I think I heard this somewhere. Anyway, its absolutely true. I’m a teacher at a public school, and I hope noone ever figures this out, because I’ll be out of a job.
The state would be out of a job.
+1 for EmperorNero
Thank you, I’m here all week.
Totally agreed.
My brother’s a high school teacher, and believes the education bubble will pop in the next few years. I don’t know if I agree, but you gotta hope people start to realize the incredible value provided through the Internet. The problem is the culture and the assumption, on the part of businesses and would-be employees, that a college education is necessary. As Bryan Caplan and others point out, a college degree (or, as is becoming the norm, a Masters degree) is really only valuable to signal to employers that you’re at least worth hearing out.
I graduated from college two years ago, and I’ve been learning a lot for free through iTunes U (and,of course, the Mises Institute). It’s a beautiful thing, and it’s going to be interesting to see how it evolves (and how the state might try to hamper it).
I imagine this data’s nearly impossible to find but, does anybody know how much public schools cost per student (per year) v. private?
Companies might start issuing tests to filter out candidates… would be nice.
Academic Earth is a great resource:
I think with the explosion of Skype and the Internet, you’re going to see a lot of video-conference type classes or just listening to a prerecorded lecture and asking questions via e-mail or something like that. Or if you prefer person-to-person contact, there needn’t be the extracurriculars of clubs and sports (although I admit I absolutely love college football) and all of the excess. Not to mention the licensing insanities. In my last years of high school, we had a French teacher who was going to get married to a German guy and lived in Germany for around 2 or 3 years. She was extremely fluent in the German language, but lo and behold, she didn’t have a formal degree. So with the No Child Left Behind regulating my high school’s behavior, they had to go out and hire another German teacher. It’s just pathetic stuff like that which would totally go away with a more free education system.
- Companies might start issuing tests to filter out candidates… would be nice.
It would be nice. But the state would ban tests for potentially being racist or something.
- Academic Earth is a great resource:
It’s pretty cool that this is happening. I have no idea what incentive they have to put out their product for free. But apparently they do.
As a public school teacher, I’ve come to realize that grades for assignments are only neccessary if you use force to keep students in a classroom. Grades would be appropriate for that situation because it is a tool that can be used to make sure students who do not want to be there are doing something.
This is also why I can’t use so many good resources online. They don’t have a database where students can login and get grades that can be checked. I need that to ensure that the students who don’t want to be in my class are doing something.
Don’t worry. The school system is a make-work project.
what is that video suppossed to prove? the unschooled girl said she didn’t know how to read. she’s not making our points here look good.
You don’t know how to listen? She was 6.
“You don’t know how to listen? She was 6.”
I heard her say that. But, she didn’t say she did know how to read. My kids are making some noise…so maybe I missed some important stuff…but all I heard her talk about is…
not knowing how to read at 6 and how kids reacted to her telling them she didn’t goto school.
can’t say any of that is impressive. the person interviewing her needs to coach her into talking about the results on her home schooling…
I don’t want to hear about her not being able to read at 6…that’s not helpful at selling this idea.
It’s actually crucial to show that there is not one set path for individuals to become happy.
She obviously learned to read but not because someone demanded it from her, but because she found a reason for it in reality and wanted to learn it (or simply picked it up without thinking about it too much).
“he obviously learned to read but not because someone demanded it from her,”
Did she learn anything else besides how to read? is she a doctor perhaps? did she learned anything that will help her get a job?
Youtube alone can teach you more about computer programming, playing music, planting flowers, etc, and do so more effectively than any teacher with a room full of students. Plus, it’s easier to rewind, and you can work at your own pace. It takes only dedication. And that’s one site. One. With the benefit that, when you need reference material, you have the whole internet at your disposal. And if you really, really need a textbook, Amazon.com is a few button presses and an overnight delivery away, without having to explain to some pompous professor that you couldn’t finish the homework on time because your book came in late.
Also, you get to dodge the looming education bubble. Which is good, since we are now gearing up for a lovely rail infrastructure bubble, if certain VPs have their way. Break out the penants and start cheering.
The subject of employment should not be conflated with the subject of learning and knowledge.