Is There A Conspiracy In The Education System?

Tuition is at an all time high, post-graduation employment is at an all-time low. Are college students gaining the skills to survive and thrive in today's economy, or are post-secondary institutions just peddling a junk product?

It's an awesome world we live in. This is a really unique time in history where long-standing companies and institutions begin to crumble under the might of a mouse click. It's like there's a cosmic self-correcting mechanism that resets everything, bringing an end to the once unending fire hose of sewage and corruption that spews forth from these dinosaurs. Just look at how the music industry took a shit-kicking (I'm still gleeful)! That's whatcha get for peddling garbage. When I heard about Blockbuster going bust in Canada, I tweeted, "finally the inevitable has happened to the irrelevant."

So of course, whenever something related to learning, teaching, college, etc., comes along, I take notice. Recently, a video on YouTube called College Conspiracy caught my attention. It pretty much amounts to an hour-long commercial for the video's creators, NIA (National Inflation Association). And while I haven't quite arrived at a conclusion as far as what I think about NIA, they do at least promote self-education, taking responsibility, and thinking for yourself…all things I truly believe in.

The video points out that the purpose of elementary school is to extinguish independent thought, and to prepare students for high school. The purpose of high school is then to prepare kids for college and university…and to weed out the free thinkers and radicals (and label them as ADD or "learning disabled" and get them on prescription drugs). And finally, the purpose of college or university is to create employees.

They go into detail about how, amid spiralling tuition fees, students are promised a degree and a high paying job after graduation; but in reality, wind up working low-paying jobs and can barely keep up with student loan payments…essentially becoming indentured serfs, unable to handle the debt load. The video also makes a case for those who choose not to attend college or university and instead, enter the workforce immediately. They do a side-by-side comparison of those with just a high school diploma (of which they say 70% are employed) with those enrolled in college (of which 42% have a job, but most of those are part time and low paying).

They also discuss alternatives, like getting an education online for a fraction of the cost. Of course, that caught my attention, because that's what Ten Ton is all about — providing an awesome learning experience and a lot of value at a reasonable cost.

But It's Really Up To The Individual

I'm not stating whether I believe in post-secondary education or not, I think that's up to each person to decide for themselves. My own opinion is, having been a college professor and seeing the system from the inside, that colleges put their business models and bottom line ahead of education, and than professors are more interested in gaining tenure than teaching. That was just my observation (and the primary reason why I abandoned my professorship).

But to me, it really depends on the person and the profession. If I hire a designer, I'm interested in their portfolio and could really care less about their degrees. But if I go in for heart surgery, I'd really like to see a lot of framed pieces of paper on the wall in the guy's office…but that's just me!

The only question I have is, with the economy getting worse and worse, with so many people out of work, and job openings receiving hundreds of thousands of applicants, how can those thinking of attending college expect to graduate with a job, let alone pay off their loans?

I don't mean to be all doom-and-gloom. For those who have their eyes open, who can adjust their thinking, and who are capable of independent thought (what a concept!), there are tremendous opportunities. It takes some creativity, it takes some flexibility and ingenuity, but those who are willing will lead us into the next part of the 21-st century.

I go into a much deeper look at these and other issues in Are You A Sovereign Individual? In the meantime, check out College Conspiracy if you're interested. Here's the YouTube link. Again, it's a bit of a commercial, and I'm not sure how accurate some of their figures are, but at the very least it gets you thinking. If you have kids, I'd say it's a must-watch.

Do you have a college or university experience you'd like to share? Let's discuss it in the comments below!

"The future is disorder. A door like this has cracked open five or six times since we got up on our hind legs. It is the best possible time to be alive, when almost everything you thought you knew is wrong." -Tom Stoppard, Arcadia

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