> By officially going to a public high school, students cede a
> large portion of their responsibility for their education to the school.
> In other words, if you aren’t learning much, it’s the school’s fault.
I'm a senior at a public high school, and I absolutely disagree. The onus to learn always falls on the individual. I refuse to believe that there is a student anywhere that really wants to learn but cannot. Libraries and the internet are always available, as are other people — all of these resources can be learned from.
The author seems unhappy with their high school experience. Public schooling may have its flaws, but to blame one's lack of an education on one's school would be misguided.
> For example, a good way of teaching Geometry is to have students write a graphics renderer.
No it wouldn't. Not everyone is interested in programming or computer games.
I partially agree. The onus is always on the indivdual. An organized class can provide comraderie, a place to ask questions, guidance, and many other benefits. But in the end, it is always up to the individual to get something out of it. A determined person with some basic resources can learn without a class, and a person who puts no effort in will not learn in even the best class.
But as for I refuse to believe that there is a student anywhere that really wants to learn but cannot. That is true, but only to a degree. There remain plenty of places, even in America, where internet access is limited and a young student in particular may not have the resources to get consistent and frequent internet access. Similarly, there are places where the libraries are not accessible in a practical way.
A truly determined person, such as Srīnivāsa Rāmānujan can rise above, but they are the exceptions and even Ramanujan got help from people to reach his peak.
> There remain plenty of places, even in America, where internet access is
> limited and a young student in particular may not have the resources to
> get consistent and frequent internet access. Similarly, there are places
> where the libraries are not accessible in a practical way.
Ok, I'll concede that there may be cases where it is impossible for a determined individual to learn as much as they want. But in the majority cases, I think the old adage "if there's a will, there's a way" remains applicable.
> large portion of their responsibility for their education to the school.
> In other words, if you aren’t learning much, it’s the school’s fault.
I'm a senior at a public high school, and I absolutely disagree. The onus to learn always falls on the individual. I refuse to believe that there is a student anywhere that really wants to learn but cannot. Libraries and the internet are always available, as are other people — all of these resources can be learned from.
The author seems unhappy with their high school experience. Public schooling may have its flaws, but to blame one's lack of an education on one's school would be misguided.
> For example, a good way of teaching Geometry is to have students write a graphics renderer.
No it wouldn't. Not everyone is interested in programming or computer games.