4 ms·
Why Degrees Are Overrated
- pw0ncakes 17y agoRadical left thinks that if the proles go to college, they'll realize how screwed they are and revolt. Center-left has a misguided belief that widespread college is increasing inequality, never mind the severe social damage wrought by mounting student debt. Right-wing gets a sorting mechanism for corporations that someone else (i.e. those being sorted) pays for. So everyone has the illusion that widespread higher education is a good thing, with no introspection as to whether it actually is doing us any good. My opinion: we should make up our minds about what college is, what percentage of the population should be going (I'd say 10-20%), and allow free public education (no debt) for those who qualify, and grant a dollar-for-dollar voucher if they choose to attend private colleges. Get rid of federal loans entirely, and make student loans regular, dischargeable loans. Then private universities can charge whatever they want and admit whoever they want.
- mnemonicsloth 17y agoInteresting that the words 'web' and 'internet' don't appear in the body of the article. Virtually all of the material covered in the course of an undergraduate education is already online in multiple places/formats/presentation styles. All that's needed are business models for packaging that content and getting it to students in a way that they are credited for their learning in the job market.
- yanilkr 17y agoThe current education reminds me of waterfall model of software development. You wait for 23 years of learning and planning on what you might want to do for the rest of your life and then when you get a degree you go do something productive in life. It would be interesting to see if any cultures/countries promote an iterative model of education. You learn a little and try to earn your way with what you learned and then you learn some more etc..