It’s been interesting to note the rush of VC support and overall entrepreneurship around improving education. After all, the cause of it is one inescapble fact: The US education system needs to evolve. And quickly. Take this passage from a recent Salon.com article:
Subsequent attempts at reform have failed because, though they have tinkered some with the structure, they haven’t altered the basic blueprint. The top-down, teach-and-test method, in which learning is motivated by a system of rewards and punishments rather than by curiosity or by any real, felt desire to know, is well designed for indoctrination and obedience training but not much else. It’s no wonder that many of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs and innovators either left school early (like Thomas Edison), or said they hated school and learned despite it, not because of it (like Albert Einstein).
Probably what’s needed is greater support for those who, when they’re able, choose to opt out of school, particularly at the higher education level. Unfortunately, it will require a reset on the part of employers–especially HR managers–who still maintain a strong bias towards degrees from recognized institutions. Until what you’ve created is more important that where you spent time in school, things won’t change. But corporations will have to evolve, too, as more and more young people are starting to realize that following the status quo is a sure route to getting screwed.
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