Has anyone watched Thor 2?

[Bao3niang]

I just watched it at the movie theater beside my neighborhood in Beijing last night. I haven't watched Thor 1 so its actually my 1st Thor movie. The special effects were cool and a couple scenes were sort of funny (when the two interns were kissing and teleported in front of Thor and his GF), but overall it was just meh.

It follows the same format as basically any superhero movie where the bad guy gets defeated in under 3 minutes to show that the protagonist is so strong and can handle anything. If any one of you watched it also, what are your thoughts on it?

BTW I'm about to start my next major essay project called "The Tyranny of Compulsory Schooling Education."

[HouseMD]

Haven't seen it yet, but I'm sure it is as formulaic as any other big budget American movie. I hate Hollywood so much, they ruin anything that is good (look no further than the casting of Ben Afleck as batman or a robocop in which his awesome partner is replaced by his whining wife and criticism of a corporate takeover of America through subterfuge and consumerism is replaced by a weak criticism of done warfare).

And I wouldn't say compulsory education is bad. in many countries without it, children end up completely illiterate and never see the inside of a classroom. Compulsory education with no alternatives, such as private, religious, or home schooling would be an extremely bad thing, however. If you don't make basic education compulsory, irresponsible parents would just end up not sending their kids to school at all. Then you end up with ghettos full of adults that are actually incapable of bettering their situation in life because their parents were irresponsible. These people then turn to crime for lack of other options, and all of society suffers as a result.

[Bao3niang]

By "compulsory education" I mean the current system where it is based on academic exams, getting to the point where teachers just "teach the test" rather than teach real knowledge. So basically the sole motivation is to pass SAT, gaokao, or whatever.....

Some alternatives:

-Community college/trade schools

-Homeschooling (maybe with certified tutors)

-Free schools


By free schools I don't mean completely free, but where students and staff all take part in making policies through attending meetings, and the final decision rests on the school's administrative board.

So basically the students have a voice, but there also wiser individuals to keep everything in check. Also I'd suggest the abolishing of tests after elementary school and more focus on seminars and essays. It must become more important that students know HOW to communicate knowledge in their own way, not just presenting information according to a dictated format. This will get the students to decide for themselves WHAT is necessary to communicate the knowledge effectively so that others will understand, rather than being told what must be included.

So let's say if you have a math question. If Student A believes that a diagram is necessary to explain the concept better, then he/she can include a diagram. If Student B believes he/she can communicate effectively enough by just using words, then so be it. However, if a diagram is a requirement but the student does it wrong, then the answer is misleading.

Comments should be more important. This forces teachers to think more rather than just give out numbers. Too many teachers nowadays are dumb and not qualified enough to be educators. While there will be some of you who object to this and say that it gives room for too much subjectivity and personal bias, but that's why I have proposed grading to be based on seminar / discussion style projects while abolishing tests.


Schools are not producing thinkers and individuals, but "citizens" AKA happy slaves of society.....

[zboy1]

Haven't seen it yet, but I'm sure it is as formulaic as any other big budget American movie. I hate Hollywood so much, they ruin anything that is good (look no further than the casting of Ben Afleck as batman or a robocop in which his awesome partner is replaced by his whining wife and criticism of a corporate takeover of America through subterfuge and consumerism is replaced by a weak criticism of done warfare).

Man, why is Hollywood ruining so many classic movies lately...smh? Karate Kid, Robocop, etc. ...

[SilverEnergy]

By "compulsory education" I mean the current system where it is based on academic exams, getting to the point where teachers just "teach the test" rather than teach real knowledge. So basically the sole motivation is to pass SAT, gaokao, or whatever.....

Some alternatives:

-Community college/trade schools

-Homeschooling (maybe with certified tutors)

-Free schools


By free schools I don't mean completely free, but where students and staff all take part in making policies through attending meetings, and the final decision rests on the school's administrative board.

So basically the students have a voice, but there also wiser individuals to keep everything in check. Also I'd suggest the abolishing of tests after elementary school and more focus on seminars and essays. It must become more important that students know HOW to communicate knowledge in their own way, not just presenting information according to a dictated format. This will get the students to decide for themselves WHAT is necessary to communicate the knowledge effectively so that others will understand, rather than being told what must be included.

So let's say if you have a math question. If Student A believes that a diagram is necessary to explain the concept better, then he/she can include a diagram. If Student B believes he/she can communicate effectively enough by just using words, then so be it. However, if a diagram is a requirement but the student does it wrong, then the answer is misleading.

Comments should be more important. This forces teachers to think more rather than just give out numbers. Too many teachers nowadays are dumb and not qualified enough to be educators. While there will be some of you who object to this and say that it gives room for too much subjectivity and personal bias, but that's why I have proposed grading to be based on seminar / discussion style projects while abolishing tests.


Schools are not producing thinkers and individuals, but "citizens" AKA happy slaves of society.....

Schools are simply producing "employees".

That's why I always harp about starting your own business and becoming an investor.

[Bao3niang]

I agree, schools only mold you into what society expects, not develop you as individuals who think "outside the box."

Every curriculum is based on what the creators believe is an ideal society, and how we can conform to their ideal society. No matter how comprehensive and well-rounded they claim it is, or how different it is from other curriculums, the end goal is still to get you to go through a system.

[HouseMD]

I agree, schools only mold you into what society expects, not develop you as individuals who think "outside the box."

Every curriculum is based on what the creators believe is an ideal society, and how we can conform to their ideal society. No matter how comprehensive and well-rounded they claim it is, or how different it is from other curriculums, the end goal is still to get you to go through a system.

It is not to the benefit of any society to produce substantial numbers of free thinkers. society by definition is a group of people that have similar beliefs, morals, values, and expectations of one another's behavior.

Too many free thinkers and you've got a cluster of individuals, not a society.

For those of us that don't care for society that is fine. But for those that have bought into it, the idea of a bunch of people that don't follow their rules or believe what they believe is terrifying. Who will give them validation by envying their purchases as approving of their fashion sense and career!