4 ms·

Conformists are the straight C and D students. They are the super majority. Everything and everyone caters to them and their taste and they are all about proud

Conformists are the straight C and D students. They are the super majority. Everything and everyone caters to them and their taste and they are all about proud mediocrity. At least this opinion piece is a nice break from the endless succession of articles about the importance of getting one's ass through school ("or else you won't amount to shit"). Or is it? Those articles are almost never about the importance of studying and learning. They are mostly about the necessity of having the right papers to maximize one's earning potential. People pay lip service to the idea that "college is about learning how to learn", yet when they (even the tons of hackers on here) learn you're studying anything on your own, they let you know in no uncertain terms you can't possibly learn anything on your own unless you have an army of teacher/mentor/adviser/nanny/parent figure/guru/counselor/consultant/sensei/master/instructor/tutor/guardian/sugar parent/Satan slaying God by your side; not to mention colorful 1000 page doorstops with all important bits and parts removed for easy testing purposes. What does that say about American schools of higher learning? Are they just a glorified day care for adults who are after papers? If so (and maybe an open secret), why does American industry require students to go into debt to get expensive and worthless piece of paper to just even consider hiring them? That's unfair to students, both those who actually want to study and learn and those who just want a job.

deleted 8y ago
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mcphage 8y ago
> why does American industry require students to go into debt to get expensive and worthless piece of paper to just even consider hiring them? Because it shows you picked something and stuck with it for four years.
- Justin_K 8y ago
  I feel like this is more of a perception than a requirement. There are endless blue collar jobs that many young people feel they are too good for. I also know numerous programmers who went to relatively inexpensive schools and have done extremely well. Too many people think of they go to an expensive school they're entitled to a high paying job. Reality is companies are looking for hard workers and resources willing to learn.
NTDF9 8y ago
> > why does American industry require students to go into debt to get expensive and worthless piece of paper to just even consider hiring them? This is an American problem, not problem of university education or corporations per se. Maybe vote for politicians who want to make society better for all instead of just handing out loans for everything?
analog31 8y ago
>>> why does American industry require students to go into debt to get expensive and worthless piece of paper to just even consider hiring them Why does everybody think you need a taxi license to drive a taxi? If this market is artificially distorted, then it will eventually be disrupted. A company could begin to hire workers with lesser credentials. They would have an incentive to pay less. The workers would have an incentive to accept lower pay due to being able to get their careers going sooner with less debt. A shorter path to a job might attract a more diverse candidate pool. Everybody wins. Another possibility is that the education is of value after all. I managed the self-learning issue in the following way. I majored in subjects that I would have had a hard time learning on my own for whatever reason. I taught myself other subjects that lent themselves to self-teaching. Then I actually blended all of those things together in my graduate degree. I don't think everybody needs to attend college with the same purpose. Despite the image of paternalism, there is a fair amount of flexibility. One student might want to get a credential with minimal effort. Another might want to spend some time while they're young, learning interesting or hard subjects. A third might be looking for a breadth of social experiences. A fourth, networking. All of them graduate, and maybe they all get similar grades.
anonytrary 8y ago
> Conformists are the straight C and D students. Conformity with respect to what? As an A student, I can tell you that the conformists are in fact the A students, not the C and D students, and that would be true in a certain light. If we're preparing robots for the world, then the A students definitely make the best robots.

deleted 8y ago

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mcphage 8y ago

> why does American industry require students to go into debt to get expensive and worthless piece of paper to just even consider hiring them? Because it shows you picked something and stuck with it for four years.

Justin_K 8y ago
I feel like this is more of a perception than a requirement. There are endless blue collar jobs that many young people feel they are too good for. I also know numerous programmers who went to relatively inexpensive schools and have done extremely well. Too many people think of they go to an expensive school they're entitled to a high paying job. Reality is companies are looking for hard workers and resources willing to learn.

NTDF9 8y ago

> > why does American industry require students to go into debt to get expensive and worthless piece of paper to just even consider hiring them? This is an American problem, not problem of university education or corporations per se. Maybe vote for politicians who want to make society better for all instead of just handing out loans for everything?

analog31 8y ago

>>> why does American industry require students to go into debt to get expensive and worthless piece of paper to just even consider hiring them Why does everybody think you need a taxi license to drive a taxi? If this market is artificially distorted, then it will eventually be disrupted. A company could begin to hire workers with lesser credentials. They would have an incentive to pay less. The workers would have an incentive to accept lower pay due to being able to get their careers going sooner with less debt. A shorter path to a job might attract a more diverse candidate pool. Everybody wins. Another possibility is that the education is of value after all. I managed the self-learning issue in the following way. I majored in subjects that I would have had a hard time learning on my own for whatever reason. I taught myself other subjects that lent themselves to self-teaching. Then I actually blended all of those things together in my graduate degree. I don't think everybody needs to attend college with the same purpose. Despite the image of paternalism, there is a fair amount of flexibility. One student might want to get a credential with minimal effort. Another might want to spend some time while they're young, learning interesting or hard subjects. A third might be looking for a breadth of social experiences. A fourth, networking. All of them graduate, and maybe they all get similar grades.

anonytrary 8y ago

> Conformists are the straight C and D students. Conformity with respect to what? As an A student, I can tell you that the conformists are in fact the A students, not the C and D students, and that would be true in a certain light. If we're preparing robots for the world, then the A students definitely make the best robots.