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RE: Do we really need to learn all that in school?
I think our education system should foster one thing above all in kids: curiosity.
When curious, kids like to learn, and will learn much easier.
Too much pressure and grading can kill the natural curiosity, and then things get nasty for the kids, but also for teachers and parents. But no pressure at all will sometimes lead to kids not learning the basics at all too.
So the ideal system would probably keep an individual balance of not pressuring kids as long as they strive to learn naturally, but having "red lines" of basics that every child needs to learn with consequences for failure.
Yes! Fostering curiosity is definitely key for more effective learning. If you do it well, and get kids to wonder about something, not only will their learning become more effortless, but they will even do research on their own sometimes!
That's pretty much what happened to me, my parents and grandfather always made Science look like something entertaining, fascinating, accessible and fun. Learning stuff didn't feel like a chore. I even made a post about it a while ago:
https://steemit.com/science/@irime/the-story-of-a-curious-child-that-became-a-scientist-how-i-got-into-science
However not every individual is interested in the same subjects, so the idea of setting a minimal baseline for basics that everyone must know is definitely wise to ensure that there is not so much lagging behind in those areas that are not so attractive to them.
Thanks for commenting, @sco!