Something I'd like to see

[andrewducker]

A list of facts (or groupings of facts) learned in schools, and then a percentage, for each one, of how often they were used in the last year (by a large, varied, sample of the population).

Not that I think that teaching ought to be based entirely on utility, but if we could at least quantify that utility then we could look at the bits that aren't actually useful and start the argument over whether they're worthwhile on other bases (artistically/culturally worthy).

Comments

[drplokta]

You're not learning facts in school. You're learning how to learn, and how to turn up at the same place at the same time five days a week and do some work. It doesn't matter what you actually study, which is why the emphasis on classics in the 19th century did no particular harm.

(Exceptions for basic English and mathematics.)

[andrewducker]

My point being that it could be spent learning useful stuff. How society works would be something useful to come out of school with. At no point did my school teach me "how voting works", "what an economic system is", etc. And I think I'd be happier if it did.

They might nowadays, of course.