One poorly utilized barometer in formal education is that people tend to be visual, audio or kinetic learners. Listening to lectures is essentially audio only, with possibly some visual. So many people are kinetic learners or a combination of kinetic/visual, etc. They need to interact with the subject to really comprehend it. Audio (lectures) might be the overall weakest way to teach. I do not believe schools test for whether a student is an audio, visual or kinetic learner. Think about how accelerated learning might be if three approaches were offered, one for each type of learner, and students were divided into classes based on that instead of current standards for perceiving IQ.
Another key is brain development. Consideration should be given to revising the age that students begin school. First grade curriculum as we know it should not be offered to anyone under age 6-1/2. You can literally see a child's brain wake-up to abstract concepts at certain ages, ages not necessarily aligned with current education curriculum. It is like pulling teeth to help a child "learn" something and then all of a sudden they get it. This is a brain development issue, not a result of dedication (although dedication is also a good thing). Sadly, the child and parents fall into a cycle of frustration and self doubts about ability. Education is not fun or inspiring because the child got pushed into the system way too young. This experience follows them throughout their student career. The brain continues developing well into our 20s.
One poorly utilized barometer in formal education is that people tend to be visual, audio or kinetic learners. Listening to lectures is essentially audio only, with possibly some visual. So many people are kinetic learners or a combination of kinetic/visual, etc. They need to interact with the subject to really comprehend it. Audio (lectures) might be the overall weakest way to teach. I do not believe schools test for whether a student is an audio, visual or kinetic learner. Think about how accelerated learning might be if three approaches were offered, one for each type of learner, and students were divided into classes based on that instead of current standards for perceiving IQ.
Another key is brain development. Consideration should be given to revising the age that students begin school. First grade curriculum as we know it should not be offered to anyone under age 6-1/2. You can literally see a child's brain wake-up to abstract concepts at certain ages, ages not necessarily aligned with current education curriculum. It is like pulling teeth to help a child "learn" something and then all of a sudden they get it. This is a brain development issue, not a result of dedication (although dedication is also a good thing). Sadly, the child and parents fall into a cycle of frustration and self doubts about ability. Education is not fun or inspiring because the child got pushed into the system way too young. This experience follows them throughout their student career. The brain continues developing well into our 20s.