America Needs More Dropouts

[Guest ajc]

A Nation Of Working-Class Dropouts

 

"Every time a liberal sees someone behaving badly they sigh and say, “They just need education,” but the solution to America’s problems is less education, not more. If we got over this myth that everyone needs infinite academia, we would have less unemployment, more manufacturing, a stronger economy, less student debt, and less school tax. The economy would be stronger and we would all be happier. Ironically, in an effort not to hurt anyone’s feelings, we developed a system where everyone has to go to college, even the stupid people, until we all feel like shit..."

 

http://takimag.com/article/a_nation_of_working_class_dropouts_gavin_mcinnes/print#ixzz2cp6Zz88U

[ScottHall]

I think that people should think about the NPV of an education before they decide to receive one.

 

I didn't even get that far, personally - I dropped out of the fourth grade because it was boring.

[Guest longinvestor]

A bit of generalization in the blog but have seen this play out with so many people I've come across. Education, besides saddling folks with debt, has created an entitlement mindset. If you get what you felt entitled to with education, count yourself lucky. Heck, many people don't know until after they graduate if their education allows them to do what they want to do in life. The worst kind of entitlement I've seen is by educating yourself, "You don't have to do (too) much". This entitlement often seems to correlate with the education level and the pedigree of the college/university.

 

The best form of education I've come across is with folks who start working and put themselves thru college at night, often paid for by their employers. There is a strength of character in these folks that is hard to miss. Educating oneself as an adult has a special meaning. And then there are some who pursue their dream education in their 60's and beyond with no monetary gain in mind. Now that is something else!

[keerthiprasad]

Mike Rowe (from Dirty Jobs) had a great response to a newspaper columnist on the topic of jobs people don't want.

 

http://i.imgur.com/9unFgE5.png

 

(sorry reddit crashed the original site, so I linked a screenshot)

 

[bmathews03]

I think that people should think about the NPV of an education before they decide to receive one.

 

I didn't even get that far, personally - I dropped out of the fourth grade because it was boring.

 

How do you learn to calculate an NPV if you don't have an education?  Just kidding, you can just eye-ball it. :)

[Guest deepValue]

It might be worth it if the kids who have to take on debt to go to college actually work hard in school. All of the non-rich kids I knew in college tried to live the same way as the rich kids -- party hard and use that private school education to breeze through public university. The problem is, the non-rich kids don't have the money, education, or connections to live like the kids that are having the most fun, so they end up on their butt without a decent job after four (or five or six) years of partying.

 

There's always a good job waiting for a bright student with a useful major, there just aren't enough bright students to fill those jobs.

[JBird]

I think that people should think about the NPV of an education before they decide to receive one.

 

+1