To think the school system is ridiculous

[Suflan]

This post is talking about the school system in the republic of Ireland, but I know that the school system in the UK has some similiatites, so this is also relevant to people in the UK.

I went to school in Ireland a long time ago, 20 years ago.

My younger cousins are just sitting their school leaving certificate (irish equivalent to a levels) this year and they and their friends have been posting about the exams, after it happened, on social media.

I was just thinking what they learn and do exams on is such a load of shite. Like how is it relevant or necessary in todays world at all.

They posted about their maths paper, all the quadratic equations, prove that point 5,1 is on the line etc etc, extremely complicated equations, and algebra.

Like what do you need that for in life? Its so totally pointless. And maths is mandatory to do, so they need points from maths to get into University.

Like what is the point of learning these things. Surely they should be learning something useful. My cousins have said to me that they think that a lot of what they learn is totally pointless too

What?

I went to a state comp in England in the 2000’s.

I could have really benefited from the below if they covered it in the curriculum:

Finance: deposits, mortgages, taxes, balance sheets, loans, national insurance, pensions.

Cooking: different utensils, what to refrigerate/freeze, how to prep meals, batch cooking, different spices, how to chop things in the best shapes.

Housework: changing lightbulbs, radiator bleeding, what to do with a leak, radiator bleeding, cleaning tips, using a washing machine, gardening, energy saving, green living.

Job searching: how to write a professional and attractive CV, interview prep, cover letters, application processes, expectations at work eg: punctuality, PDRs, 1:1s, communication skills.

Politics: different political parties, manifestos, democracy, importance of voting, current affairs.

It's about the skills used/learned. Transferable skills for example - its not about being able to quote a particular poet its about being able to use evidence to support your point and build an argument while also being able to premept and counter contrasting arguments. Study a wide variety of subjects and you end up with a wide variety of skills. A wide variety of skills makes you better equipped to meet the demands of working life (not everything is about university) and helps you career wise. Also not everyone has one career throughout their whole life. Really having to work hard, prioritise what's important to you, being able to recall relevant information and interact with others is important - they are skills for life not just a career.

I think the point that specialisation could be allowed earlier is reasonable.

A lot of what’s taught in school maths goes beyond what most people need for day to day, it could help to split academic maths from numeracy - focus the latter more on eg understanding how stats can be used in the news to manipulate opinion, how to complete a tax return (even if it’s a simplified toy version), how to make a household budget, that sort of thing. And similarly splitting academic English from literacy so it’s not necessary to study poetry to age 18 but is required to show reading comprehension skills and writing for different contexts.

We could also allow teachers / individual schools to sign off on the basic competencies and keep national exams for the academic subjects to reduce stress and testing culture.

OP, I don't know where to start. This thread is just so wrong-headed. I'm a teacher in an Irish school. Do you suffer from having very little imagination? Is that why you don't understand the importance of poetry and basic maths?

Don't know where the 100 years is plucked from, Algebra is one of the oldest forms of learning, the very name is from Arabic, our number system also uses Arabic numbers as opposed to, eg, Roman numerals. The curriculum doesn't vary widely as the outcomes remain the same, although the teaching methods will vary.

You said he was abnormal because he had a fear and clearly he has said that he was abnormal too for you to know this.

Why is fear abnormal? It is a normal response to something. It isn't anything abnormal or wrong with someone internally! It is just responding to what you experience. If he thinks that being scared is an abnormal thing and uses stigma then he shouldn't be near patients.

Yes.

And I did accounting as part of a degree - for fun! <shock>

Most of those are covered! You just have to be listening!

Very Touchy.

Did I hit a nerve?

I also work in a school.

Tell me you are thick without telling me.

Eh? I didn't say he was abnormal at all.

It said in the news article that he has an anxiety disorder. That is a medical condition

He referenced his anxiety disorder, as he was saying that rigid school structures don't suit everyone, including him

But you hate your job. And don’t think there should be bosses.

Do you think your unresolved childhood trauma might have influenced your views about education/childhood, perhaps?

Just waiting for the compulsory Irish posts....
My husband works in third level, They had an external examiner in from a UK university. He reckoned the standard of writing in undergraduate dissertations was better in Ireland than he was used to. Maybe because of leaving cert English?

What do you DO in this school?

I work for a newspaper but that doesn't necessarily make me qualified to comment on journalism.

I can definitely do that for YOU.

Jesus, what a pack of bitches on here.

None of the things were covered when I went to school. I did listen during my schooling. How fucking rude are you?

Oh I would love to see that curriculum, an in depth analysis of Love Island and all the other vacuous crap on TV, the lives of the greatest 'influencers' and so on! Yet another opportunity for a poor parent to opt out then when their sprog is unemployable they can blame everyone else. Sounds like Home Schooling is the way forward for many.

YANBU.

especially now with the advent of AI which is going to turn the world of work even more upside down than it already is, compared to when the education system was first created for the masses 150 years ago. We won’t equip our young people for this new world if we don’t overhaul the system.

So much of the curriculum is outdated and pointless. I speak as an ex teacher too.

Or maybe like the actual example that I gave earlier,

The Irish man failed his leaving certificate when he was made to study English and Irish etc , as he had no interest in them.

Once he studied what he WAS interested in, which was Science, he passed all of his Degree exams

How are they going to code AI systems without maths?

When would you have them narrow it down then OP? Like I said my dd has just done the JC, she will be doing Transition year but lots of her friends in a different school are going straight on to the LC curriculum. Dd and most of her friends don't have a clue now at 15 what they will want to study in 2 or 3 years time when they leave school. How do they know at 15 that maths or Tech graph or biology won't be relevant to them in the future?

Ds always used to complain about being in a Gaelcholaiste, why would he need Irish anyway? Who uses it in day to life? Fast forward a few years and he is hoping to study Irish and translation, he is so passionate about the Irish language, an involved member of our local Irish language scene and has his eye on translator jobs in Brussels. If you would have told 15 year old him what 18 year old him would be like he would have laughed at you.

I saw this posted online the other day and it really resonated with me as a teacher and a parent.

TLDR:
Children are not there to learn WHAT they are learning. They are there to learn FROM what they are learning.

Full post:
Children aren’t taught algebra to solve simultaneous equations. They’re taught it as it has real world application in budgeting, scheduling, bills, in subtle ways we take for granted.

They aren’t taught about the Greeks so they can recite the Gods. They’re taught about the Greeks so they can learn deduction and inference based on evidence, can discuss human rights and democracy and learn to argue their opinions effectively.

They’re not taught Pythagoras’s Theorem so they can UsE iT aLl ThE TiME. They’re taught it as a vessel for understand space and spatial awareness, applicable in every aspect of our lives from home renovations to getting from A to B in the most effective way.

There is such a clear lack of understanding of the importance of learning in schools that baffles me to this day. Children are not there to learn WHAT they are learning. They are there to learn FROM what they are learning.

We continue to disregard the importance of education, when for SOME (and when I say some, I mean far too many) children, school is:

• their one meal a day
• the only place they’ll receive a smile
• where they’re taught to use the toilet, wash their hands, eat with a knife and fork
• their home.

Education, rightly, comes under scrutiny as, for the most part, it’s public funded. However, it’s high time we opened our eyes to the real lessons schools teach, as opposed to the sheeple belief that schools ‘never taught us anything I use in my adult life’, as this statement is simply a lie.

No school is perfect, no school has all the answers and I’m certainly not saying every child has a great school experience - no one is denying work is constantly ongoing.

But most of what you apply day-in-day-out stems from the impact your school life had on your development, learning, exploration and understanding, EVEN IF you had a ‘negative’ school experience. The sooner you realise that, the better your own children’s education will become.

Teachers, you have real impact. Be proud of you and keep going.

Hi, OP -

I know maths can be taught badly. I disliked it myself in high school.

But it is the language of nature or, if you like - being Irish and therefore possibly appreciating a metaphor - one of the languages of God. Good maths either serves a purpose or is as elegant as good poetry. Sometimes both. But, as with poetry or art or music, it takes a certain amount of education to appreciate the beauty.

It wasn’t for you. That’s fine. I am very sorry you may have been badly taught. However, in your day to day life, please don’t moan about maths to impressionable young people who might otherwise feel differently and may even go on to a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) career.

This is especially important for girls. I was once one who almost didn’t go for my STEM PhD because of the influence of people like you. Now I can get high thinking about my field, and its language is mathematics.

You said he was disordered. Disordered means not normal. So abnormal. I know you said studying English is worthless but understanding synonyms really is.

Anxiety is not a medical condition either. There is no pathology behind it.

Say i had meningitis I would have symptoms of it but the underlying cause would be the infection. I could test using a lumbar puncture to check if I had it.

Anxiety I would have symptoms but the underlying condition is not something medical. There are no tests to check if you have it as there isn't anything going on inside your body that is wrong that needs fixing.

Only 5 symptom checkers - it is always 5 symptoms with the stigma field.

He was worried and showed fear, that is not a medical issue, that is a normal response to something that scared him.

A deer running from a fox doesn't have anxiety disorder they are scared. It is fear from what they are experiencing.

To label is to use stigma