling should be preparing you with the fundamentals you need to survive and understand any situation, and to even create new situations.

A combination of math and physics should teach you enough for you to figure out cars, if you choose to do so. And when cars are made obsolete, the same math and physics will prepare you to get the gist of hovermobiles. Basic reading is enough to figure out taxes, and basic math is enough for handling budgeting.

That said, the fact that you don't think history is relevant to you, and could inform your decisions today, is a bit worrying. You may have just gone to a terrible school?

I think teaching the basics is fine, that's what elementary school is for. Do I need to know in detail about anicent egyptian agriculture? Nope.
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IceDragon77 posted...

- Basic car maintenance

Seems like you should have went to a public vocational high school. Darn those kids who got to go them.
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IceDragon77 posted...

I think teaching the basics is fine, that's what elementary school is for. Do I need to know in detail about anicent egyptian agriculture? Nope.

Math is still basic all the way through 12th grade. I distinctly remember having to tutor a 10th grader on algebra and calculus, and she wasn't particularly dumb. And seriously, how many people do you know who actually understand statistics? The Monty Hall problem gives a pretty simple look at how math can help inform even simple-seeming choices.

Egyptian history is interesting and relevant. They managed to grow great and powerful by putting nearly all of their industry along the Nile River. As it would flood yearly and deposit sediment along the banks, the soil was extremely rich for agriculture. These basic principles are still true today. Many many many cities today are on riverbanks, having learned from the past.

But, okay, maybe you specifically aren't ever going to need to understand how agriculture changes everything. That's why we say that the smart kids will use it and the rest won't. Since we don't know ahead of time which kids are even going to be able to meaningfully contribute to society, we've found (through rigorous testing over the course of forever) that giving everyone access to this knowledge creates the best forward progress for society as a whole. Because a ton of people use that information.

Also, most places allow students to drop out of high school. If high school just really isn't for someone, and their guardian agrees, then they don't have to "waste their time".
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EightySeven posted...

WastelandCowboy posted...

Like @ EightySeven said, public schools cannot tailor-make a student's curriculum to match their future.

Why did you tag me for this? You could have just referenced my name without the @ giving me an annoying alert.

What I've always said, tbh

ParanoidObsessive posted...

For what it's worth, my high school tried to have classes that touched on these sort of issues, but almost no one gave a shit, most of the class half-assed their way through it, and I guarantee not a single person there learned anything that they retained and used later in life. Like it or not, those are mostly lessons you have to learn by DOING, when you're at a point in your life when it actually MATTERS. Not when you're in high school and still convinced that you're immortal, invincible, and destined to grow up to be a celebrity rock star astronaut professor.

Pretty much, yeah. The vast majority of education is only appreciated in hindsight and it's hard to be emotionally invested in something until you absolutely know you need it or find the subject interesting.

IceDragon77 posted...

High school where I am is grades 7-12.

What country? Oo
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EightySeven posted...

IceDragon77 posted...

I'm 26 years old, and you want to know how many times I've had to find the hypotenuse of a right angle trigangle since I've graduated?

Hey that's cool, but I use trig fairly regularly in my job and you're not the only person on Earth. It would have sucked ass if I hadn't learned basic math in high school and had to start from the beginning in college at age 18 at an age when my brain was already starting to become less pliable to new things. They can't tailor a curriculum for every individual's exact needs so they just have to do the best they can.

I am sorry but Ab to the thirdcp to the third=at to the third is not basic math. I could never understand how to solve a problem like that. I barely passed math in highschool with a C- because of nonsensical math problems like that.
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@EightySeven

Hi.
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Rockies posted...

I remember when we did a budgeting exercise in middle school, but the whole thing was kind of silly. It was basically just finding the highest-paying job with no qualifications beyond a HS diploma and the cheapest apartment possible. But this was when you could find studios or 1 bedroom apartments for $300 or $400 and by the time I actually became an adult those were more like $800 to $1000, with the wages not growing nearly as much

And those budgeting exercises are almost entirely worthless until you're put into a situation where you need them. Picking a figurative salary and budgeting doesn't mean much, budgeting within your current salary and desires is something entirely different.

Looking on a piece of paper and saying "Yeah, the $400 place is clearly the best option" until you realize it's a 90 minute commute to work, and all of a sudden you might want to start looking at other options.
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IceDragon77 posted...

- How to mortgage
- How to budget
- Basic car maintenance
- How to invest
- How to do taxes
- Basic home repairs
- All those numbers and words that come up in car commercials that mean literally nothing to me.
- How to maintain a balanced diet

All of those were available at my high school, some in middle school. And I agree I don't use most of what I learned in high school, but I would still like for most people to have a basic grasp on math, politics, and science even if not all of it is used everyday.
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I graduated in '99. We had a class "life management skills" that had combined sex ed, with how to budget, how to write a check, how to tie a tie... lot of random stuff, and it was a requirement. Also had auto shop class available as an elective. There's nothing wrong with learning the foundations of other skills so you find what you like and run with it in college.

GreenGoblinOck posted...

nonsensical math problems like that.

This is why maths needs to be taught more, not less. Maths teaches objectivity and problem solving, it's useful in an abstract way and is hugely valuable.

I wish my school didn't do joke additional break blocks like music, drama and arbitrary parts of history. If they replaced them with practical skills, etiquette lessons or even letting students out of school early, people would benefit.
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The only class like that I ever had was a careers class that was supposed to be building resumes and stuff like that. Like people keep saying high schools offer this stuff but mine didn't and I didn't graduate that long ago.
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I use trigonometry sometimes, when building furniture or creating something. And math as a whole is incredibly useful, both in science and in everyday life. They need to teach way more of it at school. The thing is, you're not just learning math, you're also learning problem solving and you're learning how to learn difficult things.
Basic chemistry, like the periodic table is very useful. Not just for my biology study at the university, but also for regular people, so they actually know what CO2 is when watching the news. So they understand what politicians and scientists are actually talking about.
History, including examples from ancient civilizations, is incredibly useful in everyday decision making, and in understanding today's problem, both small scale and large scale.
At school they teach broad sciences and knowledge and problem solving. This is way more useful than a bit of practical knowledge.

- How to mortgage <-wait a decade or two or move to another country and this knowledge is useless. That's why they teach english, math and economics.
- How to budget <-math and economics, and some schools actually teach budgetting
- Basic car maintenance <-some school teach practical technical things. I learned how to repair cars from manuals and trying. Learning English and problem solving in school helped.
- How to invest <-economics and math.
- How to do taxes <-again will be outdated with time or when you move. Luckily you learn math, english and how to fill in forms at school.
- Basic home repairs <-most schools teach this. And again this knowledge will be outdated with time.
- All those numbers and words that come up in car commercials that mean literally nothing to me. <-you mean the words you learn in english class and the technical terms from natural sciences?
- How to maintain a balanced diet <-this is literally learned in biology class.

The most important thing you learn in school is how to learn. After that go to a library or use the internet to learn specific things you personally want to learn. Like cooking, or how to fly an airplane, or how to build a house or whatever.

The only things in highschool that were completely useless were 4 years of french and 3 years of german.

Kyuubi4269 posted...

GreenGoblinOck posted...

nonsensical math problems like that.

This is why maths needs to be taught more, not less. Maths teaches objectivity and problem solving, it's useful in an abstract way and is hugely valuable.

I wish my school didn't do joke additional break blocks like music, drama and arbitrary parts of history. If they replaced them with practical skills, etiquette lessons or even letting students out of school early, people would benefit.

I work in a grocery store and have never needed to solve a math problem that consisted of letters instead of numbers.
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This topic. Classic potd.
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Zangulus posted...

IceDragon77 posted...

I dont understand

Clearly.

He should have paid more attention in high school.
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High school is a prison to keep teenage boys off the streets.

GreenGoblinOck posted...

I work in a grocery store and have never needed to solve a math problem that consisted of letters instead of numbers.

They're variables... they help you solve problems that do involve numbers. Of course, having seen your other posts it's no surprise you can't even comprehend basic algebra

this is a troll topic
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Kyuubi4269 posted...

GreenGoblinOck posted...

nonsensical math problems like that.

This is why maths needs to be taught more, not less. Maths teaches objectivity and problem solving, it's useful in an abstract way and is hugely valuable.

I wish my school didn't do joke additional break blocks like music, drama and arbitrary parts of history. If they replaced them with practical skills, etiquette lessons or even letting students out of school early, people would benefit.

Music is important
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DirtBasedSoap posted...

this is a troll topic

Yeah I was thinking I saw those points posted else where before.

Also at Zeus, its not super uncommon in small towns to lump 7-8 into high school as well.
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Kyuubi4269 posted...

GreenGoblinOck posted...

nonsensical math problems like that.

This is why maths needs to be taught more, not less. Maths teaches objectivity and problem solving, it's useful in an abstract way and is hugely valuable.

I wish my school didn't do joke additional break blocks like music, drama and arbitrary parts of history. If they replaced them with practical skills, etiquette lessons or even letting students out of school early, people would benefit.

How could anyone possibly benefit from being introduced to the arts in school? God.. what a dreary world you long for where music and drama aren't useful.

Is music really even a part of many high school curricula? Sure, there are band electives, but I don't think I had a single mandatory music class after elementary school. And they teach you some decent fundamentals in elementary school, but you're too young for them to really go into theory that would be useful. I wish classes like that were more commonplace in high school. I didn't want to have to play the trombone or whatever just to learn music theory.

Then again, you don't really need to know anything about how music works to enjoy it.

DirtBasedSoap posted...

this is a troll topic

This is PotD. Pretty much every topic is a troll topic.


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