In the UK, I understand how people go through school and learn little about science or math. People are sorted and directed into educational funnels here. It starts very young and carries on throughout. In the USA, a university degree has core subject in your major and a bunch of other subjects too, with the aim of producing a well balan…
In the UK, I understand how people go through school and learn little about science or math.
People are sorted and directed into educational funnels here. It starts very young and carries on throughout. In the USA, a university degree has core subject in your major and a bunch of other subjects too, with the aim of producing a well balanced education. For example, my degree is in electrical engineering, but I took lots of math... and lots of psychology & sociology, almost enough for another degree. I also took courses in American history, comparative Eastern religions and English literature.
My wife's university degree? Entirely courses for the degree. Nothing else.
Before that were A-levels around age 18, and before those were GCSE exams around age 16. If a student doesn't choose to study for exams in math or science at those levels, they aren't getting math or science in school. It's easy to avoid those subjects altogether.
I guess that's how we ended up with a Prime Minister who went to a prestigious school and emerged not understanding percentages. I don't know how the USA is getting this too, but this is how it happens here.
If most people haven't learned much math or science (which requires critical thinking), they are easy marks. That must be terribly tempting for a certain type of person seeking power... so here we are...
Things truly were different when and where you and I went to school.
In the UK, I understand how people go through school and learn little about science or math.
People are sorted and directed into educational funnels here. It starts very young and carries on throughout. In the USA, a university degree has core subject in your major and a bunch of other subjects too, with the aim of producing a well balanced education. For example, my degree is in electrical engineering, but I took lots of math... and lots of psychology & sociology, almost enough for another degree. I also took courses in American history, comparative Eastern religions and English literature.
My wife's university degree? Entirely courses for the degree. Nothing else.
Before that were A-levels around age 18, and before those were GCSE exams around age 16. If a student doesn't choose to study for exams in math or science at those levels, they aren't getting math or science in school. It's easy to avoid those subjects altogether.
I guess that's how we ended up with a Prime Minister who went to a prestigious school and emerged not understanding percentages. I don't know how the USA is getting this too, but this is how it happens here.
If most people haven't learned much math or science (which requires critical thinking), they are easy marks. That must be terribly tempting for a certain type of person seeking power... so here we are...
Things truly were different when and where you and I went to school.
Damned scary! Powerful, glib, fear-mongers will have no trouble manipulating people who lack basic math and science education.
Indeed... In a sense, I just laid out how it was so easy to use flagrant lies to get Brexit.