Is conformity the inteligent and mature thing to do in schools?

Question

I was talking about motivation in schools with a person today and that person(a 'good student') said:
"Those mature and intelligent enough don't give a s**t about motivation and just do it."
Is this really what today's teenagers belive they should be doing? Conformity? Is it really mature to "just do" things you really don't care about? Disliking a subject but still have A's?
Is this type of conformity (still doing what we dislike for rewards) good outside of school? Are we easily satisfied?
Is it really intelligent to conform to what we think is wrong?
For example, knowing that the way teachers are teaching is not the most effective way to make me learn. Should I conform and "just do it", and then have the good grades just because those are demanded of us?

That person also said :"It's not what you want to learn, it's what educational experts determine should be the minimum knowledge an individual should have."

Do educational experts really know what they're doing?

Answer 1

A lot of questions there.

First of all, there ARE cases in which conformity is a smart move. For instance, say you want to completely re-examine and re-vamp the educational system in this country. Hey, it needs to be done! In order to get into a position to do so, to have the power, education, and contacts to make a difference, you ARE going to have to "waste your time" studying subjects and doing work that is useless, involves what you consider to be inaccurate answers, and "conforms" to everyone else's opinion. But maybe doing so in order to get into a position to fix things is a smart move.

There are certain ways in which you will always have to do things you dislike in order to gain "rewards." I think it's just called "responsibility." Simply put, I don't want to do the dishes, but I need a clean, germ free kitchen. That's oversimplified, but you get the point...you will have to "conform" to doing lots of things in your life that you don't like, even at work, just because certain responsibilities and behavior will be expected of you.

On the other hand, letting others run rough-shod over you is rarely smart. There's also nothing wrong with challenging ideas that are presented to you, trying to get the education YOU want in the subjects you feel are important. There should be no repercussions if you let those in charge know you find the work to be meaningless, even if you then go on to do it anyway.

My answer for the last question: No, educational experts do not know what they are doing. This is evident every time a child graduates high school without being able to read. It's also evident in how poorly prepared we are to enter the working world even after completing a four year degree.

Answer 2

You seem to be going in alot of directions at once, but I think your core theme is the pressure to conform. The way I see it, being yourself is what makes life enjoyable, but if you want to be able to accomplish anything in life you will need to conform to the expectations of others on some levels. There's no getting around it. So my advice to go ahead and get good grades because it will be a stepping stone to something you really want to do. Being a martyr for yourself is a lonely, hard path.

Answer 3

sure they know what they are doing. Really all school is doing is training your brain. Math trains your brain to think analytically, and teaches you logical process. The more your brain is trained the smarter you become. Most useful knowledge is learned outside of school. As in school so in life is conformity a smart thing to do at times. The real thing to understand, know when to stand up and rock the boat, and when to just row your boat gently down the stream.

Answer 4

Conformity, to the point of not being disruptive is good, thinking outside of the box is better, being disruptive just for the sake of being disruptive is NEVER acceptable.

Answer 5

just shut up
\nobody loves you