yeah they pretty much teach you the facts. theres almost nothing to do with critical thought and all that jazz
thats a pretty sweet site. yes i realize we are not the worst. there are a lot worse countries education-wise. but for the size of our economy and with the ideals we have, i think it should be MUCH better here. and i was primarily talking about public schools up until high school. colleges are a whole 'nother ball game.
besides the standardized testing zapping kids' ability to think critically, there's a lot of politically correct nonsense preventing certain types of discussions in the classroom. arguments over whether or not to teach evolution, whether or not to have frank discussions of politics and world events, whether or not to teach things that may contradict religion, whether someone will be offended at a certain lesson, crazy parents calling to "burn the books". some kids don't get a taste of a real discussion or debate until college. by that time they're behind schedule and haven't learned the skills to engage in such a discussion. kids can quote textbooks all day, but if you ask them, "what do you think about such and such" you get a blank stare or a paraphrasing of some text. by kids i mainly mean high schoolers.
