Thursday, January 18, 2018

Real Learning is More Meaningful than a Sheepskin

Real Learning is More Meaningful than a Sheepskin
Larry Greenberg 

Do we need a more stratified, vocationally-oriented educational system? I’m not suggesting early and largely irreversible tracking of learners as is the case in Germany. However, it seems that most American students in classic colleges and universities attend only for a credential that makes probable higher earnings, but has little relevance or applicability to the work they actually do. Let me stipulate that I am not an anti-intellectual. Far from it: I’m an intellectual wannabe. I love history; I’m a word nerd; I regret the gaps in my knowledge and envy the renaissance men and polymaths for what I lack.  
That said, it brings to mind two veritable maxims about the appropriateness of one’s education I picked up in my days with the Bell system prior to its break-up up into pieces (which spurred the revolution in telecomm, internet and cellular technologies). First, the vast (more than a million people) monopoly of the Bell system was “designed by geniuses to be run by the mediocre.” Notwithstanding the brilliant inventiveness of Bell Labs, this immense enterprise with its countless volumes of procedural manuals, operated with lumbering efficiency. I, a first then second level manager, was supported and bossed by “lifers” who had only high school diplomas or who earned BBAs (for the bumps in earnings) many years into their careers. They themselves joked about the amount of education necessary to do their work: “What do you call an engineer in the Bell System? A high school grad with a four function calculator.” And because the system was so intricately designed and implemented, this was largely true.  
A more personally informed observer than I, (Prof. Bryan Caplan), in a recent article, “The World Might Be Better Off Without College for Everyone” (https://www.theatlantic.com/  magazine/archive/2018/01/  whats-college-good-for/546590/  ), argues that most student don’t get much education out of higher education, go to college to obtain a credential that gives them significantly more earning power than “mere” high school graduates. He points out that retention of information plummets after a course has ended; that getting a degree actually narrows one’s erudition; that employer job testing of new grads shows an appalling deficiency in analytic skills. He admits to be a cynic, calling the majority of student “philistines.” He cites the weekly time budget of the average student as: 13 hours for study, 12 for socializing, 11 for PC fun, 8 working for pay, 6 for TV, 6 for exercise, 5 for hobbies, 3 for other forms of entertainment. (A week has 168 hours  and students do indeed sleep sometimes.)  
I have previously commented on the passionate frivolity of college students for their major sports teams (even as a retiree, I plead guilty to this pleasure). I sometimes joke that besides my pseudo-intellectualism and pre-retirement earning power, the enduring benefit of my B.A. and M.A.  is my crossword prowess.  
Prof. Caplan prescribes appropriately designed vocational education as opposed to a college-for-all mania (my word). Heuristic education (learning from experience, by doing) could involve specific classroom and online courses, apprenticeships, and progressively more challenging work experience. I witnessed this in my own entrepreneurial venture, in which I had the need to engage and work with licensed electricians. Not only was I awed by their knowledge and expertise in their field and learned much that high school physics never imparted, I was consistently impressed with their knowledge of business, world affairs and serious thoughtfulness on many subjects. Could their education and training be the model for educating the majority of people?  
Collegiate credential inflation is what we are incenting today. It is more costly for the student, even financially ruinous; brings little value to employers; inflates the cost of higher education; and adds to bankruptcies often forgiven by governmentally subsidized loan programs. I am all for scholarly erudition for the small minority of college students who will really are motivated to succeed as researchers and educators. For the rest, let’s get sensible. The economy needs smart people who can work with spreadsheets (calculators are passé) and modern computer applications. Sophisticated industry needs certain technical skills that smart people can obtain in other ways. As it now stands, employers of college grads are the drivers of credential inflation. Government won’t reform this wasteful system until and unless the economy rewards actual capability rather than cap and gown.  A more stratified, vocationally-oriented educational system would be beneficial for most people and be a better use of time and money.    

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