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I'm a high school student in a third-world country (Algeria).

My problem is with the way we are been taught biology. It's all about memorizing facts and procedures from a textbook without any application whatsoever due to the unavailability of laboratory equipments(there are some but they are either expired or useless).

My question: does this way of learning have any benefits at all? Are we even learning?

I know what a lipid is because I've read its definition, but, is this enough? Is it enough to only read a paragraph that describes lipids and then see a model of it in order to know what a lipid really is? Would it be useless if I go to a laboratory, extract some cholesterol, study its characteristics and see it with my own eyes to have a rough idea of what it is?

I've been seriously thinking about dropping out of school because I think the world doesn't need another indoctrinated kid who knows a bunch of facts and want to earn some money with that knowledge.

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    $\begingroup$ there is a big difference between "no experimentation" and "only memorizing facts and procedures" Are there explanations, examples, and discussion? Also what level of schooling is this? There are not many suitable experiments for the biology at the lower school levels. $\endgroup$ – John Jan 2 '19 at 0:23
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    $\begingroup$ There is typically little to no "experimentation" in math education, yet few would consider math as a boring list of facts to learn. You are definitely putting in opposition two concepts that should not be. Studying biology is much more than learning a boring list of facts (and it does not necessarily implies making any kind of experiment). That being said, if you find your class boring it might be a result of poor teaching skills of your instructor (it might be for some other reason). $\endgroup$ – Remi.b Jan 2 '19 at 3:30
  • $\begingroup$ If you want to study biology by yourself, you will find some ressources on this post. $\endgroup$ – Remi.b Jan 2 '19 at 3:31
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    $\begingroup$ I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is not about biology but about teaching practices. It is also slightly unclear by opposing two concepts that should not be opposed. The last paragraph of the post is clearly off-topic. $\endgroup$ – Remi.b Jan 2 '19 at 3:43
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    $\begingroup$ Not to be discussed on a biology Q&A site but earning money with your acquired knowledge is really not fundamentally wrong. Not being interested in class or not finding the point of studying can be a challenging sentiment. I would personally tend not to recommend dropping school but I am not trained to give such advice and would not know enough about your situation. In all case, you have my sympathy and I wish you good luck with whatever you'll end up choosing! $\endgroup$ – Remi.b Jan 2 '19 at 3:44

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