School -> Rest of your life

Parent Cafe
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<p>How does the "rest of your life" depend on schooling? particularly higher level schooling such as highschool and college? I feel like course such as history and ap english (w. all this poetry and literature) is quite useless for my career path in life. Should i start narrowing down my courses/activites to be more specifically directed towards my career path?</p>

<p>ps. i really don't like poetry in ap english and reading all this shakespeare! So what's the point besides getting the grade?</p>

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<p>I know how you feel......I hated Shakespeare, too....never knew what he was talking about....but now, looking back, I realise that that's what an education is for.....its not just about job training, its about exposure to culture....after all of that Shakespeare, you can consider yourself "cultured"!</p>

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<p>Well, you should certainly take APs that interest you.There are particular core courses necessary for admission to college, but after that, if you have a paticular goal, like for example pharmacy, it would be fine to prepare yourself as you like!</p>

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<p>Shakespeare is one of the most sophisticated and nuanced writers of all times! He was way ahead of his time, but his appeal was to the huddled masses as well as the most cultured. Even his victories and stories of redemption were nuanced. He was also a great poet; but of course you need to pay close attention after getting used to Elizabethan language. You could learn a lot from him if you paid attention! </p>

<p>p.s - Shakespeare was a great businessman too. He managed to make a great deal of money from the theatre business. Broadway would need to watch out if he was alive now!</p>

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<p>Tiger,
Right now you are still in high school. While this may be hard to understand now, not every single thing you learn in your educational career needs to lead to a practical application in your career or life. Some things you learn in school do not have as "concrete" of an outcome. For instance, when you read Shakespeare, you are learning thinking skills such as interpretations, making inferences, increasing vocabulary, etc. There are skills such as these that cross the curriculum as well as are used in life and in any career. So, for one thing, some of what you are doing in school is working on these less "concrete" skills such as thinking, problem solving, creating, writing, etc. </p>

<p>Secondly, part of becoming an educated person is to learn a body of knowledge in all disciplines. No matter what you do late in life or what career path you choose, you will benefit from being an educated person with a broad knowledge base. This is a time in your life to learn about many subjects. </p>

<p>Another reason to study breadth of subjects areas now is because you can't be sure what you will go into later on and so you need exposure to several areas....one reason being that through exposure, you might discover subject areas that peek your interest to pursue further (or you might discover areas you really don't want to do more with such as Shakespeare!)...but another reason for breadth of subjects now is because when your college major or career is not yet set, you want to make sure you have the background you will need to not close off opportunities later. </p>

<p>When you get to college, you likely will continue to do some of this broad liberal arts education to continue the breadth of knowledge but you also will be able to make many more choices of what you want to study at that time. If you want to specialize in college, that is when you can start doing that. </p>

<p>Another reason to take certain subjects in high school is because they are required to get into college. I have a daughter who really could care less about math or science who won't be going into a college program that relates or will need any of that but she knows to take Calculus now and the hardest track science classes so that she can keep options open when applying to college and have a strong courseload going into the application. Further, even though she is going into a specialized degree program, she would be the first to tell you that she wants some liberal arts courses as well because she wants to be an "educated" person, even though THOSE courses are not in her field. She enjoys other subjects besides her professional training areas, but also knows that in order to be good in her own chosen field (theater), you have to have a knowledge base to draw upon. EVERYONE, no matter WHAT career, is going to do better with a broad knowledge, and learning of "process" skills like writing, problem solving, thinking, etc. that cuts across all areas. </p>

<p>So, try to keep some of this in mind...there really IS a reason for studying these subjects that are not your favorites.
Susan</p>

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<p>Susan, you go girl! :)</p>

<p>(Always wanted to say that).</p>

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<p>An alumni of my alma mater once said, "The purpose of a university is not to teach the means of life only, but life itself; not only how to make a living but how to live."</p>

<p>I was talking to my pastor several days ago. We had a long wandering conversation about random things. It is fun to be able to exchange ideas about subjects as disparate as Aristotle's meanings of happiness(philosophy), Psaltertry(music), the relationship between the Torah and the other First(old) Testament writings(religion), and how to reconcile the ugly anti-semitism of Martin Luther and the Reformation(history).</p>

<p>Certainly it is not possible to enjoy all things. You do not like literature and poetry, I do not like opera with Carmen and Blue Beard's Castle being two exceptions. Perhaps the short stories of Poe are your exception.</p>

<p>In college I took a course in Serbo Croatian literature just because it was offered. Perhaps you should sometime take something similar for the same reason.</p>

<p>Graduate school is for winnowing down our focus. hs is for establishing a somewhat common base of knowledge, undergrad education is an opportunity to broaden your understanding of the world you live in.</p>

<p>You say that you do not like Shakespeare. Perhaps the reason is that his plays were not meant to be read, but to be experienced. Rent Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo and Juliet" or Sir Laurence Olivier's Hamlet before you make any final judgements.</p>

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<p>Originaloog, well said! How was your trip to the Phillipines?</p>

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<p>Achat, I will send you a private email on that.</p>

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<p>"Rent Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo and Juliet" or Sir Laurence Olivier's Hamlet before you make any final judgements."</p>

<p>Or rent any of Kenneth Branagh's videos of Shakespeare's plays, or try "Shakespeare in Love"! While that one is not exactly accurate, it's fun and you may never think of Shakespeare in the same way again.</p>

<p>The posters before me are right: HS and college should be a time for trying many things, sampling, expanding your horizons and opening your eyes to the possibilities around you while starting to identify where your true passion and focus lies. You stand a better chance of being a wiser person throughout your life if you let yourself taste things now and have at least a passing familiarity with them when they return to you in a different form later in your life. </p>

<p>You can narrow your focus more in college, and grad school if you go that route. For now, challenge yourself with your courses and surely take APs in subjects you like, but not just for the grade. Enjoy!</p>

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<p>Go Mootmom, I was having a senior moment and couldn't post because I couldn't remember Kenneth Branagh's name. If a young person can watch "Much Ado About Nothing" and not have a big laugh, and look at Shakespeare in a totally different way, then, I feel very sorry for them.
Tiger, you will come to a time in your life where you realize your career is boring - everyone's job (even brain surgeon's - I know some) has boring aspects (just ask any Ex-President if he liked standing in all those state reception receiving lines;)). THere will be tedious days, even tedious months, that is when the outside interests will rescue you - whether they are sports, arts, travel - whatever, now is the time to try all these things, even poetry.</p>

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<p>Without a broad-based education, how in the world are you going to do crossword puzzles later in life????</p>

<p>jk, of course, but there are situations EVERY DAY, in business and in your personal life or maybe even your romantic life, where you are perceived according to the knowledge that you have. Someone will make a comment that contains a reference to something surely everybody knows and when you don't know, others' opinions of you are very slightly subconciously lessened. Just the other day I made a comment about a car we passed as looking like "Ma and Pa Joad coming from Oklahoma." The person with me didn't have a clue what I was talking about, and I couldn't believe that anyone could get through life without reading Grapes of Wrath.</p>

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<p>Follow up to my post above. I happen to not be at home and in fact, am substituting for a grade 4/5 class today at our local elementary school where my kids used to go and I used to be a teacher before they were born. I posted above when my students were at Art Class and now they are at recess. In the interim, I had to smile because during Math, a student called out about "why do we have to do math, I am never going to use this!!!" and well, I had my answer all ready to go, and discussion ensued and it was all fresh in my mind from posting to Tiger above! </p>

<p>Achat....thanks for being my personal cheerleader, LOL. RAH!</p>

<p>Susan</p>

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<p>tigeruppercut, you have been given some very good advice here! In particular I think you should keep soozievt's #5 post handy as reassurance everytime you find yourself asking "why???" Life has a funny way of taking turns we never planned or dreamed about. Years from now you might be pleasantly surprised to see how many of the subjects/experiences you once thought were useless, end up being worth their weight in gold. Don't worry if some or most of this doesn't make sense to you right now, it's not supposed to! It comes with time and experience, and your time will certainly come, of that you can be sure.</p>

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<p>Soozie:</p>

<p>Your post made me smile. Math teachers are always lamenting about students who ask that very question. When will I ever use this stuff (algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus...)
My H, who is surrounded by math/science/engineering types says that one regret that is often expressed by them is that they did not take enough humanities classes in college.</p>

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<p>Instead of paraphrasing, I'll cite the words of a college president who gets it. I've removed the school name from the remarks.</p>

<p>"Research tells us that, among selective liberal arts colleges, the most effective colleges are those that are both very demanding academically and have a strong student orientation—they care deeply about students as whole persons and demonstrate that in their programs and investments. The big surprise in this research is that it is rare to find a liberal arts college that is both very demanding academically and highly student-oriented. We are one of those colleges.</p>

<p>We know from national surveys that (College Name Omitted) students are more engaged than students at other selective liberal arts colleges in co-curricular and extra-curricular developmental experiences supported by the colleg. At the same time, our students devote more time to their academic work on average than students at other colleges. We achieve a well-rounded student body by recruiting and admitting well-rounded students, not by bringing together a diversity of specialists. It is a strategic goal of the college that we will become even more student-oriented even as we continue to be very demanding academically."</p>

<ul>
<li><p>We are committed to “inspiring” students, not just exposing them to new fields and ideas. </p></li>
<li><p>We are “demanding,” because we know that if you have high expectations of students they will achieve great things. </p></li>
<li><p>The education we provide, “in the liberal arts,” is education for a life, education that inspires students to be lifelong learners, that prepares students to make a difference in a wide array of careers, that encourages students to find meaning in what they do, and to better understand the great issues and questions that are at the center of the quest to be a learned, educated person. </p></li>
<li><p>We are selective. We seek students who are serious of purpose because we believe that the rich array of opportunities for learning and growth (college name omitted) provides should be reserved for those students who are prepared and willing to dive in deeply to take advantage of them. A great education can’t just be “provided” to students. Students must engage—they must be active learners. </p></li>
</ul>

<p>We seek and enroll large numbers of serious students with very high intellectual achievement and promise; we also rejoice in teaching serious students of high intellectual promise who will be transformed by the process—who will achieve far more than they and others expect.</p>

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<p>Ok, processedout, your Adoring Public wants the name of this school! :)</p>

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<p>yulsie - Just take a line or two and put it in google surrounded by quotes. =) I'd tell you, but that would ruin the fun =P</p>

<p>I am a fan of the liberal arts education as well. I think high school is too early to narrow down your choice of classes. Many people go into college thinking they want to major in something, and change their minds, and end up majoring in something completely different. Maybe I'm just interested in more things than most people... perhaps that's what has led me to an international relations major, which is interdisciplinary, with a combination of classes for the major coming history, econ, anthropology, and government. For my next 3 years at school, I hope to schedule so I can take 2 classes in my major per semester, 2 classes in other things I'm interested in (philosophy, sociology, possibly psychology, possibly continue spanish farther than the 7 semester requirement for the major (I already got 4 semesters from HS))</p>

<p>I wide range of knowledge leads to a well rounded person =) I also recommend Kenneth Branagh's versions of plays, as I also found Shakespeare a pain to read. I acknowledge that it is amazing work... but it is just meant to be seen, not read.</p>

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<p>tigeruppercut - I was once in a position similar to yours, except that I didn't really like math or science all that much (and always had a harder time in them than in English and History) and would probably have just taken a bunch of AP courses in the humanities during my senior year of HS had I been given the choice. In college I decided to completely change directions; now I'm a grad student in engineering. Boy was I glad not to have limited my options earlier on. </p>

<p>I also concur with Marite on the humanities courses for technical people. As an engineer or scientist, you have to do A LOT of writing (grants, etc, reports; the higher up you are and the more you make, the more writing is required); so much so that companies are asking engineering schools to require more humanities courses. Doctors can't get away without doing a lot of writing either. </p>

<p>If you aren't enjoying Shakespeare, I would second the recommendation of Much Ado about Nothing; Twelfth Night is also good.</p>

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<p>I got it, I got it!!!!!!! (shhh, don't tell..... St. Lawrence)</p>