Education, the death of creativity?

[awoke]

When I was in highschool, I transfered to a different school at the end of my sophmore year. The first school I attended, was your normal city school. 3,000+ students, run of the mill classes etc... The second school I attended, had around 140 students, and classes on whatever you wanted to learn about. You still had to get math credit etc... but if you wanted to learn about something, and there was no class dealing with it, you were allowed to create your own class, and teach it, along with one of the schools teachers for credit, or, you could create an independant class, and make your own assignments, get them approved by staff and get credit for completeing the class. It was the best school I ever went to, and it was the most challenging. people would show up expecting it to be easy, and be gone as quick as they came. I learned far more at that school in 1 year than I would have in 4 years at the other school. anyway, I say that, to post this.... http://youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY&feature=related what do you folks think about this whole topic? do you think a complete overhaul of our approach to education would be a good idea?

[Howie]

Very interesting. There are so many variables involved I guess. It seems most of us have something, somewhere an aspect of us where we can excel at. Maybe more effort should be put on spawning what ever that trait is. I do think that society as a whole is too scared to fall out of a set curriculum. Schools more so. But those are often mandated, that is the problem. Even if teachers see this in difference in children, how much can they do when they have chosen parameters. Parents should be the ones to foster the growth of their children. Same as they should hold a good portion of accountability for their kids behavior. Isn't that easy for me to say having no kids!!!!

[Moonbeam]

what do you folks think about this whole topic? do you think a complete overhaul of our approach to education would be a good idea? I'm sure it would be. Unfortuately the federal government has decided to take over the schools and tell everybody what tests they have to pass, so that's what they teach for now--passing a test. I guess they can refuse to do it and lose the funding. That would be the best thing for them to do. Unfortunately the money probably isn't there to change anything if they were to do that. Their kids' education is the last thing on most people's list of financial priorities, it seems.

[Xox]

Interestingly enough the exact opposite happened to me. I moved from a 4000+ school to a school with about 150 kids. The education here at the small school is much more limited, and unfortuinately doesnt offer any classes besides the basic. It's sad how imagination is basically taken away from us in school. The goverment just wants us to follow this certain curriculum. As MoonBeam said the schools cant refuse because they will lose the funds. It's sad, but it's how it is.

[Spartiate]

I guess it depends on what you want to study. You can allow creativity and a more flexible curriculum for subjects like the arts, but things like natural sciences need a rigid structure where the student is basically crammed with as much information as he can handle (it's the only way to get anything done in such a short amount of time). Human sciences fall somewhere in between.

[R.D.735]

Curriculum is often based upon textbooks that are designed to be ineffective and, as a consequence, the instruction of a class is confined to the boundaries of a book that impairs learning instead of promoting it. As many a scholar has remarked, students learn in spite of their books, not because of them.

[Spartiate]

Curriculum is often based upon textbooks that are designed to be ineffective and, as a consequence, the instruction of a class is confined to the boundaries of a book that impairs learning instead of promoting it. As many a scholar has remarked, students learn in spite of their books, not because of them. Not the case for me, I rely almost solely on my books, but then again, all they contain is formulas and examples.

[Moonbeam]

Curriculum is often based upon textbooks that are designed to be ineffective What do you think is the reason for that? Other than the life-sciences and the evolution and sex-ed debate idiocy, I mean.