The Ideal Educational System

[Faustian Dreams]

It is clear that many of our education systems are broken, especially here in the United States.

To that end: What sort of curriculum would you devise for the optimization of student achievement and well-being? What subjects, programs, disciplines would you include, and which would you exclude?

Feel free to be as specific or general as you'd like. I'm still contemplating this issue myself, although I intend on drawing up a well-conceived and thorough outline of this for future purposes.

I look forward to reading your responses!

[jcs]

Trivium - Quadrivium - University

[Sinclair]

As long as a kid comes out of high school with a basic knowledge of history, how their country's political system works, math up to trigenometry, some knowledge of the "classics" of literature and whatnot, how to competently use their first language, maybe a second language, a bit of art appreciation... Everything else is gravy.

[jcs]

As long as a kid comes out of high school with a basic knowledge of history, how their country's political system works, math up to trigenometry, some knowledge of the "classics" of literature and whatnot, how to competently use their first language, maybe a second language, a bit of art appreciation... Everything else is gravy.
I'm more advanced than that, and I'd be retarded compared to someone my age 100 or so years ago (depending on where the person was from).

[OVERWATCH]

Study of eugenics and progressive nationalism would supplant ethnic studies and 'minority history' classes.

Corporal punishment would be reinstated, as would school uniforms.

Character-building would also be stressed, such as conducting one'self by an honourable code, and learning the meaning of true heroism.

The best students would be segregated from the chaff and the mediocre, physically, by seperate buildings.

[Kodos]

Corporal punishment would be reinstated, as would school uniforms.


Most school authorities aren't worthy of this kind of power...

[Kodos]

I'm more advanced than that, and I'd be retarded compared to someone my age 100 or so years ago (depending on where the person was from).

Tend to doubt that... Ive seen that supposed 8th grade exam from the 19th century too... a lot of the math questions are ambigious.

[Ahknaton]

I would stick to the basics:

Core Curriculum:

Communication Skills (Written English, grammar, spelling etc), English Literature, Classics, History, Mathematics, Physics. Chemistry, Biology.

In later years I would also add Philosophy, Political Studies (aimed at instructing students in their rights and obligations as citizens), and Economics.

Elective Studies:

Art (Painting, Drawing, Sculpture)
Graphical Design
Technical Drawing
Technical Craftsmanship (woodwork, metalwork etc)
Oratory
Theatre

Extracurricular

I would make it compulsory for all students to either take up at least one sport and/or play one or more musical instruments.

[Fade the Butcher]

The most destructive aspect of education in the United States is the egalitarian legend and the denial of racial and caste differences in cognitive ability as a consequence. Intelligence is a phenotype. It's somewhat genetic, somewhat environmental, but it has a definite heritable component. So, what happens when you herd natural born Alphas and Betas into the same schools with Gammas and Deltas? You depress their potential and retard society in countless ways. Fortunately, it has proven all but impossible to completely eliminate segregation in the public education system, as attempts to eliminate tracking have shown. The parents of bright children usually have the financial means to relocate to more racially hospitable and/or eugenic suburbs and enroll their children in whiter public schools or private schools when those are not available. The first step to optimizing the public education system would be to reintroduce segregation. American students are not interchangeable parts that can be manufactured on an assembly line.

The second step would be to gear the revamped education system around caste based curriculums. We already have special education programs for Epsilons; the retarded, as they are known today, or the feebleminded as we used to call them. We should extend this principle to create separate schools for Alphas, Betas, and Gamma Pluses on the one hand and Gamma Minuses, Deltas, and Epsilons on the other. The former should receive free college educations and the curriculum they are taught should be tracked to their varying levels of creativity and openness. They should be given far more freedom to explore their capacities and interests than they are today. The latter group should receive a far shorter and more character based education. This group will obviously be in need of stronger discipline and a more authoritarian curriculum.

[Petyr Baelish]

The second step would be to gear the revamped education system around caste based curriculums. We already have special education programs for Epsilons; the retarded, as they are know today, or the feebleminded as we used to call them. We should extend this principle to create separate schools for Alphas, Betas, and Gamma Pluses on the one hand and Gamma Minuses, Deltas, and Epsilons on the other. The former should receive free college educations and the cirriculum they are taught should be tracked to their varying levels of creativity and openness. They should be given far more freedom to explore their capacities and interests than they are today. The latter group should receive a far shorter and more character based education. This group will obviously be in need of stronger discipline and a more authoritarian curriculum.

I agree completely. I believe that even those moderately to the left of the IQ average (say, those with 85-90 IQs) can become productive, dignified citizens if trained properly. The problem with the American primary education system is that by ignoring plainly obvious intellectual disparities it does a grave disservice to both the brilliant and the dull by ignoring the abilities of the former group and denying them the intellectual stimulation they need to thrive, and withholding from the latter the discipline that he needs in order to perform his tasks adequately. Consequently, the highly intelligent child becomes demoralized and alienated because society either ignores his potential or denigrates it, and the stupid child is alienated because he feels that no matter how hard he tries, he cannot become a productive member of society. The strata of cognitive ability must be recognized and rigorously differentiated so as to allow all members of society to contribute thereto to the fullest of their ability.

[Jonathan]

I think that there is too much emphasis on academics (not that it's all too successful) over "Character building" at the moment.

[Jimbo Gomez]

Study of eugenics and progressive nationalism would supplant ethnic studies and 'minority history' classes.

Corporal punishment would be reinstated, as would school uniforms.

Character-building would also be stressed, such as conducting one'self by an honourable code, and learning the meaning of true heroism.

The best students would be segregated from the chaff and the mediocre, physically, by seperate buildings.

A bit drastical, but I can find myself in this. The most important aspect is teaching them to compete, and fail them if they do bad. These days 'everybody is a winner' in school, and kids are passed even if they're too stupid or too lazy, so as to 'not hurt their feelings'. This doesn't prepare them for life.

Also, all that diversity crap, tolerance classes and what not, all need to be abolished, for obvious reasons.

[Geist]

more emphasis on what a students strengths are, once a child understands the basics of maths, english etc they should not be forced to continue the study of more advanced aspects if they are no good at it. instead they ought to focus on their better subjects.

students who wish to leave for apprentices should be allowed to, there should be some more manual stuff in there for kids who are good at that type of type, why coop them up learning shakespeare when they want to be mechanics.

more practical life courses as well.

the academic side of thing is wanting but kids who excel in subjects like english and history will show their worth in university anyway and can follow any line of inquiry they wish at graduate level.

[Der Sozialist]

The solution to this problem is to do away with universal education. If children want to qualify for a public education they need to pass a test and maintain a certain minimum.

Also, the testing should be standardized—this should prevent certain schools from giving ‘A’s’ just because you attended class (which is more or less the system in some inner city schools).

Students should be forced to choose their discipline early on—just like in the rest of Europe. Each discipline will have its own set of standards that the student must satisfy.

The rest, who don’t qualify for public education are reserved for some of these fields:

Scientific testing (science needs human guinea pigs)

Manual labor

Grunt jobs in the military

[jcs]

Tend to doubt that... Ive seen that supposed 8th grade exam from the 19th century too... a lot of the math questions are ambigious.
I'm not in eighth grade ;)

All I know is that by my age, an intelligent person would speak a few more languages than I: their original language, latin, greek, and at least one of the major languages in Europe (German, French, English). Furthermore, formal training in grammar, logic, and rhetoric (the Trivium) was vastly superior to what it is now. Students generally aren't taught logic at all until college (and then, they're taught poorly), have poor grammar (I was never taught what verbs, nouns, adverbs, etc. are; had to pick that up myself when I was told to conjugate a what-the-fuck-is-that in German class), and are told to constantly use rhetoric to 'express ourselves.' We jump ahead of what we ought to be doing; we form opinions before we know the basic facts. I have been conditioned to tell people what I think of a book before I read the first page! This is a hard habit to break.

[jcs]

Students should be forced to choose their discipline early on—just like in the rest of Europe. Each discipline will have its own set of standards that the student must satisfy.
Guild systems; children ought to generally pursue the vocation of their fathers. Expecting a child that young to make a decision on his own which will effect him for the rest of his life... probably not the best idea.

[Sinclair]

But how many people recieved good educations 100 years ago?

Although you're right in pointing out logic, among other things... There is nothing more annoying than getting in an argument where the answer depends on, let's say, statistics, and the other person somehow thinks that personal anecdotes are as valuable as (let's say the subject is some bullshit "alternative medicine") the results of reputable large-scale tests.

[Lionheart]

A first step would be to remove television from the classroom. When I was in high school, I watched videos for at least three hours a day. I was, however, able to get a lot of outside reading done during this time.

[Kodos]

All I know is that by my age, an intelligent person would speak a few more languages than I: their original language, latin, greek, and at least one of the major languages in Europe (German, French, English). Furthermore, formal training in grammar, logic, and rhetoric (the Trivium) was vastly superior to what it is now. Students generally aren't taught logic at all until college (and then, they're taught poorly), have poor grammar (I was never taught what verbs, nouns, adverbs, etc. are; had to pick that up myself when I was told to conjugate a what-the-fuck-is-that in German class), and are told to constantly use rhetoric to 'express ourselves.' We jump ahead of what we ought to be doing; we form opinions before we know the basic facts. I have been conditioned to tell people what I think of a book before I read the first page! This is a hard habit to break.


You are describing the classical education system that "advanced" students got... most students of a scientific bent were none too fond.