Why do schools teach our kids things that are not true?

Question

Take airplane wings. They teach our kids that the plane flies because of lift due to the shape of the wing. (Bernoulli principle.) That is not true. If that were true, then a plane would be unable to fly upside down. If that were true then aerobatic planes would not have wings the same shape top and bottom.

http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/airflylvl3.htm

Take simple machines. They teach that there are SIX...when in fact there are seven. Examine a bow string. Do some measurements using A^2 + B^2 = C^2. You can use the same method to pull a car out of a ditch, by pulling sideways on a rope tied to the car and a tree. You have a mechanical advantage until the rope hits a 90 degree angle where you are pulling. That meets the definition of a simple tool yet it is never listed.

How come the teachers never QUESTION what they teach?
No wonder American students are doing so poorly in the sciences compared to other nations.

Top schools in the USA..... But check out the percentage of foreign students taking the courses.

I did not knock our colleges. I complained about the quality of our teachers and what they are teaching. The two examples are things kids are being taught in grade school. If you get them off onthe wrong track early, they stay there.

Answer 1

Here's what I think: I think it's a reflection on what our Government thinks about our children. Teachers don't get paid anything and therefore you've got teachers who aren't educated as they should be. It's crazy when you compare what we pay an NBA basketball player in comparison to someone that's educating our children to one day take over and run the planet. It is ridiculous. I was taught lots of things in Elementary and High school that just wasn't true. Our society just doesn't care enough about the children...that's my answer and it's **** sad.

Answer 2

As for the first example, I'll say that if you're referring to acrobatic planes, the wings are shaped symmetrically- So that the wind flows over the top or bottom the same way either right side up or upside down.

And teachers teach what they do because it's what they are TOLD to teach- They can't just reinvent an established curriculum. That takes time. And most teachers are probably trying to improve the world one day at a time by teaching children as much as they can with what they're allowed to instruct- Instead of arguing with textbook manufacturers for a few years to list that there really is SEVEN simple machines, because this is an essential bit of knowledge that a child absolutely needs in any science related industry they move into as adults.

If some of today's children end up being bowstring engineers, chances are, they'll figure out how to calculate their IMA without learning about it in eight grade.

Answer 3

School gives young people something to do during the day while their parents are busy earning and going on with their lives, it also provides a sense of achievement that most humans find appealing and gives young people a better understanding of community and how they affect others. School is a way to be a part of something and to hang around with other people in the same situation, same age etc. School aids in friend making and social skills which become very important as people skills later in life.

Answer 4

"How come the teachers never QUESTION what they teach?"

I looked up "QUESTION" and "question" and found no difference in meaning. You must have hit Caps Lock and did not proof read.

Top Ten Universities Worldwide:
The table below show the top ten universities in a world league of research universities compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong university, which was founded in 1896, and is among the oldest Chinese universities. The league, which Shanghai’s academics admit is biased towards science-based universities, measures them on academic research, including the numbers of staff or alumni who have won Nobel prizes and Fields medals in maths; highly acclaimed researchers; and articles published in magazines such as Nature and Science. American universities dominate the table with the two top British universities among them.

Repeat: ". . .biased towards science-based universities, . . ."

Top 10 Universities Worldwide
1. Harvard, US
2. Stanford, US
3. Cambridge UK England
4. University of California, Berkeley, US
5. Massachusetts Inst Tech, US
6. California Inst Tech, US
7. Princeton, US
8. Oxford UK England
9. Columbia, US
10. Chicago, US

"No wonder American students are doing so poorly in the sciences compared to other nations." Aww shucks, three of the top ten are in lil ole California ~ worldwide.

Answer 5

Do you have more examples? I don't know what a simple machine is.

However...

I do know about airplanes, the bernoulli principle, etc. The bernoulli principle is just one aspect of airplane design and why planes fly. For your airplane wing example, you just need one word to blow your example out of the water: thrust. With enough thrust, you can make a cube fly (just take a rubics cube and throw it. That's flying).

So, maybe schools aren't the problem. Maybe you just don't know anything but you think you do.

Answer 6

i dont know about the second one but in the first on, if your talking about like barrel turns? it has something to do with the forces and momentum. i dont think any plane can fly straight totaly upside down without being in the middle of doing a turn. and teachers dont usaully check up on the stuff they teach, they just read it in a book and assume it's right, then they tell it to us and we assume it's right because it coming from a teacher and teachers are always supposed to be right, right?

Answer 7

i agree.

most teachers have no idea what theyre talking about though. most have never studied their subject and just have a teaching degree, which is the easiest degree to ever get.

i do, however, think that theres not point in argueing with the school system though, because it'll hardly ever change. its hard to find someone who'd be willing to study a subject and work for such a small pay.

"one who can, does. one who cannot, teaches..."
- Mark Twain

Answer 8

After reading questions posted by the majority of the people on this forum, that is not the only subject they are or did fail in.

Answer 9

In the future kids will use computers to pull a car out of a ditch.....just kidding.

At least they're not still teaching them that silly Christianity crap!

Answer 10

Well thank goodness you've arrived on the scene. Why don't you simply redesign the curriculum content for all courses and correct all the 'errors' that you have discovered.