Comments on: Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head Like a Stack of Textbooks http://asteriusonline.com/diary/2009/01/07/rain-drops-keep-falling-on-my-head-like-a-stack-of-textbooks/ Thoughts on publishing and the writing life Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:33:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: John Erianne http://asteriusonline.com/diary/2009/01/07/rain-drops-keep-falling-on-my-head-like-a-stack-of-textbooks/comment-page-1/#comment-311 John Erianne Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:02:16 +0000 http://asteriusonline.com/diary/?p=695#comment-311 I think my problem with our education system is that there is no room for free thought, real individuality. The system keeps turning out mediocre students who can't think for themselves because that's what the system wants — a bunch of braindead zombie consumers who wouldn't know a creative thought if it dropped out of the sky and landed smack on their heads. The system doesn't allow itself to be challenged, so the students are never themselves challenged and no real learning ever takes place. Were I to design a new system, there'd be less time spent in a classroom and classes would be more like an open forum with Socratic-style dialogue instead of a single teacher droning on and on. There would be more one-on-one mentoring, more time for independent study and no standardized testing. Oral and essay exams only and lots and lots of reading and writing. I think my problem with our education system is that there is no room for free thought, real individuality. The system keeps turning out mediocre students who can’t think for themselves because that’s what the system wants — a bunch of braindead zombie consumers who wouldn’t know a creative thought if it dropped out of the sky and landed smack on their heads. The system doesn’t allow itself to be challenged, so the students are never themselves challenged and no real learning ever takes place.

Were I to design a new system, there’d be less time spent in a classroom and classes would be more like an open forum with Socratic-style dialogue instead of a single teacher droning on and on. There would be more one-on-one mentoring, more time for independent study and no standardized testing. Oral and essay exams only and lots and lots of reading and writing.

]]> By: Catana http://asteriusonline.com/diary/2009/01/07/rain-drops-keep-falling-on-my-head-like-a-stack-of-textbooks/comment-page-1/#comment-310 Catana Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:47:52 +0000 http://asteriusonline.com/diary/?p=695#comment-310 I thought the move from high school to college was going to be my entrance into a temple of learning. It wasn't. Kept trying to find the temple as I grew older and finally realized that it didn't exist. Books yes, school no. I thought the move from high school to college was going to be my entrance into a temple of learning. It wasn’t. Kept trying to find the temple as I grew older and finally realized that it didn’t exist. Books yes, school no.

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