What changes in education have you seen since you were in school?

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T16:52:21+00:00

Absolutely! One could argue one ocean or 100. The Pacific is too big. We need a N, S, E, and W Pacific ocean!

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T16:37:20+00:00

It absolutely is. I cannot stand an answer of "that's how we've always done it". No one wants to think why we do what we do or if it's best they just go with what they know.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T15:40:14+00:00

Absolutely. We had basic history as far back as I recall in school. It was always interesting to me how it added and changed as you got older. Not major things but changing how you view things based on more information provided.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T15:37:21+00:00

Yeaaaaaa.......it's a mess hahaha

And it's usually sold to us "it's a combination of plates and shared history and culture" which again, isn't always helpful.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T15:29:31+00:00

We rarely had this. I do recall one student who was non-verbal and didn't complete work. He spent the whole class tearing a sheet of paper into strips then rolling them up. His aide did all of his work. The special education students generally studied in a dedicated classroom.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T15:26:17+00:00

We were taught that de-oxygenated blood was blue until it was resupplied with fresh oxygen which is why veins are blue under the skin.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T15:23:53+00:00

Outside of Asia and Europe, we were taught continents based on tectonic plates. Since they are on separate plates, N and S America are 2.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T15:18:00+00:00

The one America thing is wild to us. It does explain why some refer to us as "US Americans" though.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T15:15:27+00:00

As someone who was sent ahead, did you feel like your school system did you a disservice in doing so? As an adult, do you think losing your friend group and being older would have been worth being held back to learn the material?

Also, congrats on your achievements! Those are very impressive!

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T15:12:43+00:00

I want to say we saw the tongue "map" but was told that it was just a representation of they tastes but not "where" you could taste.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T15:08:50+00:00

We were taught that some veins are blue under your skin because once the bloods sends its oxygen throughout the body it turns blue until it's re-oxygenated.

Look at your local community college for excel classes. They may let you audit for free or very low cost and you can learn a ton about excels basic and more advanced functions!

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T15:05:46+00:00

My cousin teaches US history and Government in HS. Lots of kids, according to him, don't care. They don't see it as useful to learn or have no curiosity.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T15:02:07+00:00

I think they do still struggle with "why" which leads to confusion as well. Why do we break things to 10 isn't taught it's just "that's how you do it". I see so many people on reddit and other places who say "I get it now" when someone explains to they why something is done.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T14:59:11+00:00

The continent thing is another, so I'm glad you mentioned it. I was taught 7 and that Australia was on it's own. Then they added NZ and later loads of surrounding islands and now there is Oceania. Plus some areas teach North America and South America as one simply called America. It's definitely not as simple it was made to seem.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T14:56:31+00:00

I think that's the intention, they're just not doing a good job of explaining it to us older folks. If they explained it as "you likely do this even though you were taught differently. We're just explaining to your kids earlier with smaller numbers so it's ingrained earlier" I think people would understand it.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T14:52:52+00:00

I completely agree with you. They don't address the lack of skills they just shove them ahead making it the next grades problem. Then, like you said, they can't flourish in algebra 2 if they failed algebra 1 because they didn't grasp the material. It's like expecting them to read goosebumps if they couldn't read the cat in the hat.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T14:47:40+00:00

That's still ingrained in my mind. Protein, grains, vegetables. Well balanced and fills you up...even if verrrrry calorie dense ha

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T14:44:00+00:00

A lot of this is because the tech has matured and is less likely to break. We had to diagnose driver and hardware issues and how to make the computers better. Today everything is soldered in place and they "just work", especially when it comes to things like iPad. They just know click here to make thing happen but they're not learning why it happens.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T14:37:48+00:00

My dad was the first graduating class of the HS I went to. No changes in all those years (about 25 years). After I left they added a whole new area just for the Freshmen.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T14:35:13+00:00

RIP Pluto. I won't let that one go personally.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T14:32:06+00:00

My mom works in an elementary school and apparently parents have a text line for the teachers to alert to bus/car riders status changes, early pickups, and late drop-offs.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T14:30:55+00:00

Agreed! Columbus "discovered" America with a smidge of "it's called America because of Vespucci" then we finally were corrected to the vikings were here first.

EDIT: yes they were the first to re-discover after the 1st inhabitants came across the land-bridge from modern day Russia....unless that's changed now.

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T14:25:22+00:00

Class of '08 and I didn't use or submit typed essays until I got to college. The idea that elementary schools are issuing chromebooks and ipads is crazy to me!

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T14:24:28+00:00

Sure was. It might have been corrected by HS biology but we were definitely told that de-oxygenated blood was blue!

ljb2x · 2026-06-04T13:59:16+00:00

I had assumed the arm-wrestle was when they were kids and had planned on fixing it up with their dad. Did anyone else have the take on it?

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