Is English class useless?

[Sky]

Why are English classes so frickin boring? Why should I care about what Ayn Rand or some Brazilian author thinks about? Most of the material is just r/ I'm 14 and this is deep material. "What is the meaning of life"
get the heck out of here with idiotic questions like that. This is torture and a waste of time.

[76561198356019466]

on a side note, I graduated high school going on 30 years ago, and since then I have NEVER used Algebra.

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by Alchemist:

Why are English classes so frickin boring? Why should I care about what Ayn Rand or some Brazilian author thinks about? Most of the material is just r/ I'm 14 and this is deep material. "What is the meaning of life"
get the heck out of here with idiotic questions like that. This is torture and a waste of time.

They're not a waste of time, but you're also a bit too young to understand that. That's not your fault at all, it's just that it is very difficult to make certain subjects engaging for adolescents. Your teacher is actually trying to teach you something that takes a bit of focus and more advanced understanding to actually, fully, comprehend. They have a hard job and, as a result, so do you.

The written word is an assurance of immortality.

Many of those writers you will be introduced to are long dead. Yet, from that page in a book they are speaking directly to you, the reader. The thoughts, ideas, stories and issues these writers are communicating to you on that written page have traveled across time to reach you. Just you. You, the person known as "Alchemist" are being spoken to by someone who so very desperately wanted to say something that they spent a good portion of their very own "self" pouring those words out onto a page. For you. Just for you to read it.

For just a few minutes of your time, take a look at this:

http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.html

Just click on one of the chapters (Books) and read some lines, here and there.

This was written by Marcus Aurelius, Emperor of ancient Rome, around 175 AD or so.

That's nearly two-thousand years ago.

And, what is he saying in these passages? Many of the things he talks about are truly relevant to your own life, right now. You may not agree with them, but some of them are going to be speaking to things that you can find very strong correlations with in your normal, modern, everyday life.

He's speaking to you directly as you read his words written nearly two-thousand years ago. He is not only speaking to you, but is trying to construct a way to view the world around him and its peoples, much like every human being has done throughout even unrecorded history. You, as the reader, are benefiting from his thoughts over two thousand years ago. You may not agree with them, but at least you have the understanding of what someone may be thinking about if they have a different world-view than you do, right now.

My words, written here, are speaking directly to you, aren't they? We are not in the same room, do not know each other, likely don't even live in the same region of the world, but we can share ideas, can't we? And, even if you do no more than read some of what I wrote, that little bit can be used by your to help you see your way through to a solution. Or, perhaps, maybe it will just become another little meme in your mind that you can use, later?

The pen is mightier than the sword. The sword may be able to write history, but the pen is what records it. While the sword rusts, words do not lose their edge.


Sadly, in today's world, much is made of words written on Teh Interwebz. And, an overwhelming majority of everything ever written on the 'net will eventually be lost forever. Forever. If there is any wisdom anywhere online, it is very likely to be lost as soon as the memory space is needed for new ideas, new things, new concepts that can never possibly remember a past that will no longer exist. Human wisdom will be 404'd.

[Der tüddelige Fußgänger]

As a german learning English as my second language
Yes english class is pretty boring
I learn most of my english by just browsing the steamforums and writing replys like this.

Here i can at least help people with problems on their hardware with games, or take part in dumb off topic forums.
In school i have to grind some stupid grammer, no native speaker is gonna use anyways.
Let's be honest almost everyone just uses "will" instead of "going to" for a sentence set in the future anyways.

And then i had a class-test a few weeks ago, which was supposed to be final Exam level (actually was a final exam from a few years ago) and it was one of the easiest class tests i ever had. Just some reading and ticking boxes and writing for a story about some black boy in South Africa

The whole freakin class-test was about some family cooking show and how it changed brittain, child rights by the united nations and some charity event.
I never felt so dumb

[older than dirt]

OP is on the internet posing this question. The real question here in "The Matrix" is does he think that's English he/she is speaking?

[captainwiseass]

It's useless if it's taught poorly, as is all too often the case. Taught well, English class teaches you to think about and better understand the content of the things you read (and watch, and play, and listen to). Such skills are invaluable in a media-dominated world.

[crunchyfrog]

Originally posted by Captain Morgan:

English classes are great. The literature is something else. I still remember our teacher from Scotland, presenting to us, "Brave New World". And other masterpieces, like War of two cities, some works from Edgar Alan Poe etc. I was always eagerly anticipating that session.

I defo agree with you there.

I went to school in the early 1980s, and when we diversified to do our O levels, we had English comprehension and English Literature. I was never looking forward to the literature part, but it turns out I absolutely loved it because we'd previously had a ♥♥♥♥ teacher.

We not only had some great books to (it's how I found out about John Wyndham) but we were also given soem leeway to choose out own books too.

I swear that fact alone was the reason I got my O level easy enough.

[Dracoco OwO]

I absolutely hate books for some reason so i'm not going to blame you, if you find all this inept and pretentious.

[Re-oL]

As someone from non english speaking country, it's pretty important. I don't actually know in case of english speaking country. But from what I can see, I've seen people claim coming from english speaking country still confused when to use your, you're, their, there are, they're, theirs, there's then, than, and several others

[Adversary]

Considering a considerable number of college students are functionally illiterate I'd say that the problem isn't English class itself but the people teaching it as well as the parents who insist upon not taking part in their children's education.

[UwU King👑Pikachu]

12 years of english lessons taught me * go learn english by yourself *

[Harry Gumdropzap]

after a certain period english classes just seem like they are repeating information, at least here in the US

[Irene ❤]

I think one of their aim as a school is to make someone civil. What is the meaning of life. What is your favorite childhood memory. Global warming and species extinction. Familiar topics we've all came across in school. As we write about it they taught us to be civil.

Agree that it is boring. It could have been different, e.g. Noob player gets owned badly 0-16 in a game. Use these 3 words in a paragraph to describe his fail - deteriorate | miscarry | flounder. It'd be more fun learning this way.

[crunchyfrog]

Originally posted by 'End Era 'N:

As someone from non english speaking country, it's pretty important. I don't actually know in case of english speaking country. But from what I can see, I've seen people claim coming from english speaking country still confused when to use your, you're, their, there are, they're, theirs, there's then, than, and several others

To be fair though, that is FAR from exclusive.

Every single language in existence has people who confuse and misspell or misuse certain things.

[crunchyfrog]

Originally posted by Irene ❤:

I think one of their aim as a school is to make someone civil. What is the meaning of life. What is your favorite childhood memory. Global warming and species extinction. Familiar topics we've all came across in school. As we write about it they taught us to be civil.

Agree that it is boring. It could have been different, e.g. Noob player gets owned badly 0-16 in a game. Use these 3 words in a paragraph to describe his fail - deteriorate | miscarry | flounder. It'd be more fun learning this way. :erune:

That makes zero sense and sounds way too conspiratiorial.

It does teach you certain attributes to get along with people as after all you're intended to take part in society - that's the point.

But assuming it's something as silly as purely that, nah. That's just daft.

The whole point of school is just to get you educated and taking part with others. Nothing weird or shady about it.

[Devsman]

Originally posted by Irene ❤:

I think one of their aim as a school is to make someone civil. What is the meaning of life. What is your favorite childhood memory. Global warming and species extinction. Familiar topics we've all came across in school. As we write about it they taught us to be civil.

Well they clearly need a different approach.