In today’s society, we as people have grown up where getting a high school diploma, getting into a great college, and getting a degree has become the norm. However, more and more people are starting to think otherwise. In an article called, “The Case Against College,” Dale Stephens, age 19, is starting an “UnCollege” movement. Stephens argues that people should look at options other than going to college because it has become useless. More specifically, Stephens argues that schools have become too mundane and orthodox. He says, “The problem is that schools kill creativity.” Throughout his article, Stephens suggests that people should avoid going to college and create their own educational experience in the real world if possible. In short, Stephens’s belief is that college has become overrated because of today’s degree-saturated society, the cost, and the fact that it kills creativity.
In my opinion, Stephens does have some valid points in his argument. I believe that in today’s society, there are definitely a lot of people with degrees, making things more competitive and possibly making a degree mean less to employers. I also agree that attending college is very expensive if a person hasn’t received some sort of financial aid. Furthermore, I do think that while attending school, some creativity is killed. However, while I do believe some creativity is lost during school, I don’t really think it’s necessarily the schools killing creativity; I think it’s the way teachers are made to teach toward standardized tests, not a personal goal of the teachers. I also think that college is an experience where creativity can flourish due to many new people, opportunities, and curriculums. Therefore, I conclude that college is a very important and fundamental part of life and a person’s education that should not be avoided. Education is one thing that cannot be taken away in today’s harsh world.
Dale Stephens seems to argue that kids should avoid college because it kills creativity; however I feel that that the K-12 system kills creativity. To justify his statement, he pointed out that George Land and Beth Jarman ran a study, which had 1,500 kindergarteners take divergent thinking tests. Approximately 98 percent of the kids scored at the genius level. As they continued to go through school and age, fewer students had such high scores. Some used this study to justify the argument that schools kill creativity. However, I disagree. I think that the problem of killing creativity lies within the elementary and high school educational system. Many public schools compete for funding. Usually, the better the scores the school has and the better it looks on paper, the school gets more funding. This causes teachers to have to teach toward the tests. I feel that teachers have to worry about what their students look like on tests because it is supposed to reflect how the teachers are teaching. How are teachers supposed to incorporate their own creative ideas and projects into class when they are being indirectly tested themselves? It’s human nature to want to do anything to protect your own interests. Teachers have no choice but to make sure their students know the material by heart. It’s highly unfair for the government or anyone to judge a school simply by the grades the students are putting out on highly questionable tests anyway. The tests do not allow students to communicate their own ideas and information that they know. I feel they simply are reading tests. For every multiple choice question, you really need to understand what you are reading. A student may know the answer, but then get it wrong just for reading the question wrong. And from just recently taking the Regents for many subjects in school and the SATs for college, I know that the questions are very tricky. Not to mention, they cause a lot of anxiety in students. I think that kids have been raised in school to think, “If I don’t do well on this test, I’m not going to pass this class, I’m not going to get into a good college, and I’m not going to have a good life.” It’s a lot of pressure for kids, especially teenagers when they already dealing with a lot about themselves.
Many believe that the tests are important and really show what’s going on in a school, but, I think that standardized tests just need to be done away with. I know that it’s probably impossible for everyone to get rid of the tests because most believe scores are a strong indicator of how intelligent a student is. However, that is not the truth. These tests are highly subjective and aren’t really testing what they are supposed to. Approximately one-third of the colleges and universities in the United States are giving students the options to opt out of reporting their scores to the school. For example, DePaul University believes that students’ grades over the four years in high school are much better indicators of how well a student will do. Some students feel that the tests do not reflect how intelligent they are.
Contrary to Dale’s belief that unschooling will help stand out from the other 6.7 million people, I believe that smaller schools allow kids to flourish. I know I come from a small school and I highly believe that one solution for ensuring that kids have a better education is to have smaller schools. It’s impossible for each student to get individual attention they need when there are over 20 people in one class. For example, my own school, Colton-Pierrepont Central School is very small, with approximately 300 students K-12. Because of our small size, our teachers are able to teach us the information about the tests we will have to take, especially in the STEM subjects, but we also do many other creative activities as well that really allow us to excel. I know that my school offers languages, many electives, and a lot of AP and Honors courses. We have a sports program that attracts many people per year and also a strong arts and music program. We even have an elective seniors can take called Close Up, which requires students to not only learn about the government and its processes, but really learn about the current issues going on each year. The students are then able to take a trip to D.C. and meet with their representatives. It’s not only rewarding, but also lets students be heard. Not many large schools are able to do these things due to cost. My small school has also been deemed as one of America’s top schools. It is also a model school because we are very technologically advanced.
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| My group at the Close Up Academy at the White House meeting with NYS's representative. |
Also, in the area where I live, there is a program called BOCES. The program allows students in high school to obtain a different kind of education. Students still are required to take core classes, but sometimes the classes are presented in different ways. The material is learned, but it may be through real-life experience. BOCES is able to offer education for things such as nursing, welding, criminal justice, and culinary arts. Not only do many students take this route in order to escape going to college, but they also become certified. This is only one way to avoid going to college, debt, and still have credentials and great references. BOCES also offers classes for adults looking to obtain some sort of degree or certification.
While Stephens feels that students are only getting themselves into major debt for a “piece of paper,” I believe a degree is very important in today’s world. Dale Stephens suggests that students today are going to college expecting to get a degree that will ensure them a job, but fail to do so. He thinks that the only thing they are really getting is debt and a “piece of paper.” He points out that each student graduates with approximately $24,000 at the end of his or her college career. Stephens is correct that college has become very expensive, especially if going to a private university and without any financial aid.
He thinks that students should avoid going to college if possible and instead look for jobs that require no degree at all or instead, go out on a limb and chase their own dreams. This may include starting up a business or doing something along those lines. He points out that college is not for everyone, but neither is not going to college. Each person is unique and requires different learning environments. However, I think that avoiding college is very risky, especially in today’s world. A college degree may not be something that every person in America feels that they need. However, it is practically proven today that without a degree, employers are usually going to go for the person who does have the degree. It provides credentials, ones that are necessary to get a job in today’s rough world. This may be blamed on the economy worsening. College may be expensive to some, but it’s also proven that people with a college degree usually earn more than those without a college degree. In fact, there is a $1,000,000 difference between the two. President Obama even urged Americans to obtain at least one year of higher education, no matter what type of schooling it was. This may be because America is lagging behind those in other countries, or it may be because he doesn’t want people to settle and he wants to create a better prepared work force. Truth be told, you’re just not competitive today if you don’t have a college degree. Unless you’re fortunate enough to strike it rich like Bill Gates, the probability of being a billionaire or even being that successful is very low. Stephens neglects the fact that not all of us are well-off enough to take big risks like starting our own businesses. Has he considered the rate at which small businesses fail or even the reasons why they do? The number one reason is that there isn’t enough capital. A study by the NBIA shows that 80% of small businesses fail within the first year. This may have something to do with the inequality of wealth in our country. This is a whole other debate, so I won’t get into it. But there are some very shocking statistics.
This video may be a bit long, but it is of a man who wrote a book, explaining the top reasons why small businesses fail today.
This video may be a bit long, but it is of a man who wrote a book, explaining the top reasons why small businesses fail today.
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| A figure showing the distribution of wealth in America. |
I highly doubt we will be able to change the distribution of wealth throughout our country even if it would help allow more students to afford college. We can thank the wonderful Republicans for that. ;-) However, I do have a solution to making it less costly and more worth a student’s while. Many students go to college and are required to take general education classes. For example, I am going to school to get my four-year degree in the science of nursing. I then hope to attend graduate school to study nursing anesthesiology. This whole plan is probably going to take me approximately seven years of schooling. It probably would only take me about five years if I was able to skip the general education requirements at UB. I have to take English and World Civ, both for two semesters, and I also have to take a class introducing me to the university. And, I would have had to take even more general education classes if I hadn’t taken AP classes in high school. Not only are these classes costing me more money, but they’re also wasting my time. I’m not interested in English or World Civ, or University Experience. I’m interested in taking nursing classes that are going to help me get a degree. Many students are required to take these if they don’t already have credit from high school or another institution.
I’m not sure people really know how much one credit hour can cost. It can range from around $90-$600 per credit hour depending on which school you attend. Many argue that students need this education because it produces a well-rounded person. However, don’t we go to school for 13 years being immersed in our language and history? I was valedictorian of my class and had around a 97 overall average. I did not receive a scholarship to my current school, UB. However, I did receive scholarships that I applied for. I also didn’t receive any financial aid because my parents make too much to qualify, but make too little to pay for my college. A lot of students are probably stuck in the same boat as I am. It can be really frustrating being forced to take classes that you are not interested in. I think that if students were allowed to choose which classes they would like to take, more people would be interested in going to college.
I’m not suggesting that people take ridiculous classes and get a medical degree or something, but I am suggesting that students have the opportunity to opt out of taking general education requirements unless it is truly necessary for their degree. It’s not only a waste of time and money, but it’s also hindering a person’s ability to do well in their other classes, which actually matter to their degree. Students would be able to not only cut down the time and cost it takes to get a degree, but actually be able to better focus on what they’re preparing themselves for. Students may also be able to take even more classes pertaining to their degree, giving them not only more experience, but more opportunities to expand their knowledge.
College is very important and should not be avoided. It’s not only important to get training and really learn what the occupation you’re choosing is about, but it’s also important for the country. Not only is America attracting many international students, but it’s also attracting many international employees that have better credentials and more experience. Education seems to be not taken as seriously as it should be in America. People like Dale Stephens suggest that schooling only inhibits people. While he does point out that unschooling is only right for some people, I still feel he is undermining education. I know that the educational system is frustrating at some points, but should we really avoid it or should be work to change it and allow it to evolve into something that will benefit every kind of learner? If it was a perfect world, we would all be able to do whatever the heck we wanted to do without worrying about money, a family, or any of the consequences. But the fact of the matter is, we cannot do that.
We need education, especially today. It is the one of the only things that a person can have for rest of his or her life. The bank can’t repossess what you have learned or your degree. They can repossess your business, your car, and all of your possessions. The solution to our educational issues is not to rid people of college or encourage them to find other ways of educating themselves. It’s to fix the system from within. Although traveling down the path less beaten is great for some, the simple fact is that it isn't right for everyone. Creativity will flourish, cost will decrease, and time will decline if we as students are able to pick and choose which classes we would like to take.
Dale Stephens makes valid points and does a great job at pointing out that there really are other options for students, but not going to college today doesn’t seem like a wise choice. A degree should be more to people than just a “piece of paper.” Stephens is a brave individual and he is the spark necessary to create an educational revolution. While I do not agree with everything that he says, I hope his passion for creating other options to learn will reach others and revolutionize the way our country views and engages in education.
