So I'm a teenager.....

[HylianHero92]

You'll never let me forget that..............






ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[Mysterious F.]

That was an extremely spammy comment.  Let's try avoiding any more of those, alright?

Also, you'll be in high school soon. Here's some advice from someone who is learning just how hard it really is:

Study like hell. You have no idea how much it will benefit you in the future.

[MagmarFire]

Only for the tests and everything else that the system shoves at you, mind you, depending on what you plan on getting into. If you're seeking a job in something like, say, architecture, you're probably not going to use a class like, say, biology...like, ever, as far as I know.

[darkphantomime]

It's still useful to know stuff like biology, give you an understanding of the whole world, even if it won't necessarily be applicable for your 'chosen' profession.

This is why Colleges are Liberal arts.

[MagmarFire]

Then I fail to see its usefulness. There's a difference, in my opinion, between being useful to know and being interesting to know. They don't have to be mutually exclusive, but there can be instances when the latter is true and the former is false, and vice versa.

[darkphantomime]

So learning about human biology, first aid, THAT isn't useful?

And when we have to vote to keep creationism out of our schools, knowledge of biology would not prove useful?

FAIL!

It is integral that one become well-rounded in all knowledge bases. This does not necessarily mean 'knowing everything', it simply means that you have a wide and varied understanding over many things.

And Biology is quite useful when giving First Aid. Human Biology is after all, part of medical science.

What is the honest reasoning behind your thoughts of some things being 'useless'?

[MagmarFire]

I'm not saying that it's completely useless. After all, we wouldn't have advanced understanding of medicine and other understandings of the world without it--no doubt about it!

But does that mean that everyone will use it, even if he or she learns it? No. I've taken it, for instance. Do I remember everything I learned? No. Why? Because I don't really have a use for it in my life. Simple as that.

Is it useful for first aid? Indeed, I'd see where it would be. But does that mean that everyone will be interested in first aid or anything else that actually requires knowledge of biology? No.

It is integral that one become well-rounded in all knowledge bases. This does not necessarily mean 'knowing everything', it simply means that you have a wide and varied understanding over many things.

Wide and varied understanding? Yeah, I see where you're coming from. But its being integral? I strongly disagree. It may make you more versatile, but if you never apply it, what's the point of knowing it other than for the sake of knowing it? Granted, some people want to learn it for the sake of learning it (and I was one of those people), but what about the people who don't and have absolutely no interest in biology and any of the paths it connects? Should they be made to learn stuff they're never going to use, only doomed to forget about it later on and, thus, to utterly waste their time better worth learning something else they may be interested in, such as history or business?

The fact remains that much of what most students learn in high school is stuff that they're most likely never going to use, and I tell you from personal experience that people seldom remember the concepts of things they have no uses for. Why not use our time more wisely?

[darkphantomime]

Except people DO use stuff like Algebra in every day life. Just because you THINK it won't have any application to your life and career path does not make it so! It is a grave disappointment when people won't even try; futily believing that everything that they learn is 'useless garbage'.

And I cannot discourage enough this type of mentality where people narrow their learnings to what they 'think' they'll need. How can you know if you'll need it later on? True, most people forget what they learned in high school, but you'd be surprised at the amount  of what you learn has everyday usages.

Please, please, please do NOT promote ignorance. That will make things only worse! Instead, try to promote knowledge. This is why american students fall behind so far against international standards!

You aren't even in the real world yet! So how do you even know that most of what you learned won't have usefulness? That's just the thing, you don't! Even if you THINK it is useless, does not mean it will be useless.

This is why American students fail and look so bad compared to international standards! I Will NOT stand for a climate of ignorance where one picks and chooses what one may 'think' as useless. Believe me, everything EVERYTHING you learn is useful, believe it or not.

[MagmarFire]

Yes, people may use stuff like algebra in everyday life, but that doesn't mean everyone does. And that's what I'm talking about: a system that forces everyone to learn the exact same things and forget about them when he or she has near-zero uses for them.

And I cannot discourage enough this type of mentality where people narrow their learnings to what they 'think' they'll need. How can you know if you'll need it later on? True, most people forget what they learned in high school, but you'd be surprised at the amount  of what you learn has everyday usages.

Oh, it's just not what they "think" they'll need--it's what they want to learn. And how can you know if you'll need it later on? Well, you can't; the future isn't set in stone. Luck does favor the prepared, after all, but you can hardly call yourself prepared if you've learned it once and forgotten about it later, having to relearn it when you actually do need it.

If it comes to the point when people need that knowledge, then they can always go and learn that stuff when they know that they will have an application for it. Learning it just because some governmental system is making you with the advocation that you're "going to need it" is ignorance in itself because you could've spent that time learning what you actually wanted to learn and thought more soundly that that was what you were going to apply later on. If it ever turned out that you suddenly became disinterested in the subject, then hey, change your learning preferences. It's still better than being made to learn what you think has better odds of becoming completely forgotten and required to be relearned down the road if you ever decide to actually go into those related positions.

Everyday uses, eh? That's not a very meaningful statement. If people forget what they learn, then they can't use it unless they relearn it. If they don't have to relearn it, then they still remember it, but that doesn't change the fact that almost everyone forgets what is learned. Look at my dad, for instance: he took geometry way back when, and I think he may have thought of it as a fun class (but my memory's not the best, unfortunately... Hi no Seijin should be able to vouch for that XD ). Does he remember all the theorems and properties that went with the subject? I sincerely doubt it. He had no use for it, or at least very little use for it.

And look at my mom: she absolutely hated algebra, but she learned it anyway. Now she works as a secretary, and since I love math so much, I sometimes ask her and re-ask her if she ever needs help in algebra or if she needs something figured out algebraically. Her response? No, she doesn't need help. All she seems to remember is the principle that what you do to one side of an equation you do to the other, but the fact that she doesn't apply what she learned and, therefore, forgot nearly everything about it speaks for itself. Sure, she knows basic mathematics, just like almost everyone else in her age group, but that's because it actually has a widespread use in her life. Is she really going to graph circles and polynomials for a living? It's certainly not in her learning preference, and I can sure as heck can tell you that she won't know how to do things like that if I give her a pen and graphing paper and tell her to graph the sine function if I ever chose to do that.

You aren't even in the real world yet! So how do you even know that most of what you learned won't have usefulness? That's just the thing, you don't! Even if you THINK it is useless, does not mean it will be useless.

We've been over this before, haven't we? If I forget just about everything I learned in a subject, will I have a use for it in my life? I may if I ever choose to go into said subject, but if I forget on the way there, that means that I had no use for it. I don't want to have to waste time relearning it when I could've learned it once and applied it right afterward.

So to wrap up this post, no, not everything you learn is useful. It may be to some people, and I have no beef with all the subjects that people can learn, but you're likely not going to use everything you encounter in high school. And you will most likely be doomed to forget those things you learn...believe it or not.

[Hi no Seijin]

...

HH92, what you do is you do your work and try to remember this stuff.  You can always go to the library later and relearn or learn stuff you need/want to learn about.

[MagmarFire]

Well, that's not so different than the system we use today, is it?

[darkphantomime]

Well, I can honestly say that Magz seems rather disillusioned by our educational prospects?

Why can't everyone have a healthy appetite for learning?

If one of my professors saw your post, they would be rather ashamed at the prospects. You're telling them that they'll forget eventually, no matter the case. Why can't you inspire a will to learn rather than a will to ignore?

Also, random question: Did either of your parents go to college?

Of course, my Uncle was the first in our family to go to college, neither of my parents or my stepdad went to college either...

My point is we should stop being so ignorant! Why does it have to be 'inevitable' that everything be forgotten?

I'd really much prefer if knowledge were promoted. Especially when ignorance has for such a long time taken their hold over so many spoiled americans.

There's a reason why they have you study a variety of subjects, like it or not. I'm tired of illiteracy taking hold over everyone.

Do you mean to say that you promote ignorance? How depressing! Surely one who thinks everything will be forgotten does not deserve admittance to a college at all!

[MagmarFire]

Well, I can honestly say that Magz seems rather disillusioned by our educational prospects?

Why can't everyone have a healthy appetite for learning?

If one of my professors saw your post, they would be rather ashamed at the prospects. You're telling them that they'll forget eventually, no matter the case. Why can't you inspire a will to learn rather than a will to ignore?

Also, random question: Did either of your parents go to college?

Of course, my Uncle was the first in our family to go to college, neither of my parents or my stepdad went to college either...

My point is we should stop being so ignorant! Why does it have to be 'inevitable' that everything be forgotten?

I'd really much prefer if knowledge were promoted. Especially when ignorance has for such a long time taken their hold over so many spoiled americans.

There's a reason why they have you study a variety of subjects, like it or not. I'm tired of illiteracy taking hold over everyone.

Do you mean to say that you promote ignorance? How depressing! Surely one who thinks everything will be forgotten does not deserve admittance to a college at all!

I can honestly say that your first statement in that post is one that speaks the truth.

However, you're bringing up a lot of the stuff I'm saying out of context. For one, I'm not saying that everyone shouldn't have a healthy appetite for learning--far from it. It's that he or she should have a healthy appetite for learning what he or she wants to learn, not what some stupid legislator tells us what we "should" learn.

If one of my professors saw your post, they would be rather ashamed at the prospects. You're telling them that they'll forget eventually, no matter the case. Why can't you inspire a will to learn rather than a will to ignore?

*facepalm*

That is not what I'm saying! I'm saying that they'll forget if they never apply what they learn, which is what happens to a lot of the stuff we do learn in high school. I can be ashamed to say that I've forgotten much of what happens during the Krebs Cycle, as an example, but that's because I never had a use for it. I've also forgotten many of the numbers of most of the amendments to the Constitution, too. Because I seldom had a use for knowing the numbers in my life.

My point is we should stop being so ignorant! Why does it have to be 'inevitable' that everything be forgotten?

. . .

There's a reason why they have you study a variety of subjects, like it or not. I'm tired of illiteracy taking hold over everyone.

Do you mean to say that you promote ignorance? How depressing! Surely one who thinks everything will be forgotten does not deserve admittance to a college at all!

Again, you take what I say out of context. I believe that it was HNS who said that wisdom is actually applying the knowledge you obtain, and I say that wisdom is the opposite of ignorance. Thus, from that, you could say that mindlessly learning it and never applying it later is ignorance in itself.

Yeah, there is a reason we learn it: to keep ourselves out of the job market and to delay adulthood. (Read My Ishmael for more details, please. I don't think I could do it justice if I tried unless I actually quoted it.)

What? Is that not the reason you thought of? Well, how about giving me a reason when you mention that there is a reason? If you can't give me the reason, how do you know there is a logical reason?

To sum it up, I DO NOT THINK THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE FORGOTTEN. I only speak of the stuff that you never use, which is quite a bit of what you are made to learn in high school, which is simply ridiculous. If you use it, of course you're going to remember it! I'm sure you can agree with me on that point. If you learn something and never use it...look, you know what I'm going to say. That's what I've been saying for the past two posts or so. Everything != some.

You tell me that wanting to learn only what you want to learn and actually need to learn to survive in the world is ignorance?



And to answer your college question, I believe so. My mom wanted a degree in criminal justice and to become a police officer, but after that lawsuit...well, she couldn't finish it. >_>

I'm sure my dad attended college, too, though. Don't really remember what in.

[darkphantomime]

You tell me that wanting to learn only what you want to learn and actually need to learn to survive in the world is ignorance?

I never said this at ALL.

You've forgotten the amendments to the constitution? Even the Most important ones (the first ten)?

Look, there's no way for you to know what you're going to use  and what you aren't going to use. To cast aside certain things in the present (that is, not studying or working to do well in class) will lead only to a negative effect on the person's part when suddenly they find that there useful applications to it. Knowing the amendments to the constituion, for example helps you understand what rights a person has. Knowing the major Supreme court rulings as well as understanding the constitution makes you more aware of what the government can and cannot do, to keep vigilant against abuses of powers. You might find yourself in legal trouble one day, and if for example, one were picked up by the cops and not read ones rights, you would understand that would be illegal.

[DW]

Mags' picture didn't work. His argument is invalid.

Honestly though, you both have points. I don't think there's a right way since it varies by situation.