learning, education, etc
category: general [glöplog]
I got fuck all benefit from formal education. I'm pretty sure I learned most of my academic knowledge from home, and sometimes from my peers. Whom of course I did meet at school, but probably would have met anyway.
When I was a child, if I did not have homework from school, my parents would often assign me their own 'homework assignments'. (It kinda 'sucked donkey balls' at the time, but in retrospect I'm glad)
Mum, took it upon herself to see than I knew how to read and count before I got to school (and to be fair Dad also, but he was busier with working and whatnot.).
Although writing and solving problems did not get introduced until I was allready in school. I don't think I'd have learned anything, had my parents not set me their own 'homework assignments' and actively ensured that I remained 'one-step ahead' of the curriculum.
Also, the assignments were just as often of a practical nature, I don't think I'd know how to cook a meal, or even wash dishes without them. They taught us cooking in school, but it was 'eau-de-cuisine' (french please excuse my boorish accent) shit and not the practical operation of a domestic kitchen.
However, Scouts DID teach me all sorts of useful stuff, like first aid, knots and how to start a fire. It was also more fun, although all the ceremony was boring.
(Going camping? Take a lighter, and a little accelerant. 'coz two sticks will take all day:-)
I never finished HS, I made it as far as year 11 somehow.
I tried to complete year 12 several times, by several methods.
But even by correspondence it seems patronising and insulting to my intelligence to devote A YEAR to such basic standardised testing. And I usually quit within a month.
I hear in USA you can get GED in one set of exam's. I'm sure other countries do similar. In AU it seems one has to complete a ton of course work, which would take months, even if one was an expert in the subject.
People tell me tertiary education (Uni/College/etc.) is a different story, in that it's not standardised and patronising. And I would like more formal education, but I'm pretty jaded, and don't think it'd be worth tens of thousands of dollars just to drop out of another school.
I'm pretty good at writing essays, this is how I managed to coast through most of HS.
Anyway, what are your though's on modern education? What are your experiences?
I know Optimus and Adok are just itching to write up a small thesis on this topic.
When I was a child, if I did not have homework from school, my parents would often assign me their own 'homework assignments'. (It kinda 'sucked donkey balls' at the time, but in retrospect I'm glad)
Mum, took it upon herself to see than I knew how to read and count before I got to school (and to be fair Dad also, but he was busier with working and whatnot.).
Although writing and solving problems did not get introduced until I was allready in school. I don't think I'd have learned anything, had my parents not set me their own 'homework assignments' and actively ensured that I remained 'one-step ahead' of the curriculum.
Also, the assignments were just as often of a practical nature, I don't think I'd know how to cook a meal, or even wash dishes without them. They taught us cooking in school, but it was 'eau-de-cuisine' (french please excuse my boorish accent) shit and not the practical operation of a domestic kitchen.
However, Scouts DID teach me all sorts of useful stuff, like first aid, knots and how to start a fire. It was also more fun, although all the ceremony was boring.
(Going camping? Take a lighter, and a little accelerant. 'coz two sticks will take all day:-)
I never finished HS, I made it as far as year 11 somehow.
I tried to complete year 12 several times, by several methods.
But even by correspondence it seems patronising and insulting to my intelligence to devote A YEAR to such basic standardised testing. And I usually quit within a month.
I hear in USA you can get GED in one set of exam's. I'm sure other countries do similar. In AU it seems one has to complete a ton of course work, which would take months, even if one was an expert in the subject.
People tell me tertiary education (Uni/College/etc.) is a different story, in that it's not standardised and patronising. And I would like more formal education, but I'm pretty jaded, and don't think it'd be worth tens of thousands of dollars just to drop out of another school.
I'm pretty good at writing essays, this is how I managed to coast through most of HS.
Anyway, what are your though's on modern education? What are your experiences?
I know Optimus and Adok are just itching to write up a small thesis on this topic.
Well,
It's the same thing if your parents take your broken computer to a shop, or ask you to fix it. The computer shop is going to do a mediocre job at best, ignoring much of your parents computer use habbits and perhaps deleting a few important files in the process. You are going to perform much better at this task.
The point is that generalized services like school and computer fixing cannot possibly be perfect. We can only hope that they are good enough. But they work very well in situations where noone is a computer expert in the family or the parents have absolutely no idea about children education. Don't assume that because your parents had the patience and the skill to teach you stuff, that other parents have the same skill too. In fact. I think most parents don't.
You should be grateful to your parents for providing you better education than the school ever could. And you should try to do the same with your children too.
It's the same thing if your parents take your broken computer to a shop, or ask you to fix it. The computer shop is going to do a mediocre job at best, ignoring much of your parents computer use habbits and perhaps deleting a few important files in the process. You are going to perform much better at this task.
The point is that generalized services like school and computer fixing cannot possibly be perfect. We can only hope that they are good enough. But they work very well in situations where noone is a computer expert in the family or the parents have absolutely no idea about children education. Don't assume that because your parents had the patience and the skill to teach you stuff, that other parents have the same skill too. In fact. I think most parents don't.
You should be grateful to your parents for providing you better education than the school ever could. And you should try to do the same with your children too.
I guess what I'm asking is would it be worth my time, money, patience, etc going to Uni?
I know I'm capable, especially if I were to take some kind of fine arts subject. But wouldn't it (at least the first year or two) be another two years of quoting textbooks like a trained monkey?
I know I'm capable, especially if I were to take some kind of fine arts subject. But wouldn't it (at least the first year or two) be another two years of quoting textbooks like a trained monkey?
Honnestly,
Education is just here to transform kids into docile workers for the capitalist companies. :/ sad, but true.
Education is just here to transform kids into docile workers for the capitalist companies. :/ sad, but true.
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Seems to be my experience so far. But I'm not completely jaded.Honnestly, Education is just here to transform kids into docile workers for the capitalist companies. :/ sad, but true.
Education, diplomas are signals.
Signals that you are willing to work in a given environment within requirements and that you are able to meet them.
They also signal you are willing to associate with a particular culture or group.
Those are tangible benefits, -- although not the only ones -- of getting a formal and official education.
Signals that you are willing to work in a given environment within requirements and that you are able to meet them.
They also signal you are willing to associate with a particular culture or group.
Those are tangible benefits, -- although not the only ones -- of getting a formal and official education.
education, simply doing a 3-4 year course, also gives you time to focus on a subject relative to your personal interests. being able to just drop work for a few years and enjoy your time doing that is also fun? plus you get the certificate that says your a good little boy who can work to criteria (as knos pointed out) so it should be easier to trick employeers into employing you :)
pick the right course and go for it, you'll have fun! :)
pick the right course and go for it, you'll have fun! :)
everything from highschool and down didnt teach me much in terms of skills, i only matured slightly.
however, university taught me to look at a problem, to solve it using scientific method, in other terms to stand on the shoulders of giants. That's more useful than it sounds, because trying to solve every problem from the bottom in research and academia is impossible - they are too complex for that. You need to be able to use theory as the sledgehammer breaking down the barriers of understanding, and that is in my opinion what university teaches you - to apply theory to a given problem, and usually they also come with a array of useful theories relevant to your subject.
to sum it up - I have learned a lot at university, and the problemsolving part of that education quite nicely translates into real life issues too. After all, just applying ones personal experience to a problem usually amounts to nothing else than slinging out opinions.
however, university taught me to look at a problem, to solve it using scientific method, in other terms to stand on the shoulders of giants. That's more useful than it sounds, because trying to solve every problem from the bottom in research and academia is impossible - they are too complex for that. You need to be able to use theory as the sledgehammer breaking down the barriers of understanding, and that is in my opinion what university teaches you - to apply theory to a given problem, and usually they also come with a array of useful theories relevant to your subject.
to sum it up - I have learned a lot at university, and the problemsolving part of that education quite nicely translates into real life issues too. After all, just applying ones personal experience to a problem usually amounts to nothing else than slinging out opinions.
I went through the same train of thought before I had completed highschool, anakirob. I dropped out and was convinced it was completely useless, until a few years later when I decided to finish it and learnt alot of things I would never even have heard of. I had plenty coding and some math skills that I had built up on my own, but it wasnt until I was working with a physicist and an engineer on some medical stuff that I realised how much really important, usefull stuff I didn't know. So I quit and enrolled at university this year, and I recognise every single bit of first year math from real life work tasks! It would all have been so much easier if I knew this stuff before hand. The world just makes more sense now.
My point is you won't know what you don't know until after you've done it.
Its also the best possible opportunity you will ever have in your life to score hot chicks and make good friends. That alone to me is worth the money.
My point is you won't know what you don't know until after you've done it.
Its also the best possible opportunity you will ever have in your life to score hot chicks and make good friends. That alone to me is worth the money.
it's all about where you live and how hard you are willing to fight for it
education for me has always sucked, but this is partly because i only ever bothered to get into the "good" or "ok" schools/universities which are actually always suffocating in their sheer blindness and mediocrity, you have to fight tooth and nail to get anywhere interesting, and it very well might not be worth it to you, it wasn't for me.
hope you did something useful with all that spare time though, i mostly didn't
education for me has always sucked, but this is partly because i only ever bothered to get into the "good" or "ok" schools/universities which are actually always suffocating in their sheer blindness and mediocrity, you have to fight tooth and nail to get anywhere interesting, and it very well might not be worth it to you, it wasn't for me.
hope you did something useful with all that spare time though, i mostly didn't
spitfire and confused have given me two really good, but contrary opinions.
Thankyou guys for answering my serious question seriously. Who would have thought it possible, especially on the pouet bbs!
I have decided that more life experience is probably better for me than a "piece of paper", however that life experience may be travell or it may be university.
Both cost about the same in time and money, and both and yield about the same personal benefit. Or it looks that way from here anyway.
Well, when I'm not trolling miscellaneous demoscene, micromusic and amiga related websites. Which is far less than the last week would indicate.
I usually do try to apply myself at some kind of creativity. Actually, becoming some kind of professional travelling artist seems to be the plan for me. I just have to put those tedious "coup-de-grace"'s on most of it, and it's good to be packaged and sold.
And brushing up on my live technique, but that only takes a couple of jam sessions if the material is ready made. Playing an instrument is a bit like riding a bike. One never forgets how to do it, even when one is "rusty" [out of practice]
But obviously I would not be peddling demos, if I tried to make money from that I guess I could expect to be hung, drawn and quatered at the next BreakPoint....
But I shall shut up, before I get onto one of our favorite trolling subjects.
Thankyou guys for answering my serious question seriously. Who would have thought it possible, especially on the pouet bbs!
I have decided that more life experience is probably better for me than a "piece of paper", however that life experience may be travell or it may be university.
Both cost about the same in time and money, and both and yield about the same personal benefit. Or it looks that way from here anyway.
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hope you did something useful with all that spare time though, i mostly didn't
Well, when I'm not trolling miscellaneous demoscene, micromusic and amiga related websites. Which is far less than the last week would indicate.
I usually do try to apply myself at some kind of creativity. Actually, becoming some kind of professional travelling artist seems to be the plan for me. I just have to put those tedious "coup-de-grace"'s on most of it, and it's good to be packaged and sold.
And brushing up on my live technique, but that only takes a couple of jam sessions if the material is ready made. Playing an instrument is a bit like riding a bike. One never forgets how to do it, even when one is "rusty" [out of practice]
But obviously I would not be peddling demos, if I tried to make money from that I guess I could expect to be hung, drawn and quatered at the next BreakPoint....
But I shall shut up, before I get onto one of our favorite trolling subjects.
I'm very happy I went to university and I was exposed to the beauty of many things without having to rediscover them from scratch by myself (never would have found the Maxwell Equations by myself). There are of course many things you can learn by yourself - like everything I know on CG I learned by myself, but for many other subjects you absolutely need external assistance at some point I believe. I was certainly disappointed by the way some things were tough, but it's better than nothing and surely useful in the end, at least for me.
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But I shall shut up, before I get onto one of our favorite trolling subjects.
^too late, just some ppl are unlearnable at all :P
fuck, I must go to michigan!
