proof the you don,t need a uneversity degree

8/7/2019 Proof the You Don,t Need a Uneversity Degree

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The truth is that gone are the days where the only way you could attain high level knowledge

was from exclusive, expensive text books, and exclusive lectures presented by Professors.

Gone are the days of a world where knowledge was the exclusive domain of a select few

individuals.

Gone are the days of having to go to a library to look at an encyclopaedia, because your

family didnt have $5,000 to pay that nice door-to-door encyclopaedia salesman.Universities, for the most part, are a relic of that sort of era.

What you need instead

The very medium youre using to read this article now is ALL THAT YOU NEED.

The web.

Its all here for the taking.

This is an UNPRECEDENTED moment in the history of our species. Never before hasknowledge and information been so open, cheap and accessible. And yet were stillmaking

people feel like they mustgo to university to learn something?? Surely Im not the only one tosee the absurdity here?!

Ignore the mainstream

Dont let mainstream societys erroneous views about university education convince you thatuniversity is where you need to go.

Remember, mainstream society is usually a decade or more behind the curve inEVERYTHING. Are you going to follow a mindless herd, or are you going to step up andtake things to another level? If its the latter, the world needs you now.

Oh, and if youre a parent, do your kids a HUGE favour stop force feeding them the illusion

of the university degree. Its bullshit, and deep down YOU KNOW IT.

Education by Stealth

Having spent the vast majority of my life so far in some form ofeducational institution, either

as a student, or as a teacher, I can say this with complete certainty:

The education system, for the most part, doesnt know how to make learning exciting.

In fact, it often seems like the system works hard to achieve the complete opposite:

disengaging and alienating every participant, and ensuring they find learning unpleasant for

the rest of their lives.

Initially, most of us will probably respond with,

Well, education isnt meant to be exciting. Education is about sitting in a boring lecture

theatre, listening to some monotonic, aloof professor talk to himself for 2 hours. Thats just

the way it is.

In other words, learning isnt meant to be fun. Its meant to be serious.
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But thats bullshit.

Why do we allow this traditional belief to persist? Why do we tolerate it?

Why do we allow educational institutions to keep convincing us that education should be

serious, and therefore, by extension, shouldnt be entertaining?

Why is entertainment so frowned upon by educational elitists?

As far as I see it, entertainment is simply a form of presentation that arouses an emotional

response from an audience be it curiosity, laughter, sadness, anger, etc.

WHY would you NOT want to arouse those emotions in people when teaching?! These are

the very emotions that motivate people to learn more about something!

So it amazes me that some people feel these two concepts (education and entertainment)

should be kept FAR away from each other (because, you know, God-forbid people actually

have fun while theyre learning!).

If we really think about it, education and entertainment are two sides of the same coin. By

wrapping education into entertainment, we can make learning fun again. I like to call this

approach:

Education by Stealth (TM)

The following two examples brilliantly illustrate my concept of Education by Stealth, and

shows that it can be done.

Myth Busters

Myth Busters is quite possibly the best example of education by stealth.

This brilliant science program led by Jamie Hyndman and Adam Savage (both entertaining

characters in themselves) has been screened on TV since 2003, and has made learning about

science incredibly fun and entertaining (not to mention explosive most of the time!).

Even a casual viewer of this show is bound to pick up some accidental knowledge from

watching the Myth Busters teams various myth-busting tests. Heres one great example:

TED Talks

TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences with the goal of

promoting ideas worth spreading. Since 2006, these talks have been released online throughTED.com and have become immensely popular (as of July 2010, they had attracted over 290

million views).

TED Talks deal with an increasingly wide range of topics, and feature some of the brightest

thinkers we have today, including Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, Al Gore,

Gordon Brown, Richard Dawkins, Bill Gates, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin,

and many Nobel Prize winners.
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Each presenter get 18 minutes to present their ideas in the most innovative and engaging ways

they can. And most of them do it very successfully.

After spending only 18 minutes of your time watching a TED Talk, you are always

entertained, and come away with knowledge that you probably didnt have before you started

watching.

The above two examples prove that education and entertainment do not have to be separated.In fact, they should be combined together as often as possible.

After all, education is far too important to be taken seriously.

Academics should be banned fromteaching

Academics dont necessarily make great (or even just effective) teachers.

Why?

Because many (not all) have a tendency to intellectualize the process of teaching far too

much.

But teaching isnt meant to be that artificial. You cant just rely on memorizing theories and

methods, and then applying them like its an academic paper or something.

Spotlight THIS!

Personally, my bullshit-o-meter (TM) would always go off during staff meetings if I heard ateacher start using terms such as the spotlight approach or a scaffolding approach when

discussing teaching.

Usually, when they would say things like that, it was pretty obvious they had no clue how to

interact and engage with their students. So, instead, they would rely on artificial approaches.

Not surprisingly, those teachers had a habit of delivering some of the most uninteresting

and unengaging lectures and tutorials of all time OF ALL TIME!. And students werent

shy in expressing that opinion.

Teaching and public speaking

In a way, this reminds me of the techniques people are taught when they want to become

presenters and public speakers.

Instead of being encouraged to develop a natural, genuine and engaged style, people are often

taught (and pay huge sums of money for this privilege) to focus on the following aspects

instead:

wear formal dress
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have a good introduction

make eye contact

have open posture

use hand gestures

exhibit positive body language consider your vocal tone, breath control, and vocal range

control your facial expressions

control your nerves

If the above sounds familiar, let me break the news to you

The above is bullshit of the highest order, taught by people who either arent very good

themselves (so instead they rely on artificial theories and methods), or people who ARE

actually very good, but have no clue as to why.

Following the above methods to a tee, memorizing them, and then constantly doing them

consciously will (surprise, surprise) make you a self-conscious and artificial presenter.

Self-conscious + artificial = zzz.

Being self-conscious and artificial pretty much makes it impossible to actually connect and

engage your audience (regardless of whether youre a teacher or other type of presenter).

More importantly, its also not much fun for anyone.

Im not saying that the above points (eg. positive body language, etc) arent important though.

Clearly they have an impact on how a presentation or a lesson is perceived by the audience.But they need to happen naturally. They shouldnt be consciously forced.

The only way to develop a natural approach is to simply focus on your AUDIENCE instead.

You need to adapt to the dynamics of your audience, feel their energy, and CONNECT with

them. Basically, you need to make it fun and entertaining.

But you cant do that by memorizing theories and methods.

If you do, youll never be truly in the moment with your audience or your class. And they

wont be in the moment with you.
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The major problem with universitydegrees

After spending a solid decade in the university system (both as a student and a teacher), I

couldnt help but feel a strong sense of unease about its underlying problems.These underlying problems became more and more apparent to me as I discussed them with

other like-minded students, staff, and other people who cared about what was happening.

And these problems could be summed up in one sentence

Education has become a commodity.

Education has become a product to be consumed, rather than a learning process to engage

with.

The typical student expects to sign up to their degree, attend, do the bare minimum, and get a

job from it.

How on EARTH did this end up getting confused with learning?

This isnt learning this is complying.

I sincerely believe that compliance is one of the main things our university system is

teaching students nowadays.

Universities have become big factories solely dedicated to pumping out graduates who have

learned little and developed even less.

Instead, students have been further indoctrinated to comply even if its complying toirrational and ineffective ideas.

And if you start questioning too many things (either as a student or teacher), you start

unravelling the absurdity of the place.

An accreditation institution

In a sense, universities have become an accreditation institution, rubber stamping

unprepared graduates, and delivering them into ordinary, entry-level bureaucratic jobs.

Society isnt helping this trend. We are now reaching the stage where almost EVERYONE is

encouraged to go and get a degree. And governments are leading the drive.

As a result of this, educational standards continue to drop. Pretty soon (and we might already

be at this point), degrees will hold very little value if everyone has one.

Pretty soon (again, were almost there now), you will need several PhDs before you can

differentiate yourself from the millions of other people with degrees. And youll need this

even if youre applying for some REALLY basic jobs jobs that end up being vacated by

people who never needed a degree when they first landed it.
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This isnt education. This has NOTHING to do with learning or attaining knowledge.

The business of education

As a result of all this, universities are dropping their game to the lowest common denominator

so as to continue to survive. After all, the more students they can brainwash to attend, the

more money they ultimately make. Its almost like a corporation.

And then, upon the inevitable graduation, many students lose their way.

Not only have they not been prepared for their post-university careers, they often find that

theyre in the wrong area altogether (and theyve accumulated a big fat debt along with it).

So what happens then?

Universities encourage graduates to come back for some further study (either an Honors,

Masters, PhD, or even just another degree altogether). They reassure them that this will be the

key to the life they want.

Obviously, it rarely is.

The answers most people are looking for arent going to be found in this kind of environment,

no matter what the brochure says

The solution

Education as a whole needs to be less about complying, accreditation, and business and

more about enabling people to think independently and critically.

Having an educated society means having people who are able to use these qualities to

make the world a better place. And you cant do that by training everyone to become the next

generation ofworker ants.

Time to get rid of the classroom

Throughout history, we seem to have structured our educational systems in a very particular

way by emphasizing the importance of the classroom.

But this method isnt all that effective unless teaching compliance is the main goal (and

thats an argument for another time).

Its time to get rid of the classroom.

Lets take schools and universities as a quick example to illustrate what I mean.

The School System

At school, you were most likely trapped in the prison of the classroom environment for about

6-7 hours every day. You were then also given several hours of homework on top of that.
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But chances are that by the time you got around to finding time for homework, your brain

was absolutely fried from spending so much mind-numbing time in the classroom.

But with all those hours in the classroom, do you TRULY remember learning much there?

The University System

And the same goes foruniversitytoo.

You might not be there 6-7 hours a day (depending on your degree), but youre still expected

to rock up to all lectures, tutorials and seminars. Sometimes, youre forced to, otherwise you

lose grades for non-attendance.

And on top of that, you then have piles and piles of reading heaped onto you to do in your

spare time.

The Problem With All of This

Heres the problem with the above system:

Learning happens in the mind not the classroom.

Yet we have structured our educational institutions so that the vast majority of attention is

placed on classroom attendance.

Does anyone else see the absurdity in this way of thinking?

I certainly did, first as a student, then as a university teacher (where I tried to convince topiccoordinators that forcing attendance was the wrong way to go about things they didntlisten).

If you force attendance, all you will have is people attending for the wrong reasons. This is an

inescapable fact.

After all, what are the consequences of not attending?

At school, if you dont attend, youre basically breaking the law (and your parents willprobably pay the major penalty). Sometimes the police get involved.

At uni, if you dont attend, you often lose grades, and if you dont, many uni teachers willgrade you lower as an unofficial penalty (trust me on this I saw it with my own eyes when Iwas teaching).

So the major side-effect of forcing people to attend solely for attendance itself is this:

They wont be prepared, and they wont care.Alternatively, some might just rock up with the expectation that learning will somehowmagically occur to them once theyre in the classroom environment. Obviously, it wont, andit doesnt.

Why?

Because learning happens IN THE MIND first.

Not in the classroom.
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In fact, classrooms are almost completely redundant in this process, unless they are used as aforum for discussion between people who have already thought things through beforehand.And THOSE people are going to attend class whether its compulsory or not.

Why?

Because they are already ENGAGED in their learning. They dont need any other reasons.

By forcing others to attend others who dont care and dont prepare you destroy thesystem for everyone, and no one ends up happy.

Its time to structure learning around the MIND first.

And the only way to do that is to give people a reason to become engaged and invested in

their learning in the first place. That reason can never be forced.

The secret to enjoying education

Having spent most of my life ineducational institutions (either as a student or teacher), it

quickly became apparent to me what the key to success is when youre trying to learnsomething.

And that key is

A thirst for knowledge.

A thirst for knowledge is the secret that makes learning enjoyable, not just in an educational

context, but in life in general.

Those who are thirsty or hungry for knowledge, have an inquisitive nature, and a positive

attitude are the ones that make big progress in their lives, as well as the lives of others.

Those who have this thirst have a purpose, a genuine reason and need for learning, and a

motivation to engage with what theyre learning.

The best students (not necessarily the ones that get the best grades) are those that study to

learn, instead of studying for grades. They study to improve themselves, to develop, and to be

able to help others. A grade is utterly meaningless in this context.

A personal example

As an example, in the last year of my university teaching career, I taught some external

classes via the web.One of the students in this class was doing hard-time in a maximum security prison interstate.

Not surprisingly, his communication channels were pretty restricted. He couldnt attend

online classes, so instead we delivered hard copy transcripts of my online tutorials to him.

Despite his obvious disadvantage studying in that kind of situation (let alone the mental

obstacles arising from being incarcerated in the first place), he was actually the best student I

had taught that particular year (and no, he didnt tell me to say that!).
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Why?

Because he clearly saw the value in studying, and made a conscious decision to do so. He

realised his purpose to study, and that purpose had nothing to do with grades or just getting

that piece of paper at the end of his degree.

He was inquisitive about everything he was reading, and posed some very interesting

thoughts and questions. He researched beyond the requirements of the topic, and read asmuch as he could about the broader area he was learning.

To him, it was about developing his mind, developing his thinking, and finding a new area of

interest that would serve him well after his release.

His attitude to learning was actually very inspiring. It was a similar attitude that I noticed in

some of the other students I had taught in the past.

The typical scenario

Contrast this to the typical scenario of a student who has essentially been forced, in one way

or another,to go to university (either by their family or simply societys expectations).

This kind of student has NO genuine purpose to be there. They have no desire, no need and

it all shows.

In that kind of situation, what is the point of attending?

This kind of forced attendance results in the person developing bitterness, cynicism, and a

strong dislike for anything called education.

Besides, the piece of paper at the end is, in all honesty, usually completely worthless.

The only reason you need to studySo the only genuine reason to be studying is because you have a HUNGER to learn. And no

one can force you to feel that hunger.

If you cant feel it at university (or any other educational institution), you need to go find it

elsewhere in life.

Bury your qualification and do something

else
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Many of us are qualified to do something, either through schooling/university, or just

through our work history.

Eventually, like an actor, we run the risk of being typecast. After all, were qualified to

do a particular job. So therefore we must continue doing that job, right?

But what if you dont actually like what youre doing? What if the career youre qualified for

makes you want to overdose on a combination of Kraft Singles and Mother energy drinks?

Just because youre qualified to do something does not mean

you have to do it

Its a simple concept, but amazing how frowned upon it is.

Often there is this general attitude that just because you are qualified to do something, that

you should actually do it (or continue to do it).

As an example, I see this all the time with people who are studying (or have graduated) from

law. I happen to be one of those too, by the way. Im a qualified lawyer, but cant bring

myself to start working as a lawyer because I KNOW its not what I want to do.

And yet many people in a similar position to me (regardless of what career) continue to feel

pressured by others to make the most of the investment in their qualification.

Cutting your losses

What does all this lead to?

A large number of people living a very depressing life.

Where is the wisdom in pressuring people to continue doing something they REALLY dont

want to do?

This is the equivalent of being a poker player and throwing more money into a losing hand,

just because your initial betting makes you feel committed to continuing the hand.

Obviously, at the end of the day, youre still going to lose money on that hand.

So even if youve spent 5-10 years getting ready for a career you dont actually end up

wanting, its still not too late to pull the plug and start again. Cut your losses now. The sooner

the better.

Just because youre qualified, does not mean you have to do it.

Just because youre qualified, does not obligate you to continue down the same rotten path.

But surely youll get used to it, right?

Some people will argue that you just need to get accustomed to your career. After a few years,

apparently you will start liking it.

Well, you dont have to shovel horse manure for months to know that youre probably not

going to like it.


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Its not wise to pressure people to waste years of their lives studying something that they have

no interest in, in the hope that it ends up somehow growing on them eventually.

If you follow that path, then the only thing that will grow is your level of regret as you get

older

proof the you don,t need a uneversity degree

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