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The Background
I feel that high school in Canada is already doing a lot of good things. There is a standard and things are being done well, but specifically at least in my own school, I feel not everyone's potential is being met. The possibilities are endless! I'm sure there are countless ways to improve education and here is one of my personal suggestions.
The Idea
Social Psychology and self awareness should be pushed forward in high school education. Sciences and liberal arts are great... but I feel that the REAL objective of education is to prepare an individual for living life as an adult. Living a happy and fulfilling life... Things learned in high school retaining meaning and significance...
Possible Concern
A possible concern would be an issue of time but at least in my school, there is always at one class worth of time as some courses such as Earth Sciences, [a course made simply to satisfy in the graduation requirement of having completed "a grade 11 science"]. The time wasted in a course like this could have been spent learning useful things, or at least more relevant things to real life, like social psychology.
What is Social Psychology and why is it useful?
It's pretty much the study of how people behave in society and why. I think understanding the motivations behind are actions is instrumental in understanding ourselves as well as other people. And understanding is a good thing. Or at least I think it's a good thing.
Thus my question to you is: Is this a viable idea? Why or why not?
Notes
Here is some lectures of Social Psychology that have really influenced my conclusions - http://tinyurl.com/110504JJ
I also draw my conclusions from readings of Business Management books, "recommended by MightyAtom!! - http://tinyurl.com/110504JJ1
And also books by Malcolm Gladwell
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Although this is only half serious, it might interest people in Psych so much they major in it. And can't find jobs.
I think it's a matter of priorities: Is it interesting and fairly fulfilling? yeah. Is math probably more important in terms of school scores? Definitely.
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I think teaching them actual sociology is more important, because people really don't understand the underlying problems in society and the government is able to get away with retarded shit like more supermax prisons, criminalizing drugs, shitty education, etc.
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Don't get me started on criminalizing drugs. >.>
But I think that the school won't make it a priority until there is a reward for it... which I don't anticipate.
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I took a psychology class in high school...
Is this simply not done in Canada? Or am I misunderstanding what you mean by "social psychology," that you want a specific type of psychology taught?
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Netherlands45349 Posts
Implemening such a thing is much harder though, you'd have to get (competent) teachers who are willing to teach these to kids, on a sidespread scale too. Hypothetically it could be a good idea, but realistically it will be hard to find people who know this subject on a good enough degree(Psyschology is often a University study here) who are willing to teach children for a low salary.
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On May 05 2011 09:22 eLiE wrote:
I think teaching them actual sociology is more important, because people really don't understand the underlying problems in society and the government is able to get away with retarded shit like more supermax prisons, criminalizing drugs, shitty education, etc.
Yeah definitely. I feel people NEED to know. NEED to understand, and they only don't know because we don't provide an environment that allows them to easily learn these key things.
On May 05 2011 09:24 Froadac wrote:
Don't get me started on criminalizing drugs. >.>
But I think that the school won't make it a priority until there is a reward for it... which I don't anticipate.
Hopefully a better rewards system is eventually implemented. Or even making sure students understand the full benefits of education. But education involves all the courses and there are some courses and some teachers that don't really make the benefits clear... or there might not actually be any benefits.
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I took a Introduction to Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology in grade 11 to fulfill one of the mandatory elective group credits for social sciences. I don't really see how what I "learned" in the class is applicable to real life like you said. All I learned was that the Family Studies department is a bullshit department. I already knew most of the stuff they were teaching (fundamentals of Freudian psychology, development of the human brain, bystander effect, etc.) so I found it to be quite a waste of time. I guess it would be good to know so one doesn't seem like a total retard in an intellectual debate.
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A course in psychology is already being offered in many Canadian high schools. It can contain topics (units) in social psychology. It's very difficult to offer a course at high school level on something so specialized.
When I think of social psychology, however, it's about certain classical results in it: mostly, conformity, obedience, social cognition, etc.
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I took social psychology last summer at my university, best course I've ever taken in my life. I've learned so much about how people work in general; I'd agree to the idea that it should be in highschools.
On May 05 2011 09:21 Froadac wrote:
Although this is only half serious, it might interest people in Psych so much they major in it. And can't find jobs.
I think it's a matter of priorities: Is it interesting and fairly fulfilling? yeah. Is math probably more important in terms of school scores? Definitely.
You can't compare math to social psychology. Obviously in highschool it would be an elective. I'd say I learned so much more in my single social psych course than I did all my math teachings up to grade 12. Most careers don't need math anyway so once you are out of highschool it's pretty well useless unless you want to be an engineer or w.e.
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On May 05 2011 09:28 jdseemoreglass wrote:
I took a psychology class in high school...
Is this simply not done in Canada? Or am I misunderstanding what you mean by "social psychology," that you want a specific type of psychology taught?
social psych is a specializing within psychology yes
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On May 05 2011 09:58 Zapdos_Smithh wrote:I took social psychology last summer at my university, best course I've ever taken in my life. I've learned so much about how people work in general; I'd agree to the idea that it should be in highschools. Show nested quote +On May 05 2011 09:21 Froadac wrote:
Although this is only half serious, it might interest people in Psych so much they major in it. And can't find jobs.
I think it's a matter of priorities: Is it interesting and fairly fulfilling? yeah. Is math probably more important in terms of school scores? Definitely. You can't compare math to social psychology. Obviously in highschool it would be an elective. I'd say I learned so much more in my single social psych course than I did all my math teachings up to grade 12. Most careers don't need math anyway so once you are out of highschool it's pretty well useless unless you want to be an engineer or w.e.
I don't mean to trash talk math at all, what I meant was a sort of remedial math class that taught stuff like basic interest calculations and adding and subtraction, not pre-calculus stuff
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On May 05 2011 09:58 Zapdos_Smithh wrote:I took social psychology last summer at my university, best course I've ever taken in my life. I've learned so much about how people work in general; I'd agree to the idea that it should be in highschools. Show nested quote +On May 05 2011 09:21 Froadac wrote:
Although this is only half serious, it might interest people in Psych so much they major in it. And can't find jobs.
I think it's a matter of priorities: Is it interesting and fairly fulfilling? yeah. Is math probably more important in terms of school scores? Definitely. You can't compare math to social psychology. Obviously in highschool it would be an elective. I'd say I learned so much more in my single social psych course than I did all my math teachings up to grade 12. Most careers don't need math anyway so once you are out of highschool it's pretty well useless unless you want to be an engineer or w.e.
Math equals problem solving skills.
You might not know your using math when you solve a problem, but your brain does.
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On May 05 2011 10:46 howerpower wrote:Show nested quote +On May 05 2011 09:58 Zapdos_Smithh wrote:I took social psychology last summer at my university, best course I've ever taken in my life. I've learned so much about how people work in general; I'd agree to the idea that it should be in highschools. On May 05 2011 09:21 Froadac wrote:
Although this is only half serious, it might interest people in Psych so much they major in it. And can't find jobs.
I think it's a matter of priorities: Is it interesting and fairly fulfilling? yeah. Is math probably more important in terms of school scores? Definitely. You can't compare math to social psychology. Obviously in highschool it would be an elective. I'd say I learned so much more in my single social psych course than I did all my math teachings up to grade 12. Most careers don't need math anyway so once you are out of highschool it's pretty well useless unless you want to be an engineer or w.e. Math equals problem solving skills. You might not know your using math when you solve a problem, but your brain does.
To be fair, I've never used logs in my problem-solving day-to-day so let's not get cocky about the practical applications of math compared to the practical applications of social psychology. Let's not turn this into an psych vs math (aka arts vs sciences) argument here.
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I think people tend to understate what basic psychology education can offer to people (I'm going to talk about general psychology instead of social psychology specifically).
For one, in Australia for instance, mental health problems are a bit of an issue. The more people are informed about such things, recognising symptoms and such, the more likely they're going to seek help.
I can see psychology education subtly influencing general attitudes and behaviours. Learning about Zimbardo's Standford Prison experiment has made me always question the nature of authority and power. Pavlov's dogs have taught me about classical conditioning... if anything, that makes better pet owners out of all of us, and might influence parenting behaviours (after they learn about operant conditioning and modelling, of course).
On May 05 2011 09:21 Froadac wrote:
Although this is only half serious, it might interest people in Psych so much they major in it. And can't find jobs.
I don't buy this argument. Students aren't dummies. They know what jobs are and aren't out there.
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On May 05 2011 09:14 jodogohoo wrote:
Sciences and liberal arts are great... but I feel that the REAL objective of education is to prepare an individual for living life as an adult. Living a happy and fulfilling life... Things learned in high school retaining meaning and significance...
This is a strange/incorrect depiction of general educational goals, lol. Social psychology isn't a "third category" separate from sciences and liberal arts, it's just a specific course within psychology which is within social sciences.
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On May 05 2011 09:38 The_LiNk wrote:
I took a Introduction to Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology in grade 11 to fulfill one of the mandatory elective group credits for social sciences. I don't really see how what I "learned" in the class is applicable to real life like you said. All I learned was that the Family Studies department is a bullshit department. I already knew most of the stuff they were teaching (fundamentals of Freudian psychology, development of the human brain, bystander effect, etc.) so I found it to be quite a waste of time. I guess it would be good to know so one doesn't seem like a total retard in an intellectual debate.
currently a psych major, and this guy said it best. its basically a bullshit area of study, and there really isnt anything on a personal level that you can take out of it. which is true of a lot of classes, however i hear people saying psych classes can help people learn about themselves or others, which is probably not true.
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On May 05 2011 09:14 jodogohoo wrote:The BackgroundI feel that high school in Canada is already doing a lot of good things. There is a standard and things are being done well, but specifically at least in my own school, I feel not everyone's potential is being met. The possibilities are endless! I'm sure there are countless ways to improve education and here is one of my personal suggestions. The IdeaSocial Psychology and self awareness should be pushed forward in high school education. Sciences and liberal arts are great... but I feel that the REAL objective of education is to prepare an individual for living life as an adult. Living a happy and fulfilling life... Things learned in high school retaining meaning and significance... Possible ConcernA possible concern would be an issue of time but at least in my school, there is always at one class worth of time as some courses such as Earth Sciences, [a course made simply to satisfy in the graduation requirement of having completed "a grade 11 science"]. The time wasted in a course like this could have been spent learning useful things, or at least more relevant things to real life, like social psychology. http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/index.php?show_part=2What is Social Psychology and why is it useful?It's pretty much the study of how people behave in society and why. I think understanding the motivations behind are actions is instrumental in understanding ourselves as well as other people. And understanding is a good thing. Or at least I think it's a good thing. Thus my question to you is: Is this a viable idea? Why or why not?
NotesHere is some lectures of Social Psychology that have really influenced my conclusions - http://tinyurl.com/110504JJI also draw my conclusions from readings of Business Management books, "recommended by MightyAtom!! - http://tinyurl.com/110504JJ1And also books by Malcolm Gladwell
Having taken 9 courses of psychology during high school, I can safely say that it offered very little practical value. I thought I would learn something really useful and was planning on studying psychology in a university, but I chose a more practical education instead. There was nothing life changing in any of the courses and they pretty much went through all types(sub-categories?) of psychology, including social psychology. Of course it's not completely useless and does shed light one some things. Group behaviour might be the most useful thing in a course like that.
It's not really clear, if social psychology would be a better investment of time compared to Earth sciences. I think it's good to have a basic understanding of various subjects. Understanding the motivations that drive people is not something you can learn during a single course. People learn how people behave through every day life. Most of the things about how people behave seemed exaggerated, we even tested some of the things like the bystander effect. A lot people had at least a half a brain to make the rational choice, though it's not like we had a huge amount of data to work with.
In Finland I feel like we have a lot of useless courses, like 5 compulsory courses of history and swedish. Whereas things like biology, psychology, physics and earth sciences only have 1-2 compulsory courses. 2 courses of art were probably the most pointless courses I ever participated in. I think it would be better, if schools offered more choices and less compulsory courses.
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