I don't remember what I actually learned in High school but it helped me get into University and get a job. Google is great and looking up facts and even teaching but you can't put "Advanced Google Searcher" on your resume. High school and even University are both aids to transition to the real world and are only what you make of them. You can be successful without any formal education but the average person will be more successful sticking to school.
You can be successful without any formal education but the average person will be more successful sticking to school.
I totally agree.
I managed to get a lot of experience behind me before I officially started my career. I know that a few parameters made the situation available to me.
But one can't help think that perhaps ability/passion > education. Especially when the education isn't being utilized. So why are employers looking for educated persons first? I think it shows commitment. Commitment, ability and passion don't always run the same linage, though.
A agree that schooling is only what you make of it, but some effort to explain to disenchanted teens WHY it is useful would go a long way.
I can't speak for everyone, or even a specific type of person, but for me highschool was a huge distraction. I would learn more on my own, doing my own research. I've always found that your interests for specific subjects develop at different times for different people.
Our public education system (in Canada, at least) is among the best, but it faces many challenges. One being funding. Funding effects how quickly education is dispersed among students. The world isn't perfect, but we're sending students out into jobs with archaic information from 5-10 year-old textbooks.
If you have common sense about you, a Google search combined with thoughtful fact validation rivals your public highschool's education platform. I know I'm going to see some unhappy comments about that statement, again, my experience only.