Solutions to Problems with the Educational System

Ok, here goes. For whoever might not know, this is a response to Andy Bloomfield's post on Facebook, "Problems with the Educational System."

First, to summarize the problems mentioned in Andy's post and the comments that followed:

1. Rote Learning. Facts are presented without instruction concerning their origin, necessity, theory, application, relevance to other topics, or potential development.
2. Research Methods Untaught. Rather than training the student to develop good research methods, or even to comprehend the concept and value of research, excessive focus is placed upon the memorization of temporarily relevant information for the purpose of testing.
3. Lack of Cultural, Social, and Practical Incentive. Rather than education functioning as a specific means to a specific end, the purpose is often confused, obscured, or even ignored entirely as the methodology resulting in so-called success within the current system is overemphasized. Culture and society are perhaps as influential in this regard as any other factor.
4. Lack of Flow. To reference Csíkszentmihályi, the skill level of each student is not matched ideally to difficulty level of subject, resulting in an educational system specifically designed to pander to mediocrity at the expense of both the exceptionally skilled and the exceptionally unskilled.