An increasing number of students are beginning to realize that a number of things being taught on the syllabus are untruthful. Students are being told by teachers to accept the 'facts' and that they would learn the real thing in university.
For example, the theory of refraction of light, teachers tell students that the speed of light changes when travelling between materials which have different optical densities, causing the light rays to bend. When students ask teachers for the reason, they say that it is fact and not to question the fact. The 'fact' that the speed of light changes is in fact not a fact, but a blatant untruth. The fact that the speed of light is a constant in every frame of reference is the basis of Einstein's theory of relativity. The speed of each light wave/particle is actually the same, but the amount of matter which obstructs the path of the light changes. The matter absorbs and re-emits the light waves/particles and as a result it takes longer for the collective light to reach from one place to another in materials with different optical densities.
If students are being taught things, as well as being taught not to question these things, the students will inevitably become ignorant and therefore, with this system, you create a generation of regurgitating robots. This is a very dangerous system, which urgently NEEDS to be reformed. The testing system is causing teachers to teach students to pass an exam, rather than to move the knowledge of mankind forward. Students need to learn real, inherent reasons for the things they learn and everything should be coherent and linked in some fundamental way. The exam system causes students to have to answer questions in a specific way, which doesn't allow for freedom of thought or skepticism, but rather small mindedness and ignorance. If one is to have skepticism in an exam and put something contrary to what is on the syllabus, but is further in knowledge than the exam topic, then they would be marked down and ridiculed for their superior knowledge of the topic. This, to me, doesn't make sense. It doesn't seem like a system that facilitates the furthering of human knowledge, but a system that represses human knowledge. There seems to be an ulterior motive of some sort. I'm not sure if there is, and it may just be a result of not thinking through the impact of the system on students. The system currently is not efficient. Only a select few make it through the system with an excellent understanding of the things they are being taught.
It should be that all students make it through the system with a healthy knowledge of the topics that they would like to learn. In that case, we would have a more intelligent society, not based upon a majority left in ignorance who have to work in unskilled labour for the rest of their lives just because they can't conform to the system. Society should be based upon healthy skepticism and the society as a whole would in theory become more productive. Knowledge = Productivity. Knowledge = Power.
The purpose of the education system is to educate. The system works to educate the few who understand the topics being taught to them. In my opinion, the system should work to educate everyone, and facilitate that everyone understands. Teaching young people to answer questions in a predetermined manner is not educating, it is causing ignorance.
The system needs reform!
The students should be able to question and skepticize the current knowledge freely, without any negative repercussions. This would encourage a further understanding of the topics being taught and also would encourage the furthering of the knowledge in the topic itself. There's a positive outcome for everyone! All we need now is a new and improved system, in which the knowledge being taught can be subject to rigorous skepticism and questioning, with topics being presented as they were to the people who discovered the current theory of the topics. It needs to be a system which facilitates free thought without negative repercussions for further knowledge in a topic area.
The intelligence of a student shouldn't be tested by how well they could regurgitate information, but rather, how well they actually understand what the whole topic is about and the flaws included with every topic being taught.
Science is not a subject matter founded upon ignorance, but rather a continual argument.
Tomás Pérez
Education
An increasing number of students are beginning to realize that a number of things being taught on the syllabus are untruthful. Students are being told by teachers to accept the 'facts' and that they would learn the real thing in university.
For example, the theory of refraction of light, teachers tell students that the speed of light changes when travelling between materials which have different optical densities, causing the light rays to bend. When students ask teachers for the reason, they say that it is fact and not to question the fact. The 'fact' that the speed of light changes is in fact not a fact, but a blatant untruth. The fact that the speed of light is a constant in every frame of reference is the basis of Einstein's theory of relativity. The speed of each light wave/particle is actually the same, but the amount of matter which obstructs the path of the light changes. The matter absorbs and re-emits the light waves/particles and as a result it takes longer for the collective light to reach from one place to another in materials with different optical densities.
If students are being taught things, as well as being taught not to question these things, the students will inevitably become ignorant and therefore, with this system, you create a generation of regurgitating robots. This is a very dangerous system, which urgently NEEDS to be reformed. The testing system is causing teachers to teach students to pass an exam, rather than to move the knowledge of mankind forward. Students need to learn real, inherent reasons for the things they learn and everything should be coherent and linked in some fundamental way. The exam system causes students to have to answer questions in a specific way, which doesn't allow for freedom of thought or skepticism, but rather small mindedness and ignorance. If one is to have skepticism in an exam and put something contrary to what is on the syllabus, but is further in knowledge than the exam topic, then they would be marked down and ridiculed for their superior knowledge of the topic. This, to me, doesn't make sense. It doesn't seem like a system that facilitates the furthering of human knowledge, but a system that represses human knowledge. There seems to be an ulterior motive of some sort. I'm not sure if there is, and it may just be a result of not thinking through the impact of the system on students. The system currently is not efficient. Only a select few make it through the system with an excellent understanding of the things they are being taught.
It should be that all students make it through the system with a healthy knowledge of the topics that they would like to learn. In that case, we would have a more intelligent society, not based upon a majority left in ignorance who have to work in unskilled labour for the rest of their lives just because they can't conform to the system. Society should be based upon healthy skepticism and the society as a whole would in theory become more productive. Knowledge = Productivity. Knowledge = Power.
The purpose of the education system is to educate. The system works to educate the few who understand the topics being taught to them. In my opinion, the system should work to educate everyone, and facilitate that everyone understands. Teaching young people to answer questions in a predetermined manner is not educating, it is causing ignorance.
The system needs reform!
The students should be able to question and skepticize the current knowledge freely, without any negative repercussions. This would encourage a further understanding of the topics being taught and also would encourage the furthering of the knowledge in the topic itself. There's a positive outcome for everyone!
All we need now is a new and improved system, in which the knowledge being taught can be subject to rigorous skepticism and questioning, with topics being presented as they were to the people who discovered the current theory of the topics. It needs to be a system which facilitates free thought without negative repercussions for further knowledge in a topic area.
The intelligence of a student shouldn't be tested by how well they could regurgitate information, but rather, how well they actually understand what the whole topic is about and the flaws included with every topic being taught.
Science is not a subject matter founded upon ignorance, but rather a continual argument.
Well then....
Any suggestions for the new system?