Jack Of All Trades Schooling

There are lots of problems with the current education system, but most people don't get beyond thinking that if you throw enough tax dollars at the problem, it will go away. I don't think that will help and while I do support some other solutions, I think there is a big picture everyone seems to be missing here and hopefully I can help shed some light on it. It might sound totally far out to a lot of people, but please, hear me out.

I think once you teach a kid the basics on how to read, how to write, basic math, etc. they should be set free to learn on their own. I feel most of my knowledge came from learning on my own. There were a few things I learned later on in school, like the fast way of typing on a keyboard and some techniques I learned in art, but those were really things I wanted to know how to do, so I took advantage of someone willing to teach me those things at that time. If you know how to read, you can teach yourself anything you have the determination to teach yourself. We’ve had this whole emphasis on making kids learn stuff they don’t want, or need. I think we need to emphasize kids learning what they want and advancing their natural talents. It’s their life, so it should be their choice.

I’m not saying we should do away with schools and teachers (public schools should be axed tough), but I think it’s a waste of time to force stuff on a kid that they have no interest in, isn’t going to help them down the road, while ignoring something they are good at. It’s like letting a perfectly good apple rot on the counter. It’s just a waste of time to make a kid learn advanced mathematics when they just aren’t gifted towards math, they aren’t interested in it, they’ll never use it, and will forget it in a few years. We try to make a Jack of all trades from each of these kids and wonder why all these test scores are down. We expect them to learn this, and this, and this and you got to be a master at all of them, but a Jack of all trade can’t be a master at anything. We get mad and frustrated when kids are failing all these things, but maybe the problem isn’t them, but rather the people trying to force it on them.

By about middle school, most kids realize what they’re good at, what they love, and more energy should be focused on making them better at those areas instead of trying to mold them into people they just aren’t. If a kid loves to write, then focus more on English. If the kid loves to draw, the focus them on art. If the kid likes to go exploring nature, focus them on science. If the kid loves to sing, or wants to learn to play the guitar, then focus on music classes. If a kid is gifted towards math, then focus them on math classes. We shouldn’t make them wait until they’re 18 and go to college before we let them start learning more about what they’re good at. Stuff like art and music are treated as a reward for learning all this other stuff instead of the main things we should be using to help these talented kids. Instead of getting angry when a kid doesn’t do well in one class, we should care less about that and focus more on getting the kid education in areas they are good at to make them excellent in it.

As some of you know, I like to play video games, so I’ll use those as an example. If you’ve ever played an RPG, you know that depending on what class you are, there are some skills you want to make higher and others that you just don’t need. If you try to just even everything out, you’re just going to suck at everything. You’re going to struggle fighting monsters because you aren’t using your character to its full potential. That’s what we’re dealing with here.

A lot of kids do learn on their own for whatever they’re good at, but instead of school helping them in those areas, it becomes more of a burden because it takes time away from that and devotes it to studying for tests, or doing homework in other areas they don’t need. I remember teachers got onto me for drawing in class, but that’s what I loved and that’s what I thought I was better off using my time towards than the stuff they were teaching.

As it is right now, they ask kids going into high school if they’re going college route, or non-college route and then set them on the classes based on that. I think that’s about as limited as only being able to vote Democrat, or Republican. Why does America only seem to get two choices on anything? Caffeinated, or Decaf? Can we not get more choices here?

Even at that, parents need to start asking their kids, "What did you learn today?" Not what they were taught in school, but what they learned on their own. We should be overjoyed when our kids go out of their way to find something out. Anyone could listen to someone and repeat it a few hours later. A parrot can do that. It takes effort to want to know something, go research it for yourself, and be able to use that knowledge. And that’s the point of education, to be able to use knowledge. What’s the point of teaching a kid something they will never use?