Should we just teach reading, writing and arithmetic?

Question

okay maybe art, music and P.E. as well (including nutrition); but classes like history, social studies, and even to an extent science has become a mess with differing special interests wanting to contribute or control the content; it is also bogging the general learning environment down with sometimes petty arguments between parties ; little wonder more people are home schooling when they can or sending to private schools

there is always the library if people are "really" concerned with learning what viewpoint they want to learn

El Supremo - okay, i admit, that is funny

I must say these are some of the best answers/posts Ive come across on any topic so far..

But please, DONT quote me George Santayana!

Answer 1

I disagree. To some extent, I can understand your argument that social studies classes have become bogged down by special interests. However, people SHOULD know about the history of the world and how the governments of their own and other countries work, whether they're really interested or not. Unfortunately, most people aren't inclined to go to the library and do all the necessary research, so social studies classes are indeed necessary.

Answer 2

As a college instructor, I'd be happy if the schools did their job teaching literacy and math. They aren't even doing that.

But--no science? We live in a technological age. And no history? If you want to know why our country is in the mess its in, look at history--that and civics are the basis of being an informed citizen.

I'll agree we need reforms--but lowering the bar even further isn't the answer. Here's a sample high school curriculum:
4yrs English
4yrs Foreign language
3 years history/social studies--+ an elective
3 years science--+ an elective
4 years math
2-4 years optional (ROTc, music, art, etc.

That's what my high school had, years ago. For everyone. High standards and expectations--and a 96% graduation rate.

Reform--absolutely. More cutting courses and expectations so the so-called teachers in our schools can go to more "professional development" meetings--h~ll no!

PS--I forgot--we were also required to either participate in a sport or have 2 years PE.

Answer 3

As someone who is teaching one of the r's, I tell you that we are doing the best we can with what we are given.

Yes, there are debates on certain topics (e.g., creationism vs. evolution, the role of sexual education, homosexuality, etc), but these are on the outer fringes of education. They do not constitute the day in-day out experiences in school. I assure you that when students come into my class, its all about mathematics.

Public schools are a reflection of the society. If you give me a kid who comes from a troubled home, lacks supervision and does not possess a work ethic for 180 days, chances are that I am going to do a lot less with that kid than my Chinese/Japanese/Korean counterpart, who has the kid for 250 days, is supervised in a traditional two parent household that emphasizes education, and has been instilled with a sense of work ethic.

I have no problem with private schools, but as you said, they do not have to deal with "bogging the general learning environment ...". They can also pick and choose who they want to accept. Public schools have to take everyone who shows up at their doorstep.

I could go on, but I have to go and prepare for my Monday classes. I wish you well.

Answer 4

History is important because by learning history you can avoid mistakes of the past. Science is important because you learn about the planet that you live on, the human body, chemistry, physics. Social Studies is learning about the other people on Earth and the different cultures which is a key part of living on Earth. You have to understand and build bridges between other cultures.

Answer 5

All of these subjects are absolutely vital to the development of an educated, productive, and contributing society. Social studies, history, and science are often young students' favorite subjects. They connect students to the real world in ways that math and English cannot.

Also, no teacher is completely unbiased in his or her teaching, no matter what the subject. If a teacher prefers one writing style over another, the student who writes in the preferred style will likely receive better grades than the one who choses a different style. Though perhaps unintentional, the teacher is sending the message that one style is always better than the other.

As students gain knowledge and insight and encounter many teachers with many different perspectives, they will hopefully also gain a basis for which to make their own judgments. If they are never exposed to history, social studies, or science, they will likely make worse judgments than if they had been exposed to these subjects by teachers with one bias or another. Perhaps in the case of education it is better to be misinformed than not informed at all.

Answer 6

Well, no we shouldn't ignore subjects even if they present us with difficult choices. Nothing in education is neutral. There is a politic to reading, writing, and arithmetic--when do we teach reading and how, and to whom. Is it egalitarian to teach everyone at the same rate and regardless of ability, or should students who excel be separated, advanced a grade? Is this truly good for them or are we sacrificing their normal development to exploit a slight edge. (oh and art, a minefield!).

By the way for older students in reading--what must they read, what should they read--great literature of the past or is it more important to deal with language as it is used today--both?...how much does it each get--how do we treat books that deal with controversy (sex, racism, homesexuality, communism, religion)--banned or required?.

As for arithmetic--separate girls and boys? Emphasize theory or application? Okay...I could go on, but you get the gist...there is no neutral education.

I was partly home schooled and I support parents' right to home school, and I believe that private and public schools should be ultimately accountable to parents--but I don't think there is any one solution that is the right way to school each an every student.

We do students a disservice if we disengage and say "I will teach only that of which I am certain."

Answer 7

My kids is home skulled and me an the wife larns them the basix. Reeding, Riting, Religion, and Marksmanship.

Actually, studies have shown that kids who study music and the arts tend to do much better in all other subjects. A well rounded education is essential.

Limiting education to just a few subjects is a recipe for churning out automatons. Are we educating children or are we programming cybernetic organisms?

I hope and pray science, art, and history always remain a part of the educational system. In history is our roots. It is what connects us to the world.

Answer 8

All those subjects should be taught including Government and Civics classes. We had all those classes when I was growing up including art, music, P.E and nutrition. They should all remain in our curriculum because they are all equally important subjects.
While we are at it, our schools should be teaching comparative religions in a religious studies class and they should be teaching a classics or philosophy class as well. These are all very important part of our culture and should be an important part of our education system.

My god, In Europe, high school kids who take 4 years of a foreign language have to write a 30 page research paper at the end of that 4th year, all in that foreign language. We should be doing that in our schools as well. Our high schools are a joke compared to European schools. It's an embarrassment.

Answer 9

Oh NO! Of anything, science is one of the most important things to learn.
Do you want children going into high school not knowing the most elementary facts about our natural world?
You can't depend on parents for that information. Science stimulates developing minds of future inventors.

Basic History is very important. In order to help know about our world today, we need to study our past. Our past defines who we are and how we got here.
Again, Parents can't be depended on to supply this kind of information.

Answer 10

this is the reason I may homeschool my son soon.

roxiecat: not ALL children are unintrested in such subjects. My 9 yr is fascinated with history and science and loves to read about it. Enough that we have two problems at school: teachers asking that he reach more fiction and teachers complaining that he corrects them (he always brings in proof of his statements the next day and has YET to be wrong). That said, both my husband and I are reenactors so he is exposed to history constantly, all time periods.