Over at the International Herald Tribune is an article titled "Why Go to College at All?" The writer is Ms Holly Epstein Ojalvo and the subject is the views of Mr Dale J. Stephens, 20, the founder of UnCollege, which urges students to “hack their education” by finding their own pathways to success. Mr. Stephens is a Thiel Fellow.
There is talk of an education bubble, just like there was a tulip bubble and a housing bubble.
An admission. While at the Theil website I found that my saying, "Never let school interfere with your education" may not be original with me. It seems Mark Twain lifted it from someone before even my parent came along.
Regards — Cliff
1 comment:
I think there IS an education bubble.....and it has been exacerbated by the dumbing down of baccalaureate curriculum content in order to present a more marketable commodity. After all, if "college" is too difficult...requires too much original thought and intellectual effort.....a lot of folks won't attend...and "revenue" will drop.
years ago..it was about "education" and now it is more...much more...simply about "certification" via a diploma.
Even graduate school is suffering the same quality deficits. Today, you can acquire a PhD via your keyboard at home and perhaps one or two "visits" to the "campus" for "seminars." What used to be an inviolate requirement, the doctoral or even master's thesis...well defended in living color....has now been replaced by the academic equivalent of 100 hours of community service....a "meaningful work project."
I have always regarded higher ed...well...ALL ed to be a journey in which one does not simply warehouse current knowledge..but instead via a survey of what is known....gain an appreciation for what is not known...and a desire to pursue those deficits......in short, not be able to simply regurgitate facts and data on command....but rather to analyze and then synthesize.......
Many, many folks should NOT go to college...but the American Education Industry and our long vaunted production line approach to "learning" has literally mandated that college is for "everyman." Well...that and the land grant college movement.
Post a Comment