Dale J. Stephens is quite a character. He is young and ambitious, not an uncommon combination for a person in their twenties. When Stephens was a teenager, he came home from school one day and declared to his parents that he was going to quit college. It was not for the characteristics of adolescent rebellion, dabbling with the wrong crowd or to obtain more videogame play time, rather, he was on a mission “not to let his schooling interfere with his education,” as Mark Twain once put it.

Fast forward a couple of years, Stephens has become a Thiel Fellow, started the ‘Uncollege’ movement, travelled around the world for various speaking engagements, and has a book due for publishing early this year by Penguin.

Stephens’ Rationale

Stephens’ mantra is the failed economics of college fees, commercialization of universities, having to take courses that do not apply to your field, and the recent emergence of available free online courses. In Stephens’ words: “I lead a social movement to change the notion that college is a prerequisite to success.”

In essence, ‘Uncollege’ is Stephens’ response to the current education system, which he considers broken. It is a movement, a call to change mindsets about college, and a platform for like-minded people to think, “Hey, I’m not the only one who feels this way about college.” The movement’s main initiatives are the ‘Hackademic Camp’ and the ‘Gap Year Program’. The former has a program that facilitates self-building and challenges participants to craft ways to improve the current education system. The latter is a yearlong program costing some $12,000 to participate. It looks like a longer version of the ‘Hackademic Camp’, boasting an opportunity to live abroad for 3 months, engage listeners in a conference, create an enviable resume and enhance your work experience.

How successful has Stephens been? There have been both likeminded thinkers and critics. Nevertheless, amidst the support and criticism, it cannot be denied that he has achieved a lot for his age. It can be attributed back to his personality; this young fellow knows who he is, what he is doing, and how to communicate that to the world.

Should I Quit College Then?

Quitting college to pursue better opportunities – is this model a befitting response to all education systems worldwide? Is it one that can be universally accepted, regardless of culture? Does the notion apply to every academic, regardless of type of course study? These questions are open-ended, and have been a great cause for debate in recent years.

Stephens’ curriculum does open up networking possibilities and the chance to travel, both of which are appealing to the fresh high school graduate. But then again, college is also a place to network, organize events, create startups and journey on self-discovery. Rachel Alexander nicely sums up why she’d rather stay in college here.

Rather than limit your response to either a narrow minded retort or gullible support, consider Stephens’ point of view, and come up with your own conclusions. Go through his ‘Uncollege Manifesto,’ his resources, his ideas. You may not be in full favor of implementing the ‘no college’ idea yourself, but by just going through his material you’d start to think, ”What could I actually do to enhance my learning as a college student?” You’d start to take notice of student opportunities and student-based organizations. You’d value your education more; to not merely see education as classroom grades, but as a livelong process, absorbing what you can wherever you go.

To end, here are Stephens’ twelve steps to self-directed lifelong learning:

Image Courtesy : UnCollege

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The U.S. educational system has been lacking in preparing and teaching our students for some years now and it seems not to remain a high priority.

“Education is the key to our future success as a country and the cornerstone of our democracy. Yet, we have allowed our students to fall behind,” according to the mission statement on the website NBC Education Nation.

According to the U.S Dept. of Education, “Sixty-eight percent of our eighth-graders can’t read at grade level. One-third of our students drop out of high school, and another third aren’t college-ready when they graduate.” The American education system has been failing, where it was once at the top globally in science, math and reading, primary and secondary education in the United States is not even in the top ten as of today.

According to NBC Education Nation reports from Rehema Ellis, “Among 30 developed nations, we rank 24th in Math, 17th in Science and 10th in Literacy.” It seems that America has put education on the back burner and in the long run it will impact the future workforce and thus the economy.

It is important to look at the quality of education students are receiving; most young people aren’t getting the necessary skills and education in the arts and sciences to keep competitive. “We teach things, subject matter, but we don’t teach how to think, that is, to analyze and synthesize and to handle novelty,” says Dr. Robert F. Duvall, president/CEO of the Council for Economic Education.

Despite technological innovations and the progress of modern resources and tools, it seems as if the American educational system has not changed much over the years to fit the developing minds of the children who are learning using this technology.

In the United States a major benefactor is the condition of the poor economy which affects the financial aspect of education in concerns to funding.

According to the Department of Education the United States puts about the same amount of money into the system as most countries; it is about how the money is placed in the educational system. “It is States and communities, as well as public and private organizations of all kinds, that establish schools and colleges, develop curricula, and determine requirements for enrollment and graduation.”

The federal government initially does not have much power or gives much funding, which probably helps account for the failing education system. In order to remedy the failing system of the United States there are many things that could be done.

America has diversity in the classroom, which can be used by students to teach each other. American students, business leaders, and entrepreneurs can succeed in this global economy, yet they must have the proper education and knowledge of the world.

Pendoley argues in the article “World’s Apart” that the most important change should be cultural.

“We need to move beyond the culture of education as a political football and students as repositories of math and grammar rules,” he says, explaining that this includes paying teachers well, requiring students to learn new languages and about new cultures, encouraging foreign travel, rewarding accomplishments in science and technology, and most of all, giving them a competitive edge by using to an advantage the vast diversity of the United States.”

There is plenty of potential in the U.S. education system but the right people have to be placed and the focus on education has to become a top priority along with the student as an individual, not a building that can be sent finances to attempt to fix a problem. Students are no longer competing with their peers across the campus, but across the globe and if their education doesn’t prepare them for it, they’ll lose.

While there are steps being taken to change the path our value in education has taken, there is still much to do and people must get involved to save their children’s future.

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