Maggie's Farm

If only that sort of thinking were limited to the study of literature at the college level. Unfortunately, it is common in many subjects, particularly at the elementary school level, and in disciplines where the teacher is more likely to have a degree in "education" than in any of the subjects she is teaching.

As I remember, there was a subject called science in every grade of elementary school. However, we weren't taught science, we were taught about science instead. There was no hypothesize-experiment-measure-conclude taught until seventh grade, and even then only at a rudimentary level.

There was no history to speak of, only "Social Studies", again taught on the level of people in other parts of the world speak funny languages, eat funny food, and dress in funny clothes, but really are just like you".

Even phonics was taught in a way that totally divorced it from the concept of reading.

The only subject that was taught with anything resembling rigor was actually math, probably because no one had yet figured out a way to make what the sum of two and three should be in a fairer world. I think even then most of my teachers would have been utterly lost without their red-letter edition of the textbook.