Is there really such a thing as "learning disabled"

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I've no interest in how washing machines work and I'm quite prepared to pay someone to fix it if it means I don't have to spend my time learning stuff that I have no interest in, like I'm happy to pay people to plaster my wall as I have no interest in learning how to plaster walls

what's the big deal with being 'useful'? I just don't get it

what's wrong with doing something just because you enjoy it, with learning something just because it's interesting, just because it's fun to learn, just because it expands your knowledge and understanding?

No problem with that at all! But a lot of the things we learn aren't interesting nor enjoyable, nor do they expand your understanding. For instance, we only learn the history of cultures similar to ours; how are we supposed to keep an open mind like that?

But I did enjoy learning Turbo Pascal programming last year, even though I never used/will use it again.

Are they STILL teaching that?

Its alright for getting the bare basic concepts of programming down but programming languages have diverged far enough after this many years you'll have to start almost from scratch to learn any modern language.

personally I hated maths and science when I was at school but I don't advocate taking them off the syllabus,
or are you suggesting everyone has an individually designed learing programme from birth, in which case I would suggest you're off your head

Learning software that adapts based on biofeedback data to tailor the education to the students specific strengths and weaknesses?

Its possible.

possible and desirable are not the same thing

Are they STILL teaching that?[quote]

Well, Argentina isn't exactly the vanguard for software designing, and my school's program hasn't been updated for years (the student council's working on that).

Supposedly they were going to change the language learnt this year but I think they didn't. Anyway it's easier than other languages, isn't it, and since it was a mandatory class that makes sense (only like one kid is interested in programming anyway).

Yeah its easier than other languages but thats not so much a good thing.

Its like learning bicycle repair instead of rocket science then trying to work on the space shuttle.

Whats undesirable about it?

Maybe it's kind of hard to do, and if you just focus on your stregths you'll never develop any of your other hidden potentials. I didn't think I'd like Latin at first, but now I discovered that I do.
Still, after several years at a subject you hate I'd say it's time to move on.
So there are pros and cons.

that's about it

if you stay within your comfort zone how will you know what you might be missing out on? like I said, I didn't enjoy maths but I wouldn't say it was of no benefit to me to have learned some

So be masochistic about it and set it to train their weaknesses more than their strengths.

Right now we've got cookie cutter toss everything at a kid to see what sticks and expect them to be evenly gifted in everything they do which obviously doesnt work.

Your either boring them or torturing them depending on the subject and their mental attributes there doesnt seem to be a middle ground.

It's not a big deal and I truely hope you can always afford to watch other people work and have them take care of your needs. Personal I would feel pretty useless if I couldn't even change a lightbulb and had some useless job like most liberal have.

Personally I find things mechanical very interesting, yet was forced by bookworms to endure years of listening to them babble about things I could care less about.

It makes sense that somebody who will one day be allowed to vote has some understanding of government and other societies so they can make an informed choice, but how can people make informed decissions in a voting booth if they have no understanding of economics ?

all school was for me was spending 12 years humoring silly woman with the mentality of 12 year old girls playing school house who would get all sorts of mean an nasty if somebody didn't play their stupid silly games. One witch got on my case for not practicing blowing into some damn piece of wood with a bunch of holes it and being able to make the right stupid sounds. Woman must have fried whatever brain she had on some serious drugs and drank a lot or something to think I was going to go home and practice blowing into a piece of wood with holes in it to make funny sounds

Gym teachers should be put on welfare where they belong and get a dog to play with instead of forcing humans to play ball to entertain their stupid butts.

All the school system is is jobs program for idiots that can't do nothing else, so they let them terrorise children



If school was somehow an elective activity, you would have a point. A 12 year old has no choice but to attend school and is forced by law to humor some silly woman or get their butts hammered by not only the silly woman, but also the school principal and their parents.

If people like Donald Trump & Warren Buffet where teachers, I would have enjoyed school. But being held captive by silly liberals and having to humor their child like mentality wasn't the least bit pleasant.

I care about the names of the cats... cats are awesome.

most school systems allow you to drop subjects you don't enjoy or do well in as you move up the years; I'm not aware of any school of thought that expects kids to be 'evenly gifted in everything they do'

right now I'm enrolling on surgery night-school in case I need to know how to take out my appendix

If you enter the medical profession and put the education to use it makes sense, but there is no way anyone could make use of the knowledge of surgery outside the medical profession.

You will never be able to say to somebody "oh you need your appendix out, come on over I'll do it "

reality is the money spent on k thru 12 education could be reduced 50% if all the waste was eliminated and used to fund college for people. My nephew is in college and still being forced to take classes that have no connection to his major. It's just more wasted money.

education is eating up too much of GDP and this country has other problems that need to be addressed. We are wasting limited resources on all sorts of nonsense in the school systems.