For many teenagers like myself, college has always been a part of the plan. Society, after all, tends to make us feel like it’s the only way in which we can adequately prepare ourselves for the adult world.
But the more I think about it, the more I begin to seriously question whether a college education is as necessary as it’s made out to be. Surely there must be other alternatives to confining students to lecture halls as a means of learning.
TECHNOLOGY
Take technology, for example, as one such alternative to going to college. With the arrival of the Internet came freedom from the classroom. No longer were people forced to sit in math class to learn about the Pythagorean theorem. All it took was a quick lookup on any online academic site, such as Khan Academy, and the answers would appear almost immediately free of charge.
More importantly however, came the availability of certified online schools. Yes, the way in which people learn information online differs significantly from their college-going counterparts, but the content and lessons taught are essentially the same. Not only that, but online schooling also means freedom from the costs of dormitories, facilities, and academic resources that are usually associated with college.
But looking at this idea on an even broader scale, we can see that technology in general has completely reshaped the way in which we think and learn. Gone are the days of rummaging through library stacks to find the five-hundred-paged encyclopedia that contains the one piece of information needed. Now we are able to simply “Google” almost any subject and have plenty of resources at our fingertips. What this essentially means is less time is wasted searching and more time is spent learning and interpreting.
As journalist Clive Thompson phrased it in his article “Smarter Than You Think: How Technology is Changing Our Minds for the Better”, “at their best, today’s digital tools help us see more, retain more, communicate more” (347). What he essentially claims here is that technology has dramatically expanded our cognitive capabilities by simply performing our brain’s normal functions, but to a much larger scale.
There are of course those who think otherwise. To these naysayers, technology has brought more harm than good to the way in which we think and learn. The luxuries of convenience that search engines and other online tools provide, they say, make people lazier when it comes to doing any long-term reading or analysis. For example, writer Nicholas Carr argues, “what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation” (315). What Carr is saying here is that his use of the Internet has resulted in him no longer being able to read lengthy, complex passages or do any in-depth form of thinking because he is so used to skimming for information online.
But what Carr fails to acknowledge is that with the use of every powerful tool comes balance. Just as people should regulate the amount of time they spend on their cellphone, they should also monitor the extent to which they use the Internet. When used appropriately, the computer can boost rather than hurt our learning processes.
GET A JOB
It is, of course, true that not everyone is as fortunate enough to be able to afford technology as advanced as a computer, let alone a college education. For these people, not all hope is lost. Working a simple, blue-collar job teaches workers the same foundational skills that students would learn in college, such as the ability to communicate, perform math applications, memorize, read and follow instructions. If anything, working a modest job in some aspects is even more enriching than attending college, simply because of the fact that it places workers in real-life situations, as opposed to in a sheltered classroom environment.
Take, for example, the job of a motor factory worker. In such an occupation, important skills such as planning to ensure a fluid and on-time schedule, communication for optimal cooperation and understanding, measuring and calculating to guarantee proper dimension requirements are met, and reading to know how to put a machine together, are all required. As I mentioned before, unlike in a classroom, where knowledge is tested through tests and quizzes, in a working environment, knowledge is tested through immediate real-world application, where its employees are driven by the need to learn and adapt quickly if they want to succeed in their job.
To get a better idea of this perspective, check out Mike Rowe’s interview on the perks of working “dirty-jobs” as opposed to attending college to pursue “unrealistic” passions.
My point, dear readers, is not that college is an elite institution that isn’t worth the time or financial investment, but that it isn’t as essential as it once was. What was once the only option for high school graduates to learn and develop the skills needed to survive in the working world has now become one of many potential paths students can take in a highly technological and economically thriving world. So for those of you who are either amidst or are yet to experience the dreaded college application season, I urge you to approach this next stage of your life by not asking yourself first which college is for you, but rather what kind of a learner are you?
To gain further insight into this topic, check out this article about the pros and cons of attending college vs. getting work experience.
Thanks for reading!
Works Cited
Carr, Nicholas. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” They Say/I Say. Eds. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton, 2015. 313-29. Print.
Thompson, Clive. “Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better” They Say/I Say. Eds. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton, 2015. 340-60. Print
Image/Video Credits
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