There is NO excuse for being uneducated

[Psi]

Education has not really caught up with modern society.

We need to reduce the time spend learning subjects that are less needed in a world with computers and the internet.
That time should be used to educate problem solving and critical thinking.

Simply doing that would solve a lot of issues.

So what would you suggest we throw overboard in this golden age of computers and AI and all? The classics? Shakespeare? What possible relevance could that have to modren life? After all, we have computers!

I didn't say we should throw anything overboard, just reduce things to make room for important skills that are not being taught at all.

Problem solving and critical thinking skills are needed a lot more today than they were 50 years ago because the decisions of a single person now have a lot more power to affect others.
Technology multiplies the reach of a people to affect more things.

[coppice]

Childhood should be a time for personal exploration and making mistakes! 

Risk aversion is a consequence of a highly litigious society.  At some point, people cannot afford the consequences of risk taking.

Consider the school playground.  In my day™ kids would get bruises and the occasional broken bone.  Today, those kids parents would sue the school for millions of dollars, resulting in the school closing the playground and keeping them indoors playing computer games.

Those are two separate, but important, issues. Yes, things have become more litigious, and that affects a lot about the adult world. However, this wouldn't be too destructive without a generation brought up so coddled they have not experienced much of life, and are very unprepared for it. Hearing 20 year olds talking about "the adults" in a non-ironic way shocked me when I first heard it. People like Jonathan Haidt have documented how we have a generation entering the workforce who are years behind on common markers of reaching adulthood, both positive and negative. When did they earn their first pay packet? When did they first apply for a driving licence? When did they have their first alcohol? When did they have their first sex? In earlier life there are other markers of late maturation, like when were they first allowed to go to school on their own? As the number of years in full time education have increased, so we seem to have delayed every aspect of maturing our young.

[Nominal Animal]

Problem solving and critical thinking skills are needed a lot more today than they were 50 years ago

and because of the availability of information but scarcity of vetted information.

We now live in a neverending flood of information.  Instead of just drowning in it, we need to learn how to control its effects on ourselves.  Consciously filtering incoming information –– as opposed to letting your emotions or preconceptions filter it, what is what we intuitively and automatically do do –– is a skill we need to help kids start developing early: the earlier, the better.  Adults, too.

Similarly, searching and looking up information and assessing its veracity is paramount: when you can do that, and know how you yourself learn, there are very few limits left.

The value of practical experience is increasing, because the theoretical knowledge is easier to obtain.  In my opinion, kids should be exposed to all sorts of work, from early on.  Even adults should be encouraged to try different things, maybe a single day doing something completely different.  You do not truly know what kind of work you actually like and prefer, before you try.  Many people will have several careers during their lifetime, too; things just change too fast nowadays for not to.

[Andy Chee]

Many people will have several careers during their lifetime, too; things just change too fast nowadays for not to.

The problem with multiple careers is that some banks and landlords might see that as too unstable to offer loans or rental housing.

[jonpaul]

lack of motivation, too much socila media and videos, bad examples in life.

j

[Halcyon]

Many people will have several careers during their lifetime, too; things just change too fast nowadays for not to.

The problem with multiple careers is that some banks and landlords might see that as too unstable to offer loans or rental housing.

I'm not sure how true that is for banks. In my experience, they typically want your last 3 months worth of payslips and bank statements. I've never been ask about my career history when applying for a mortgage. Rentals might be different, but that's a whole different matter. I haven't rented a place for almost 20 years.

[Analog Kid]

I've never been ask about my career history when applying for a mortgage. Rentals might be different, but that's a whole different matter. I haven't rented a place for almost 20 years.

Heh; where I live, landlords will be happy if you can just hold down a job, period (and aren't a tweaker*).

* a methamphetamine user