Ok, so he teaches his kids how to hack school thru short term memory tricks and he's upset that they haven't learned anything. I don't think school has failed them, thought school has it's many faults, he has failed his kids. At some point he has to take responsibility to make sure his kids are educated by teaching them how to learn rather than to teach them how to get through tests with a good grade.
The author's polemic only shows that his middle-school children have no intrinsic interest in the history of the Roman Empire, and also don't memorize arbitrary durations. Quick: how many years between the Mexican-American War and the Spanish-American War? What's the air speed of an unladen swallow? Is this the author's idea of an education?
This is one of the most facile articles i have ever read on HN. Other than the click-baity title there is nothing in it. The author did not teach his kids <i>to learn</i> but taught them <i>techniques to mug up</i> and sort of feels good about it?
I oft wonder about my unique high school education of the early 1970s - a South Texas public school with a mix of working and professional class families. High percentage of hispanic and black, very few asians. History teachers that did not just teach dates and places but discussed causes and effects. Math teachers that did teach sterile rote methods. Science teachers that taught the future (both my chemistry and physics teachers emphasized the coming wave of computational power). Shop and automotive teachers that taught critical thinking and creative problem solving. Over 20% of my senior class took calculus. English teachers that taught us to read for meaning and to analyze literature and discussed stuff such as Stranger in a Strange Land. Almost half went to college and about 40% received scholarships.<p>The 21st century of public education does not seem capable of providing this experience. What the heck happened? Or was this a unique, one-time period?
The guy can't even teach his kids (agree that it is his teacher's job but you are a parent, take him out and show the world) I wonder how he is the CEO and goes about mentoring/writing books about leading. Seems like his whole life is a hack.
I mean if your kids think that college is easy then they probably aren’t taking challenging classes. I don’t remember anyone thinking weed out Chem or physics was easy except one or 2 genius kids. Also if you take regular level classes you do indeed learn almost nothing because the curriculum is designed so median level achievers.
Your unspecified taxes pay for teachers whose students get straight A's in the tests the teachers set.<p>What if you paid the teacher through the school principal?<p>What if the invoice for your school fees were on the bottom of your kid's annual report card?<p>And you had to pay it, with a bank cheque, in person, to the teacher, on the Tuesday before Christmas, after waiting in the queue with all the other parents.<p>With your kid and the principal looking on, all minds focussed and incentives painfully exposed?
> I actually don’t worry about my kids’ futures at all. They will excel in whatever it is they choose to do. But it has nothing to do with their grades or schooling. I can see that they have a strong work ethic, they are kind, have high emotional intelligence, and good leadership and social skills. These are things they learned from family, church, athletics, activities and video games (yes, video games).<p>So, dean HNers, don't worry about STEM. No need to train engineering, look into physics, think over math - no hard subjects required to get successful in the world. Just kindness and good leadership. Onwards, Jameses Kirks... wait a minute, Kirk was able to reprogram the simulation. Never mind then.