Stuff you wish they taught in school

Nah, easier.

I remembered a complicated derivation of r = ut + 0.5 at2 without integration.

With integration:

Assume a (acceleration) is constant.

v (velocity) = integrate(a) with respect to t

v = at + c

boundary condition: initial velocity is u

so

v = u + at

integrate again:

r (position) = integrate(u + at) with respect to t

r = ut + 0.5 at2 + c

boundary condition: initial displacement is zero

r = ut + 0.5 at^2

EDIT: Obviously, it gets more complicated if the acceleration isn't constant ;)
 
No, just annoyingly self righteous and smug.

I'm pretty sure my generation fits this quite nicely already. It can't get much worse then us.
 
  • More emphasis on social skills - Parents !!
  • Dealing with emotional issues - Parents !!
  • Choosing a romantic partner - Parents !!
  • Childrearing (again, learned zero about this) - Parents !!
  • Deciding what work/hobbies/projects will make you happy - Parents !!
  • Managing money (nothing on this that I recall) - Parents/Teachers

All except the last one, are the preserve parents/caregivers/guardians and last one is a joint one with teachers.
 
I'm pretty sure my generation fits this quite nicely already. It can't get much worse then us.
Don't worry, every other generation is just like it.
 
I wish we spent twice as much time on Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby.

loljk. I think making kids more familiar with the metric system would be better. As in during elementary school like spend a week with kids measuring stuff with the metric system. Do that second through fourth grade (say ages 7-10).

I don't remember my elementary school much, but people (well, at least kids) just don't have a grasp at all what 1.40 m would be or something like that. Or how far 25 km would be. And I can directly blame schooling for teaching about units, as opposed to things that can be done through parenting/whatever.
 
Why do they need that?

I think it's a great idea too. Religion is big part of life for a lot of people today and even was an even greater one in the past. It's unfortunate there is so much ignorance about something so important to so many people. An impartial education about the worlds religions would be quite helpful. Think of how many people were asking questions about Islam after 9/11? How many misconceptions remain today?
 
I think it would be fine for a social studies class but I wouldn't really care for a separate class in it. I think it would largely be a waste of time as far as an understanding other cultures topic. You could spend years studying the theology of Islam or Christianity and still not really understand why Muslims or Christians do what they do because people can interpret things so differently. Christianity and Islam don't mean the same thing to all of their followers. At best I think a religion class would be so superficial in high school because it wouldn't have time to cover very much.
 
Oh also accurate career/college prep stuff needs to be greatly improved.

I went to a public high school in a well to do area, so I can't directly comment about the obvious problems schools have about helping kids who can't afford college/don't know anything about college/might want to do a vocational school instead, but high school counselors give woefully bad advice to kids/parents that even are pretty well prepared for college.

I'm pretty sure if any kid was interested in any technical career (Engineering, science, comp sci), school counselors would give terrible advice. School counselors are apt on thinking "ap's are good for college"--which they are--but basically treat all ap courses the same. If you're interested in math or science, you're going to really want to take ap sciences and ap calc. Counselors would instead suggest like "take 3 AP's" instead of "take specifically this AP science and ap calc, since you need those." Students are mislead into thinking taking AP history is relevant for their success in engineering more than actually taking ap calc and having a good math background. They then go to college not really prepared for intensive math.

tl; dr-- vocational/career advice, and some counselors are really bad at giving advice to anyone who wants to go to a scientific or engineering or comp sci field. You need good math skills, and counselors vastly underestimate that.
 
I take it you graduated high school before 2001?

People need to stop referring to people they disagree with as ignorant, stupid, or fanatical. Also, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks#Hate_crimes.

Religious violence existed long before 2001 and a high school class isn't going to change that. I don't see how a teacher introducing the 5 pillars of Islam is really going to change someone's mind about this. This besides the fact that studying Islam may actually confirm the suspicions of some people since there are various ways people interpret the Quran.

The fact is, some Muslims are terrorists. And I say that as someone who lives in a Muslim country. A high school class would likely just amount to some PC superficial look at Islam and other religions. So are some Christians and Hindus.

It's also a bit strange to hear you promoting tolerance.
 
I think it would be fine for a social studies class but I wouldn't really care for a separate class in it. I think it would largely be a waste of time as far as an understanding other cultures topic. You could spend years studying the theology of Islam or Christianity and still not really understand why Muslims or Christians do what they do because people can interpret things so differently. Christianity and Islam don't mean the same thing to all of their followers. At best I think a religion class would be so superficial in high school because it wouldn't have time to cover very much.

It would be somewhat shallow yes. I still think it would be better than nothing. Honestly in most schools history and literature are taught much the same way. There isn't a lot of depth because there isn't time.

Skwink said:
It would support tolerance.

Agreed.
 
  1. More emphasis on social skills (near zero from what I remember)
  2. Dealing with emotional issues
  3. Choosing a romantic partner
  4. Childrearing (again, learned zero about this)
  5. Deciding what work/hobbies/projects will make you happy
  6. Managing money (nothing on this that I recall)

Just off the topic of my head, I'll add more if I think of them.

I was in school (mostly public & some weird boarding schools) from the 80's to mid 90's so maybe they do focus more on these important matters nowadays.

1. Social norms vary by culture and group, so it's difficult to have an all-encompassing course relevant enough. I guess there could be an etiquette class, but it's more stuff you'd learn anyways.

2. Different people have different ways of coping with emotions, and it's impossible to pinpoint any one technique as the right way, and then teach it as such. Likewise, this skill is attained through actual experience... just like you wouldn't teach "shop" in a purely theoretical fashion.

3. Schools tend to try to avoid encouraging romantic relations or discussing them (thus encouraging), due to the diverse views and morals on the issue held by various parents. Especially with the older generation putting emphasis on things like abstinence and being fairly leery of relationships.

4. Again, there are many different ways to do this one. As well, it's mostly irrelevant until later in life, when there are courses available for it.

5. This is purely something that a person finds for themselves through experience. You can't have a "class" on it. Unless that class is one week English, the next week Math, the next week Science, and so on.

6. Some math is provided, but the applicability of that math isn't made sufficiently clearcut. Presumably the idea is that students will carry on their education such that they eventually obtain this knowledge.

One of the first things we did for new soldiers back in the early 90s was a check writing class on how to manage a checking account and balance funds. I could see how something similar would be beneficial to high school juniors or seniors.

Awesome! :goodjob:

Do you guys still do that? And why not?

How tall is your house?

That information is irrelevant to my life ;) :p
 
There isn't a lot of depth because there isn't time.
I don't think that time is the most relevant concern. The need for all students to be able to grasp the material being taught is probably more important.
 
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