Are we expecting kids to learn too much?

Learning has nothing to do with what you'll actually use otherwise, most of us would get by on learning how to use a cash register or stock a store shelf. Learning is about expanding the mind and keeping your brain active. The brain needs exercise just as our bodies do. The more variety and challenge we provide for our brains, the better our thinking skills in other areas of life. In other words, learning about the amoeba and it's eating process isn't just a useless piece of information, it's the process that develops in our brains for having given it thought. It gives us appreciation for other creatures, it develops critical thinking which we do use in daily life for other things. It keeps us wanting to learn for the sake of learning and there is never anything wrong with that; it just brings so much to our characters as human beings. Continual and varied learning is also helpful in warding off things like dementia. It doesn't matter that what you learn won't be used directly in your daily life, it's the intangible qualities that will hold you in good stead throughout your life, so if for no other reason than keeping our brains from turning to mush, learning is always a good thing. Now the quality of education in the schools is quite another thing. I agree with you wholeheartedly that life skills should be brought to the table in our learning institutions. For the most part schools teach students how to pass a test and little else. While I have no love lost for schools, I am a strong supporter of more and varied learning. And believe me, there is a difference. xoxo Cyne

This is so true. I can't remember half the things I learned in school. I agree that real life skills should be taught because a lot of kids are going through life not knowing how to function or deal with life issues and are making costly mistakes.

Hello uath. I don't agree with you about what is taught in the schools. Yes there is much taught that we generally don't use. But at the same time those thing that you and I might not use just might spark a student to go on and to become scientist or a researcher. Every thing we learn in school is a basis for something more than just what is in front of us. Kids have an easier time learning when they are younger.

There are things that my sons know that I did not know because I was not math smart. There is no need to know about ameobas or things like that unless you are a scientist or in the scientific industry. If the parents knew all this stuff that the school wanted the parents to learn to teach their children, the children would have been home schooled and the parents would have been teachers themselves. If a parent wants to learn a subject, or learn more (I want to learn to speak and sing in Italian) let them learn on their own. Do not force them so the teachers can have a break.

I do think there are important things to learn that we wouldn't normally use in real life. Our country's history, for instance, real and unedited. If more people had a real knowledge of history we might not be in this mess. Plus, there are things that schools leave out--did you know there were black double agents in the war for independence?! I didn't till recently! Lots of great facts like that are left out. But I digress....you're right, beyond basic math, basic science and English I think they should teach life skills and more importantly, self-control and personal responsibility since the parents obvious aren't doing it. Hell, most parents spend about 15 minutes a day with their kids once they're in school because they both work and lives are so busy so there's no one to really teach kids. Oh, that's a whole 'nother subject I shouldn't get started on!! Also, not all people are college material. If life skills were taught in school we would have kids that would normally be mediocre college students going to trade schools where they excel and are able to work at something they really enjoy doing. My own two boys found they were not college material and are making other plans after a stab at college.

Now I am some one who home schools via a cyber school and I go over the curriculum from a kindergartner, a fourth grader and a sixth grader. I will admit I need a little refreshing on some of the math here and there but I think it is good for me to have to bring it back up. The more we learn the more we are capable of learning and Who cares if we might not use it everyday learning is not something to be left behind. Now is this class a refresher so the parents know what they are helping or a class in how to help that is a very big difference. See there are so many parents who either say "figure it out" with out giving the needed support while others just do the home work for the kids. Before I pulled mine out of the public they did have a night for the parents where they taught how to teach study skills, how to help with out giving answers and how to guide the kids through difficult materials for them. I actually agree with these classes.

Hi uath, what you said is correct, not necessary to think of our kids, we are the examples for it, we struggled a lot to build up our career and for those marks in the exams, and finally though we settled in our career without a 1 or 2% usage of what we studies, this is quite ridiculous even.

I think children are made to learn too many facts in school. They should be taught more practical skills that they might actually be able to use when they leave school, rather than everything that they're taught suddenly which will never be of any use to anyone. I remember getting so stressed out over my GCSEs when I was 16 that I almost burned out completely, yet I hardly have to use any of the information now, and this was almost five years ago now.

Yes. Look at the thick books and many requirements our children have to do. This only means with all these thick books and notebooks, we expect them to be learning so much. However, it is the opposite that happens because there's just too much information for the brain to process.

I also think that some things as school are not necessary for kids to learn and study but sometimes I also think they are relevant cause its going to give them a foundation of what they are going to learn in high school and in college.

If I become a parent in the near future, I would really not force my child to achieve much in school. I would really not encourage him to memorize all those stuffs in school because I believe it will make the life of my child very miserable. I think, if that would happen, my child will really not enjoy with his life as a kid. I will just follow his performance in school if he is performing and doing well. All I am after is that my child will be able to socialize with other and learn things in his own pace. I will lwt him enjoy for as long as he doesn't fail in the subjects in school... ^^ Good thing I did not experienced it with my parents.^^ So blessed to have parents like them. ^____^

Children are supposed to learn on a step-by-step basis and is enhanced at their own pacing. We, parents have always wanted the best for our children. We want them to learn in a manner which will bring them to independence, satisfaction, and prosperity in the future. We guide and encourage them but we must never ever impose and demand much from them. I do believe that children learn at different levels. Some may be early bloomers while others are late bloomers. All they need is encouragement and continuous prodding and follow up. Some parents tend to expect much from their children simply because they compare themselves with their children who are totally different. After all, no two persons are equal, not even twins

First thing I had a hearty laugh where you mentioned about the classes for parents. I'm gonna contradict you so please read this patiently. You feel that learning a lot of stuff that one never uses in his or her life is useless and that kids are being burdened too much. Agreed the kids are being burdened too much. But still its important to learn all that unnecessary stuff (equations, algorithms, etc.) When one does quadratic equations, it is just not quadratic equations that you solve. It develops you basic aptitude by making you understand things better. All these things are like exercise for the brain which keep it healthy and help develop our basic aptitude and acumen. So studying how an amoeba works may not be of daily use but lets you think that down below everything breaks down and works into a cellular level. This forms the basis of developing and ability to break big problems into small ones just like the understanding that large animals are made of many single cells just like an amoeba. Its this basic aptitude, memory, motor skills, thinking out of the box that gets developed by studying all this so called "unnecessary stuff". Think about it.

HA Finally someone is actually talking about memorizing trivia like your life depended on it! i still don't know why i had to memorize the year and place of different battles that were fought in the distant past. How does it help me knowing that King XXX defeated the mighty army of the invading King XXX in the year 1542 at XXXXXX. Maybe i will quote the dates and names next time my bank manager wants me to always 'maintain' a minimum balance in my account! Maybe he will be impressed and add some of his own into mine :) But it would have been more fun if were shown pictures the different battles and asked to come dressed as Kings, Queens and Army Generals and then do our own battle :) But you know something uath in spite of all my complaints i think i had it better you should read the stuff my little nieces and nephews have to memorize!

I agree with you one hundred percent, we are forcing kids to learn and cram up a lot unnecessary information. who cares what happened when as long as the story is learned by heart. They should insist on the morals we had drawn from history rather than when actual incidents happened and major leaders who left an impact on the world and may be consequences of war and leadership changes not so much on dates and stuff. Maths also should be simple till the time someone decides to make it his or her career path

I totally agree with you. I believe that children learn many things in school that they will never need and that is why that the schools are so overwhelmed with most kids not learning to the degree that they need to be. I personally believe that kids need to be learning life skills as well. My daughter says that she wants to work with horses so we are learning about horses in Language Arts this year and we can incorporate science in as well. Beautiful Feet has some great literature lessons that can teach many things as well as literature. That is one reason that I home school is so that my daughter can learn as she needs to without being forced to learn at someone else'e guidance on things that she may never need to know.

Hi. uath13. Yes, unfortunately the school system is making a child learn too fast and too much. This is a major problem in the school's today. It is such a shame that parents have to take certain classes so that their child can understand certain learning abilities that they don't really know about. They don't need most of this information, they are trying to get kids to give this information out. Too many kids are ahead of their own age group because of issues that are like these are.

life's experiences are better teachers than what kids learn at school.

For me not because the time now is not good because of the computer technology but if they want to have more grades why not.

We, Sir, are thinking the same things. I really do believe they should change the curriculum. It's way to 1990s where we still have less access to information and all we had were books and scribes. I believe today, especially in college, we should only have subjects related to our course. This is one thing I've been ranting my whole college life till I dropped out one sem before the graduation. Seriously. Who needs a P.E., Arts, English, Religion, Community Service, subjects when you are learning IT? Fact: I had learned more on a 30-min internet surfing than a 3-hour lecture in Physics.