Cosmo16 said:
My friend asked his physics teacher about the gravity on a hollow earth, (At the same time as I posted it here) and the teacher had to go get another physics teacher.
I think that this is part of the problem, many teacher stop atempting to learn after they graduate college.
At least the teacher cared enough to sufficiently answer the question rather than making something up or downplaying the importance of answering it. I would say this is exactly the opposite of the problem you describe of teachers stopping the attempt to learn. It's probably not easy for a teacher to risk appearing ignorant in front of the class (I assume) by asking another teacher for help.
I don't want to deride any of me teachers because I think they are all exceptional (some are absolutely phenomenal) but it bothers the
hell out of me when I get a response like "I'm too tired think about it right now." to a question I've been pondering. I think this has only happened to me once but I imagine it would be more common in other schools.
I'm currently a senior in a public high school ranked in the top 50 of the nation on http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7723397/site/newsweek/" chart, which, in my opinion, doesn't use the best method to rank high schools but it's the only way I've found of comparing my school to others (there is no "best" way to rank qualitative values anyway). The basis for my voting "bad" on this poll was because I consider my school "average" in relation to what I think would be an ideal educational environment and I've heard/read that my county is one of the top (ten maybe) counties in the nation for public schools and that my school is one of the best in the nation.
I say average because, while I think that my school is relatively quite safe and students are highly motivated, true, rigorous
understanding of the material being taught is almost never stressed and is in no way required to get a GPA over 4. I think others have mentioned this problem too. I think there is something fundamentally wrong with an "education" system when one can learn more efficiently and gain a better understanding after a few hours of sitting at home (with the internet, books, or otherwise) than after two days of classes. I'm also surprised at how much the system seems to value knowledge over intelligence - students are handed out proofs of mathematical concepts and whatnot and the proofs gone over, which is great, but are never encouraged to try to prove something themselves.
All that being said I am content with my school, anyone seeking a deeper understanding of material being taught and willing to devote time outside of regular class times is generally helped quite a bit.
