"Don't Stay in School" - thoughts?

You could also argue that a lot of the things that he demands to be taught in School are things that would be equally as pointless for people who learn how to identify a problem, research a design, and implement a solution from the design.

How to get a job vs dissecting a frog

How can a school attack this incredibly broad topic. What kind of jobs are we talking about? Garbage man? Soldier? Engineer? Rocket Scientist? Schools can only offer gateways to knowledge that has proven useful in many industries.

He compares this to dissecting a frog, which isn't a fair comparison. Dissecting a frog is small part of biology which, among other things, creates an awareness how organs are interconnected. Not to mention that he is framing the argument that this knowledge is pointless or somehow not vocational. What about the Doctors, Vets, and a whole range of Scientists that use that kind of knowledge as a basis of their entire field?

How to pay tax vs Shakespeare's classics.

Teaching kids to pay tax is complicated. At it's most basic, it's something that all you need to do is follow instructions. At it's most complicated it goes into the ever changing scope of taxation system. Which exists the problem: if Schools invest significant time and effort in teaching learners how to fill their taxes then chances are it's going to be vastly different by the time they have to fill out their own tax.

Why Shakespeare? I'm not an English Teacher, but Shakespeare, redefined drama. How can you teach anything without building the context of where we are now? Shakespeare invented entire terms that never existed before, he challenged society by combating issues that weren't commonly used in popular entertainment, and he did so in a way that is still relatable in modern society.

Not to mention that there is some level of of irony in a rapper criticising Shakespeare.

Taught to vote:

Civics and Citizenship studies is taught. If he didn't choose it, that's his fault.

Looking after his health.

Comes under Physical Education. Also taught as an elective.

Current Events

The parts of current events that aren't taught in citizenship is often outside the domain of a Secondary Education system.

Laws:

There are so many laws that even lawyers need heavy specialisation. It would be incredibly difficult to teach Law in a way that is meaningful.

Financial Advice

Financial literacy is a key part of the Curriculum.

Human rights

Civics and Citizenship.

This is where I turned off. He's wrong or conflating every point so far and doesn't provide any real argument of why being taught specific vocational skills is more meaningful than teaching people to identify a problem, research how to solve that problem and design a solution, and implementing a solution.

I mean, that's what Education is really about. Don't know how to fill out a tax file? That sounds like a problem, let's go research a way to solve that problem and then go do it. Don't understand what your human rights are? That sounds like a problem, let's go research a way to solve that problem, and then go learn them.

/r/Teachers Thread