UnCollege, a movement started this January by self-proclaimed “Chief Educational Deviant” Dale Stephens, is making waves in the American educational establishment which will hopefully reverberate here in Canada. The movement is centred on the idea that introspection, passionate action and self-motivation are more important than formal education in crafting educated, competent individuals.
While the movement is largely targeted at the educational bubble in the United States – rising tuition costs combined with falling returns from education – there are lessons to be had for established educational institutions. It is a signal that students will not continue to accept a fancy piece of paper in exchange for their hard-earned money and work. One lesson I’ve learned is that every investment should be compared to the “do-nothing” option and UnCollege is establishing the “do-nothing” option as a credible alternative. UnCollege is challenging established institutions to prove that they offer value above and beyond self-education.
There are two caveats here: The UnCollege movement does specifically state that those pursuing a licensed profession, such as engineering, should continue their studies. Furthermore, with initiatives such as co-op and VeloCity, the University of Waterloo already accomplishes many of the objectives espoused by UnCollege.
However, this is no reason to be complacent! With more schools offering co-op programs, the University of Waterloo must now guarantee that it is integrating classroom content with co-op education and promoting application coupled with deeper theoretical understanding. Each course coordinator should ask him or herself: Is there anything my design course teaches that couldn’t be learned from a book like Thinkertoys? Do I teach math better than Wolfram MathWorld? Am I just reading the textbook definition of a transistor, or am I adding insight from my own research or industry experience? Am I teaching in such a way that there is value for my students to come to class, rather than just find an equivalent MIT Open Courseware?
Similar questions exist for students. With 70% of American high-school graduates entering post-secondary education, attending university is no longer a differentiator in today’s economy. The UnCollege emphasis on introspection, experience and application are very important for all students to remember. While this author is not advocating you drop out of university, I challenge you to consider why you are here. If you are getting a degree for something to do or to please your parents, perhaps there are better uses for your time. Ideally, you are constantly challenging yourself to learn, grow and generally make yourself useful to society.
According to UnCollege, the three stated purposes of a post-secondary education are to prove competency, to signal to society that you are ready for the workforce and to show that you can work with people. Are you fulfilling these three purposes?
There are also some minor points to keep in mind, such as attending conferences, finding a mentor, reading major philosophies and learning another language. While the University can help support us in pursuing these goals, we are largely accountable for such pursuits ourselves.
The movement was bolstered through a $100,000 grant from the Thiel Foundation, the goal of which is to promote young innovators and technical entrepreneurs in devising creative solutions to today’s challenges. Its founder, Peter Thiel (founder of PayPal) supports the notion of self-directed education which is especially telling as he is such a credible technological entrepreneur.
UnCollege is challenging universities and students to prove their worth. Will we rise to the challenge?