Why aren't education systems based on Wikipedia?

Question

If I would have browsed this list [0] in school, I would feel totally overwhelmed with the topics while being outside school and having seen many concepts on Wikipedia like Topographic map, I now feel comfortable reading those concepts. I feel like schools are making everything to avoid students curiosity. Is it just me or education system besides nurseries could just let the students browse *independantly* Wikipedia at home or in school, to learn about everything? and then talk with other students about what they learned, without mandatory evaluation of content but maybe teacher evaluation of students attitude so students don't interfere with the curiosity with things like "IRL shitposting" and mockeries.This kind of online-based education system shouldn't be seen as minority or 'retarded' thing like they often seem in Western countries from my experience, but a local normal.[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_graphical_methods

gsatic · Accepted Answer

Libraries have existed for much longer than Wikipedia. And probably showed up before schools in many parts of the world.
So if access to info was all it took schools would have never been invented.
Access to info is just one piece. The other piece is a good guide/teacher who knows which routes through the ever expanding library of knowledge are fruitful and which ones to avoid. Justly randomly meandering around is a very inefficient and time consuming way of working out what the right paths are.
Third piece which most people sweep under the carpet, and most critical to Learning is practice. The brain hardly ever registers anything deeply without repetition. And creating an environment where that practice is happening is not straight forward. Its more tempting to go look at something novel than to read the same thing again and again till its on your finger tips. Good teachers create such environments. The Internet is great in the access to info dept, but there are other pieces to the story for Learning to happen.

gregjor · Answer

Congratulations, you have independently discovered what is called unschooling, a form of homeschooling, which is itself a form of self-directed learning. The closest you can get in a formal school is Montessori. See Ivan Illich&rsquo;s book Deschooling Society, anything by John Holt, John Taylor Gatto, Grace Llewellyn.Wikipedia is a decent resource but I wouldn&rsquo;t base an entire education on it.

t-3 · Answer

Wikipedia is great for some types of information (math, well-established science), but really bad for others. It's not accepted as a proper reference source for a reason!Part of the job of the educational system is to teach kids to do independent research while maintaining appropriate levels of incredulity, which can be very difficult if not consciously and rigorously skeptical. They don't always do a good job, but abandoning classroom education in favor of self-study is probably not a proper solution for the vast majority of students.

milkoolong · Answer

I recommend the book Unschooling by Kerry Mcdonald. In the book, he gives good example on how public schools interfere with a child&rsquo;s curiosity.

gus_massa · Answer

I think your idea is good if you can provide a better teacher to student ratio. It may work with 1 teacher with 5 students, but I prefer 2 teachers with 10 students. With 1 teacher for 20, 25 or 30 students, it's impossible to implement.But I'd include some mandatory minimal content. Some topics are important in spite they may look boring.