When I was in high school, Physics and Algebra were part of the curriculum. All the other subjects were fine with me except the first two mentioned. I was a diligent and conscientious student. I love to read and study. But no matter how much I read the books and tried to study these subjects, I just couldn’t fathom the mathematical equations.
Some people say the kind of teacher will determine how one learns a subject. Well, my teachers were good, methodical, patient and professional. But I didn’t think they were the problem. The problem was me. My brain just wasn’t wired to comprehend those equations.
It is still a wonder to me how I passed those subjects. My quiz and periodic exam results were far from passing. I believe the teachers were kind enough not to give me a failing grade; after all, I was a good, diligent and conscientious student, and I behaved well. I attended a public high school, and I believe it was the reason that I graduated despite my lack of algebraic and physics talent—my teachers had compassion and sympathy for me for being a progeny of the less affluent class, but a “trying hard to improve my lot” type of progeny. Simply put, I didn’t have the resources to repeat the class, so that gave me points.
After high school, I worked by day and went to a public university at night. Horror of horrors, I was confronted with Calculus (higher Algebra) and Statistics! I had classes on Saturdays and I would go to the library and really put two and two together to understand those subjects. Try as I might I could not for the life of me solve the assignments—I was clueless! My quiz and periodic exam scores embarrassed me and everytime the teachers handed back the papers, I took them meekly like a wounded dog. To make a long story short, I passed the subjects because I believe the teachers had compassion on me being a night student, and that to them meant I was someone who was willing to sacrifice and exert extra effort to make my life better—someone who had ambition, but lacked subjective talent. Points again.
Even then I could not understand why I had to study those subjects that were my waterloos. I thought they had no place in my future vocation, let alone my daily life. I was learning commerce, not the vastness of the universe. Those subjects were a total waste of my time, effort and resources--I just felt and knew it. I understand that education is meant to discipline the mind, but those subjects oppressed my mind more than disciplined it.
No wonder many drop out of school--one possible reason being a part of the curriculum didn't suit the leanings of the mind and thus became boring and irrelevant. I wished the subjects which I dreaded were instead offered as elective subjects (those that students choose in addition to the regular curriculum). I certainly would not pick them. I remember my elective subject then was Spanish—not because I was crazy about it, but there were no other options for me (there were two actually, but the other one didn’t interest me either).
I worked in a school, insurance company and a bank, and I didn’t have to use Physics and Algebra, even Trigonometry, Calculus or higher Statistics in any of these places--the need simply was non-existent. I wished there were other subjects in high school (even if they were elective) on say, Entrepreneurship, Human Relations, Customer Service, The Art of Handling Difficult/Negative People, Stock Trading, Mutual Funds Investing, Foreign Currency Exchange Investing, How to Generate Creative Ideas, Homebased Business, Real Estate Business 101, How to be a Millionaire at Age 30 (or make it 40 if you think you can’t make that mark), How to Work Four Hours a Day and Still Make Decent Money, Family Relationships, How to Handle Money (which is needed by everybody), Nutrition 101, Weight Loss 101, How to Have a Balanced Life in an Unbalanced World, How to be a Good Marriage Partner, How to Enjoy Life and Still be a Responsible Person, or The Science of Taking Risks. The list is long but relevant to the daily life of probably a large part of the population--if not now, perhaps later.
Education is meant to liberate or enlighten the mind, not to confuse it. It should evolve with time and be more relevant to the needs of the majority, not of the few. What I’m saying is leave those subjects to students who have the aptitude for them. Note that I did not say, leave those subjects to would-be engineers, architects, astronomers, physicists, scientists and whatever occupations that might have use for them because nobody knows what vocation the young will go into, though some would have a pretty good idea already--hence, I used the word “aptitude”. Imagine a young person who would want to be a ballet dancer someday and made to struggle with complex mathematical equations just to "fulfill the requirements." In short, give the youth other options that they feel are relevant to them.
I have come across frontline salespersons who didn’t know how to deal effectively with customers—wouldn’t it be good for their own sake and the business if they were taught good Customer Service in school? Many people hesitate to dabble in the stockmarket, foreign currency exchange and real estate flipping because they don’t have a basic understanding of how these systems operate. Yet, all these people need and want to make extra money and would one day go into retirement, and wouldn’t it help if they had knowledge of these systems and were able to use that knowledge early in life instead of cramming later, and because of fear, they never take the plunge at all?
Up to my retirement, I don’t see any use for those school subjects that did not match my aptitude and interest and I will never see any use for them for the rest of my life. If you want to share your own experience, you are most welcome.
Quote for today:
“One can succeed at almost anything for which he has enthusiasm.”
– Charles Schwab, industrialist and financier
Some people say the kind of teacher will determine how one learns a subject. Well, my teachers were good, methodical, patient and professional. But I didn’t think they were the problem. The problem was me. My brain just wasn’t wired to comprehend those equations.
It is still a wonder to me how I passed those subjects. My quiz and periodic exam results were far from passing. I believe the teachers were kind enough not to give me a failing grade; after all, I was a good, diligent and conscientious student, and I behaved well. I attended a public high school, and I believe it was the reason that I graduated despite my lack of algebraic and physics talent—my teachers had compassion and sympathy for me for being a progeny of the less affluent class, but a “trying hard to improve my lot” type of progeny. Simply put, I didn’t have the resources to repeat the class, so that gave me points.
After high school, I worked by day and went to a public university at night. Horror of horrors, I was confronted with Calculus (higher Algebra) and Statistics! I had classes on Saturdays and I would go to the library and really put two and two together to understand those subjects. Try as I might I could not for the life of me solve the assignments—I was clueless! My quiz and periodic exam scores embarrassed me and everytime the teachers handed back the papers, I took them meekly like a wounded dog. To make a long story short, I passed the subjects because I believe the teachers had compassion on me being a night student, and that to them meant I was someone who was willing to sacrifice and exert extra effort to make my life better—someone who had ambition, but lacked subjective talent. Points again.
Even then I could not understand why I had to study those subjects that were my waterloos. I thought they had no place in my future vocation, let alone my daily life. I was learning commerce, not the vastness of the universe. Those subjects were a total waste of my time, effort and resources--I just felt and knew it. I understand that education is meant to discipline the mind, but those subjects oppressed my mind more than disciplined it.
No wonder many drop out of school--one possible reason being a part of the curriculum didn't suit the leanings of the mind and thus became boring and irrelevant. I wished the subjects which I dreaded were instead offered as elective subjects (those that students choose in addition to the regular curriculum). I certainly would not pick them. I remember my elective subject then was Spanish—not because I was crazy about it, but there were no other options for me (there were two actually, but the other one didn’t interest me either).
I worked in a school, insurance company and a bank, and I didn’t have to use Physics and Algebra, even Trigonometry, Calculus or higher Statistics in any of these places--the need simply was non-existent. I wished there were other subjects in high school (even if they were elective) on say, Entrepreneurship, Human Relations, Customer Service, The Art of Handling Difficult/Negative People, Stock Trading, Mutual Funds Investing, Foreign Currency Exchange Investing, How to Generate Creative Ideas, Homebased Business, Real Estate Business 101, How to be a Millionaire at Age 30 (or make it 40 if you think you can’t make that mark), How to Work Four Hours a Day and Still Make Decent Money, Family Relationships, How to Handle Money (which is needed by everybody), Nutrition 101, Weight Loss 101, How to Have a Balanced Life in an Unbalanced World, How to be a Good Marriage Partner, How to Enjoy Life and Still be a Responsible Person, or The Science of Taking Risks. The list is long but relevant to the daily life of probably a large part of the population--if not now, perhaps later.
Education is meant to liberate or enlighten the mind, not to confuse it. It should evolve with time and be more relevant to the needs of the majority, not of the few. What I’m saying is leave those subjects to students who have the aptitude for them. Note that I did not say, leave those subjects to would-be engineers, architects, astronomers, physicists, scientists and whatever occupations that might have use for them because nobody knows what vocation the young will go into, though some would have a pretty good idea already--hence, I used the word “aptitude”. Imagine a young person who would want to be a ballet dancer someday and made to struggle with complex mathematical equations just to "fulfill the requirements." In short, give the youth other options that they feel are relevant to them.
I have come across frontline salespersons who didn’t know how to deal effectively with customers—wouldn’t it be good for their own sake and the business if they were taught good Customer Service in school? Many people hesitate to dabble in the stockmarket, foreign currency exchange and real estate flipping because they don’t have a basic understanding of how these systems operate. Yet, all these people need and want to make extra money and would one day go into retirement, and wouldn’t it help if they had knowledge of these systems and were able to use that knowledge early in life instead of cramming later, and because of fear, they never take the plunge at all?
Up to my retirement, I don’t see any use for those school subjects that did not match my aptitude and interest and I will never see any use for them for the rest of my life. If you want to share your own experience, you are most welcome.
Quote for today:
“One can succeed at almost anything for which he has enthusiasm.”
– Charles Schwab, industrialist and financier
