Research

[Mello]

I'm starting a research project. :3

Age?

Gender?

Do you think people should go to school? Y/N

Do you think people should be forced to go to school? Y/N

Does the current system force people to go to school? Y/N

Do you think the current public education system works in America(or your country)? Y/N

How do you think it can be improved?

Would you be willing to write/talk to your government about your opinion? Y/N

Bonus questions:

Do you know calculus?

Do you think people should learn calculus?

Do you think people should be forced to learn calculus?

When was the last time you used calculus outside of school?

Do you think people should learn English?

Do you think people should be forced to learn English?

When was the last time you wrote a research paper/essay outside of school?

 

[typus]

lol yur just mad cus ur failing calc LOL
HAH

 

[Mello]

But how I do derivative? How integrate? How calculate rate of change of speeding car on road to estimate the amountof time required to move out of way?

 

[ProxyAmenRa]

I used an optimization function not just 10 minutes ago, I did.

 

[Roran]

If you're doing a research project, you'd want it to be a bit more rigorous than information gathered from semi-anonymous people, because there's really nothing to stop them from lying through their teeth. At least, in person, you can see them to sorta know the first two. But, fuck it. it's not like I have anything better to do (no, homework doesn't count).

15

M

Y

N

N

Massive restructuring of curriculum and more separation based on intelligence. Classes that are too hard for some of the students are too easy for others, and there need to be more official levels of students than EC, average and Honors to keep this from happening as often.

N

 

[Mello]

I'll also be handing out surveys in person. Don't worry. :P

 

[Reluctantly]

You should get a grant from the psychology department of your school to fund your research.

 

[Mello]

Pshaw. Like my highschool has a psychology department.

I'll send the results to some 'prestigious' school though.

 

[Pyropyro]

I'm starting a research project. :3

Good for you

Age? 20s

Gender? M

Do you think people should go to school? Y/N (Yes)

Do you think people should be forced to go to school? Y/N (No)

Does the current system force people to go to school? Y/N (No)

Do you think the current public education system works in America(or your country)? Y/N (Yes)

How do you think it can be improved? (More funding, less red tape)

Would you be willing to write/talk to your government about your opinion? Y/N (Yes)

Bonus questions:

Do you know calculus? (Yes)

Do you think people should learn calculus? (Yes)

Do you think people should be forced to learn calculus? (No)

When was the last time you used calculus outside of school? (a year ago)

Do you think people should learn English? (Yes)

Do you think people should be forced to learn English? (No)

When was the last time you wrote a research paper/essay outside of school? (Yesterday)

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

I'm starting a research project. :3

Age? 23

Gender? Male

Do you think people should go to school? Y/N Yes

Do you think people should be forced to go to school? Y/N Ironically yes, but I think half the subjects should be abolished and the entire structure of the system changed.

Does the current system force people to go to school? Y/N Essentially yes

Do you think the current public education system works in America(or your country)? Y/N No. I was forced to attend a poor quality school in an extremely low income area, and was expelled from high school twice.

How do you think it can be improved? Teaching in the sciences needs to be more interactive, subjects like debate and logic should be introduced, and at the secondary level history should be fully transitioned to elective status. I realize that teachers take a lot of crap that they shouldn't, but at the same time, I feel that it is a teacher's job to be able to communicate the material effectively and motivate students to work and learn.

Would you be willing to write/talk to your government about your opinion? Y/N

I prefer to attempt to reform it myself, at least the science education aspect. I'll talk to the government once I have data and a small army to back me up in the inevitable fight against the reigning bureaucrats.

Bonus questions:

Do you know calculus? Very little

Do you think people should learn calculus? It's not suited to everyone, but is definitely useful for any career in the sciences, engineering, research, or applied math fields like statistics.

Do you think people should be forced to learn calculus? No.

When was the last time you used calculus outside of school? I'm using it right now to create predictive multivariate spatial models to identify phenomena manifestation probability based on a given set of circumstances through time.

Do you think people should learn English? Yes. Clear, concise, effective communication is extremely useful. How else will you convince other people to do things for you? Rhetoric is where it's at.

Do you think people should be forced to learn English? If they would normally speak it and plan to in the future, yes.

When was the last time you wrote a research paper/essay outside of school? Essentially on a twice weekly basis, but 95% of the time the subject matter is of my choosing and the topic interests me quite a bit.

If it's any consolation, I failed both English and History 2/4 years in high school and never made it past geometry due to the whole multiple expulsions thing. Even as an undergraduate I got a D in calculus partly because I was lazy, partly because the professor was terrible, and partly because I was already accepted into grad school without preconditions. I honestly prefer to to learn the concepts at the time I need to actually use them.

 

[Mello]

Oh, and you should give reasons why for the Y/N questions.

My grades are fine right now, by the way.

 

[Dapper Dan]

Age?
23

Gender?
Male

Do you think people should go to school? Y/N
Yes.

Do you think people should be forced to go to school? Y/N
Yes, up to high school.

Does the current system force people to go to school? Y/N
Not sure. Probably depends on the state.

Do you think the current public education system works in America(or your country)?
Yes, although it could be much better.

How do you think it can be improved?
More emphasis on learning. Less on test scores. Better screening of teachers based on attitude.

Would you be willing to write/talk to your government about your opinion?
Eh, I might be convinced to write a short letter.

Bonus questions:

Do you know calculus?
Yup.

Do you think people should learn calculus?
If they stand to benefit from it.

Do you think people should be forced to learn calculus?
Nope. It's pretty worthless in many cases.

When was the last time you used calculus outside of school?
Hmm... Never.

Do you think people should learn English?
Yes, if they live in an English-speaking country.

Do you think people should be forced to learn English?
Yes, if they live in an English-speaking country.

When was the last time you wrote a research paper/essay outside of school?
Do forum posts count? :P

 

[Felan]

Age? 40

Gender? Male

Do you think people should go to school? YES

Do you think people should be forced to go to school? YES

Does the current system force people to go to school? NOT REALLY

Do you think the current public education system works in America(or your country)? NO

How do you think it can be improved? I think it should be paced to the individual(s) and let them learn as much as quickly as possible, but also encouraging peers to work together. Teachers should help when a student struggles in a particular area (whatever their level is). Some effort to insure a reasonable functional minimum is acheived without needing to draw excessive attention to the dummies or smarties. Working with peers is important to build the intellectual capacity for sharing, solving, and exploring a problem space.

Would you be willing to write/talk to your government about your opinion? I don't have a sufficiently concrete idea for this to appeal widely I think.

Bonus questions:

Do you know calculus? YES

Do you think people should learn calculus? YES

Do you think people should be forced to learn calculus? I think everyone should at the very least be exposed to the ideas of calculus. I think there are ways in which computers (video and interactive labs) can teach calculus that would work infinitely better than most teachers that teach it.

When was the last time you used calculus outside of school? I think I use the parts of my brain that grew the most from learning calculus everyday in my job. I rarely actually sit down and calculate and integral or differential, my calculus skills are a bit rusty. Calculus was the first math that really inspired a sense of genuine awe, there is power there that is as near magical as anything can get. I think perhaps the failure to use calculus more is a personal failure more than the lack of value it could have.

Do you think people should learn English? YES

Do you think people should be forced to learn English? YES

When was the last time you wrote a research paper/essay outside of school? Weekly or more often, though not necessarily research paper/essay, more just Requirements documents, design documents, troubleshooting documents, deployment documents, TPS reports, recommendation documents, and endless emails. It is quite jarring how many people struggle to express their thinking in any meaningful way.

 

[Amagi82]

Age? 30

Gender? Man

Do you think people should go to school? Yes

Do you think people should be forced to go to school? Highly encouraged to, not necessarily forced. Influence is a far better approach than raw force.

Does the current system force people to go to school? Essentially, yes.

Do you think the current public education system works in America(or your country)? Define 'works'. On some level, of course it works, but I do think the system is profoundly messed up and inefficient.

How do you think it can be improved? We need to reform our entire society from the ground up, and eliminate the concept of money. Here's a good idea for how to improve the actual system itself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTFEUsudhfs

Would you be willing to write/talk to your government about your opinion? The government cannot solve the problems that are inherent to its very existence.

Bonus questions:

Do you know calculus? Small amounts from way back in school

Do you think people should learn calculus? I think it should be offered and encouraged, but not required for most professions.

Do you think people should be forced to learn calculus? No, force is unacceptable.

When was the last time you used calculus outside of school? What do you mean, use calculus outside of school?? I'm pretty sure nobody has done that on the entire planet in centuries. heh

Do you think people should learn English? It's generally a good idea to learn whatever language everyone around you knows, and not a bad idea to learn other common languages in your area as well.

Do you think people should be forced to learn English? Again, force is the wrong approach.

When was the last time you wrote a research paper/essay outside of school? I write argumentative papers and essays frequently. The last time was a day or two ago, but I've written hundreds through the years.

 

[Mello]

I'll be starting this project this month! Hopefully, I finish it in about 1-2 months.