Originally Posted by Zelda

Why not learn to learn using the things we will need to learn rather than with random samples of information? I'm pretty sure that we would learn how to learn just as effectively if we were learning more applicable skills rather than ancient history and random biology. I understand why you would learn biological concepts, but being able to label the different parts of the kidney and the eyeball is far from helpful to students in year 10 and 11. I understand why you would learn how to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources and learn basic facts about important historical events, but knowing the specifics of a battle in the war of the roses is definitely to specific for it to come in handy when understanding more advanced history, and unless you expect students to revise exactly the same battle every year for the rest of their lives as students it is practically useless to teach it in prep schools. Sure specific facts are easy to examine and thus make it easier to monitor student's progress with, but I can't help but feel like it is a waste of time.