> One of those flaws is the one you pointed out: the examples we use are not very interesting.

I think the truth is a lot simpler. Most kids won’t use trig in real life.

melagonster 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

Because they can not go to the department that uses trig in university. This is the basic design of society; people want to remind these kids they are not good enough forever.

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ponector 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

There was a popular joke during my studies in university:

Advanced math came in handy just once in my life. My keys fell in the toilet, and I realized the best tool was a wire bent like an integral.

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CodeMage 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

That was pretty much my point. Most kids won't use trig in real life, so making trig more interesting is only half of what we need to do. The other half is making kids more interested in learning.

	▲	a96 3 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Kids are interested in learning. Adults are interested in learning. The human brain is interested in learning. It becomes tremendously happy when it learns and so do the humans. The problem is that the brain doesn't like effort and is very good at thinking about things that are more fun to learn. There's skills that can help with directing it back, but they need to be learned.
	▲	bonoboTP 3 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Or drop the idea that everyone has to be forced to learn the same academically-inclined curriculum. Of course this is a non-starter, because it sounds like "giving up on" some kids.