College

There is a recent article in the WSJ called, "For Most People, College is a Waste of Time." (Note: Not really an article, part of a book by Charles Murray called Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America's Schools Back to Reality.) The main thrust of the article is that a BA can be replaced by certification tests such as the CPA. I may be stating his thesis too absolutely, but that does not matter, even when generalized his thesis is jabberwocky.

I am the first to rail against the structure of the traditional high school education, but it does share a theme with post-secondary education. I try to explain this to others, and they have trouble comprehending it. Hopefully, typing it out will make more sense.

You see, school is not about knowing what the colors in The Red Badge of Courage mean. It is about learning that those colors are to be appreciated and can teach you something. School is not about memorizing how to do geometric proofs, but how to think logically through a problem. School is all about learning how to think, not necessarily develop the specific tools for a specific trade (with the exception of trade or vocational school of course). Why do you think "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader" is so compelling? No one expects an accountant or secretary or nurse or supply chain management specialist or salesman or FBI agent to know what a cirrus cloud is. To say "Knowledge Fades" misses the point. Factoids fade, the skills should not.

So what of post-secondary education? Aren't you essentially majoring in a specialty with an expectation to get a job in that specialty? Why couldn't a certification test replace a BA?

If rote knowledge is all you want, then yes, yes it could. You take the guy that memorized a bunch of equations, a few scenarios and used that to pass the CPA, instead of those who struggled through hypotheticals in class and tried to use known formulas in unknown situations. The question is, do you want your professional to be a robot or a professional? How would you feel if you went to your accountant or stock broker (bad example, fuck them), or middle manager and she said to you, "Does Not Compute"?

Why do MBA programs use case studies? Why do law schools use the Socratic method? It is about thinking. Those are advanced methods of logic (though not in the case of some law), which are developed from the analytical skills that one learns in post-secondary education. It is about confronting a problem and learning how to analyze and ultimately solve the problem.

For some? Yes college is a waste of time. But for those who occasionally go to class and learn a thing or two end up learning things they never even knew they learned.

[Afterthought: If not for tuition, I think Murray may be advocating the higher education system in Italy, where attendance to lectures is largely voluntary.]