They had similar math, reading, and writing skills. Is it just that we’ve added so much new stuff to learn over the past century?
Most 13-year-olds didn’t actually go that far in school. Education was often reserved for those who could afford it, both in terms of time and supplies. And if you weren’t doing well, the system would just let you drop out. It was a lot more exclusive back then.
@Sophia2
Education has gotten better over time too. We’ve got access to technology, better learning materials, and even field trips that make things easier and more engaging.
zodiac said:
@Sophia2
Education has gotten better over time too. We’ve got access to technology, better learning materials, and even field trips that make things easier and more engaging.
That’s true to some extent, but the big difference is that today we try to educate everyone at least until they’re 16. Back then, they focused on a smaller group of students. In some countries today, they still track students by ability early on, which is something we moved away from in the 1980s. It’s common in Europe and Asia to track kids by the time they finish what we would call middle school.
100 years ago, 13-year-olds were working on ratios, fractions, decimals, and basic word problems—just like today. Algebra 1 is common now for that age, but not much else has changed in terms of content. If you go back even further, to the 1700s, things were a lot different. Algebra was just becoming standard for university entrance then. The real shift happened when we moved away from memorization and started focusing on problem-solving, especially with the introduction of tools like graphing calculators and the internet.
@Meech
We sometimes cut corners in education, like in how reading is taught. Look at the problems caused by methods like ‘Sold a Story.’
Sam said:
@Meech
We sometimes cut corners in education, like in how reading is taught. Look at the problems caused by methods like ‘Sold a Story.’
Exactly. There are no shortcuts, like Naruto said.
They weren’t more educated.
Yes, that’s the answer. Also, your question should be ‘Why are 13-year-old students today more educated than college grads 100 years ago?’ Present tense vs. past tense.
Did you already answer your own question?
Scale is important—education used to be a lot more exclusive. You might have had a few exceptional students, but the average person was less educated than people are today.
What do you mean by ‘educated’? Our system of mass education really started around the time of WWI and WWII. Before that, school wasn’t a priority for most people. I’d say kids in 1924 who went to school were probably more driven because their families wanted them to get an education. Today, it’s more about fulfilling a requirement, and for many parents, school is just a place to keep kids busy because they’re too busy to look after them.
I’m not sure how accurate it is to compare education now to 100 years ago. But modern education is more about critical thinking and applying knowledge than it was back then, when it was mostly about memorizing facts. I also think advancements in science and engineering have raised the bar in subjects like math over time.
Maybe it’s the availability of information now.
Right… because now kids get upset if you correct them on simple math, like telling them 2 x 2 is wrong.
If we’re talking about America, it’s partly because there’s profit in keeping education at a certain level. There are some schools that still teach well, but they’re often private or in specific areas. In other countries, the curriculums can be better. But there are people who don’t want us to learn much—they’ve got other goals. It’s why I’ve learned to be selective about who I listen to and what I study. A lot of what’s out there just looks like education on the surface, but if you dig a bit deeper, it’s not. And don’t even get me started on how the quality of our food has gone downhill too.
@ScholarSam
Still, more people have access to education now than 100 years ago. The number of people who can think critically has definitely increased.
zodiac said:
@ScholarSam
Still, more people have access to education now than 100 years ago. The number of people who can think critically has definitely increased.
What’s the point of that? There are more people now in general, so of course more people have access. But is it quality education? And you’re just throwing words around to sound smart, but that’s not what critical thinking is. You’ve just had a conversation with yourself and stuck my name in the mix. Your context is way off.