That's a difficult question to answer. Here are some of my thoughts on the matter:
-Merely having a curriculum that includes the items you mentioned is no guarantee that a population exposed to that curriculum will meaningfully absorb or utilise any of it. Most of us learn algebra and calculus at school, how many will remember it by age 25? Many enlightened 19th century gentleman probably thought that extending literacy to the population would entail a population of erudite individuals working for the betterment of humanity...I live in a country with 99% literacy yet stupidity seems remarkably abundant. What would they think about the value of education if transported to the present day?
-When education is viewed as a means to an end, the focus will probably just be on the end (i.e. getting the required gpa to get a good job). This mentality encourages preparing for exams over meaningfully engaging with the subject matter, which in turn encourages cramming over critical thinking and knowledge acquisition. This is the mentality that most university students have nowadays.
-A culture that values and elevates celebrity gossip and sports above all else, makes these things not just a harmless distraction but a major focus of its waking hours, is not going to value intellectual achievements or education whatsoever.
-This may be more relevant to my culture, but tall poppy syndrome is like the kiss of death to meaningful education and literacy - it makes people ashamed to display any knowledge above the everyday banal for fear of appearing arrogant. Intellectual achievers being given derogatory names like 'nerds' or 'geeks' is symptomatic of this also.
-Most of the most impressive thinkers (in my opinion) seem to be autodidacts to a large extent. Again suggesting that the way people think is way more important than formal education.
-In light of the above: an education system that encourages critical thinking, questioning, and gives students the tools for verifying the truth independently, in conjunction with a media environment and parenting code that encourages rather than shames intellectual pursuits would be the best situation. Not likely to happen in the next few centuries or so...
-Merely having a curriculum that includes the items you mentioned is no guarantee that a population exposed to that curriculum will meaningfully absorb or utilise any of it. Most of us learn algebra and calculus at school, how many will remember it by age 25? Many enlightened 19th century gentleman probably thought that extending literacy to the population would entail a population of erudite individuals working for the betterment of humanity...I live in a country with 99% literacy yet stupidity seems remarkably abundant. What would they think about the value of education if transported to the present day?
-When education is viewed as a means to an end, the focus will probably just be on the end (i.e. getting the required gpa to get a good job). This mentality encourages preparing for exams over meaningfully engaging with the subject matter, which in turn encourages cramming over critical thinking and knowledge acquisition. This is the mentality that most university students have nowadays.
-A culture that values and elevates celebrity gossip and sports above all else, makes these things not just a harmless distraction but a major focus of its waking hours, is not going to value intellectual achievements or education whatsoever.
-This may be more relevant to my culture, but tall poppy syndrome is like the kiss of death to meaningful education and literacy - it makes people ashamed to display any knowledge above the everyday banal for fear of appearing arrogant. Intellectual achievers being given derogatory names like 'nerds' or 'geeks' is symptomatic of this also.
-Most of the most impressive thinkers (in my opinion) seem to be autodidacts to a large extent. Again suggesting that the way people think is way more important than formal education.
-In light of the above: an education system that encourages critical thinking, questioning, and gives students the tools for verifying the truth independently, in conjunction with a media environment and parenting code that encourages rather than shames intellectual pursuits would be the best situation. Not likely to happen in the next few centuries or so...