Thanks! You make some good points. And I think all those programs are good, but they tend to act more like band aids than anything. I think there needs to be more fundamental change rather than surface level change. We will see where things go though.

Cheers,
Jeremy

I love your list.
I would be happy to see courses available to kids on these subjects.

It would help them gain prospective for planning their future.

I do believe some of these courses are available here but you have to have a certain grade average in order to qualify.

I do know of some kids graduating with certificates that make them more suitable to be hired right out of school for county and state run-Head Start Programs and special education facilities.
Great series

Bunny got Blog’s last blog post..Stop! In The Name Of Love

I think you hit it right on the head. There is a lack of “applicable” knowledge. And you know what? Its your lucky day because I had already planned to start talking more about business and entrepreneurship.

Cheers,
Jeremy

Nice post Jeremy!
-HIB

HIB’s last blog post..Case Study: My Adventures in Forex Trading

@ George – That is awesome! And true. Exposure at an early age helps anyone develop those skills. My mom emphasized reading at an early age so its no wonder I turned out to be such a book lover. And like you said, in either case, it will serve her well in her adult years.

@ Rampant Heart – Thank you for commenting! Its good to get perspectives from people who went through different educational systems in different companies. As I said, we need to retain and probably add more science and math classes. But not make them requirements. I think most people struggle with the idea of not having required courses. It would take an experimental school and a 20 year longitudinal study to prove my theory but I think if you give kids a choice they will tend to choose wisely. So I say all that to say, offer a broad range of courses with the only requirement being that you have to take so many to fill your day. Could work, no?

@ Passive Dad – Thanks for swinging by! I know many schools offer alternative programs like the ones you mentioned, but not enough, and in not enough places. As you said, maybe it didnt help you find your dream job, but neither does college which offers a wide range of classes. I guess what I am saying is that high school should be more like college (university) so that kids don’t have to wait till college to try own some subjects in a potential career. They can discover in high school what they are discovering in college and after college. Helping kids integrate into society sooner will help us be more productive as a whole.

@ Terrence – Thanks for stopping by! Im always glad to see people enthusiastic about making education better. A lot of these ideas are out there but they are lacking implementation. I think a broadened curriculum is a large part of the answer, but there are many entrenched forces working against it. The certification system, the pay for longevity system, and school funding are just three of the bigger issues we need to face. I fear though that school system work just good enough that we have no clear motivation or incentive to change them.

@ Michele – We are always more regretful of the things we didn’t do then the things we did. The way I see it the goal of education is to prepare students to lead productive lives. We must create and produce to live and feel useful. Practicing creating multiple things in earlier years will help us discover what we would like to do with our lives earlier. The sooner we can discover what we would like to do the sooner we will be productive. The sooner we are creating value for society the sooner the economy as a whole will benefit. It is a rising tide that lifts all ships. My argument is that we have traded value creation for productivity. We need to get it back. We need to take more pride and find more love in our work. Individuals will be happier and society will benefit from all these things greatly.

Thank you all for your thoughts! Many things can be worked out in discussion. Now its up to us to help implement them.

Cheers,
Jeremy

When I was in college, one of my Instructors urged me to proofread for the college textbooks. I’ll always regret that I didn’t. She was like the teacher you envision in this post.

Great information on creating passion, Jeremy! Gave it a stumble.

*smiles*
Michele

Michele’s last blog post..News: Top Health Blogger

That’s exactly why we lose so many kids in school and why so many don’t go on to college. They simply get SICK of “wasting their time” focusing on topics that have no interest to them. Yes, there is a huge responsibility for parents to guide their children and help them find their “true selves” but there are millions of GOOD kids who have BAD parents or NO parents at all. A broadened and revamped educational system is the first step towards curing many of the country’s ills.

EXCELLENT POST

I’ve preached enough.

T

T Edwards’s last blog post..What Are You Going To Do?