Quote:
Originally Posted by MMM
I didn't say "pointless"...I said "seemingly pointless" in that a student can't see the point of a course of study, even if it becomes more clear later in life.
Actually learning about packaging design, industrial food industry, industrial manufacture and nutritional analysis sound fascinating and quite useful for some people in the future.
Learning that something isn't for you can be just as useful as learning it is.
Again, sound like useful lessons.
That's interesting, because at least where I live "growing your own" is becoming a very new and real thing (again) in local education.
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I am all for the knowledge for knowledge's sake argument, but at the same time, it has to be sensible. Sure, the things I mentioned might be of benefit of SOME people, but the practical lessons, enjoyed or despised would be of practical benefit for all people. I'm not talking about elective classes here, i'm talking about the compulsory ones we took pre-GCSE. The packaging design, industrial food industry, etc are fine for those with a genuine interest in pursuing a class or career in that direction, but are a waste of time for those only learning, as you say, that it isn't for them. Which is relatively ironic as now i have a grasp of cooking and DIY i really enjoy them, but i certainly didn't at school.
I think in the last year, there's been a push to bring gardening back into schools and so on. There's been a lot of 'dig in' campaigns, but interestingly, not run by the government as much of the state school campaigns are. It's been done through things like big companies and the BBC instead.