#Educational Reform

[hyperlexichypatia]

"There's no such thing as a useless degree! Learning is valuable for its own sake! If you think a degree program is 'useless' just because it doesn't lead to a job, you're an anti-intellectual capitalist who hates learning, creativity, and critical thinking!"

Okay, let me stop you right there, because this take annoys me every time: "learning" and "degrees" are two different things.

There can be many purposes to learning, including "for its own sake." You can learn things out of curiosity, or to enrich your life, or to challenge yourself, to further human knowledge, or to gain useful skills, or to become a more informed person! In general, cultivating an open-minded curiosity about the world can give you a more fulfilling life. Learning doesn't have to have a concrete goal or specific purpose.

The purpose of a degree is to be an official documentation to some external authority (usually an employer or regulatory agency) that someone has (at least theoretically) mastered a qualification.

There's no such thing as useless learning. There's no such thing as useless knowledge. There's no such thing as useless research. There's absolutely such a thing as a useless degree.

And look, as critical as I am of educational systems, standardized testing, lack of recognition of alternative ways of learning, etc., I absolutely think that degree requirements have their uses. I'm much more comfortable being operated on by a surgeon who graduated from an accredited medical school with a degree than by someone self-taught. Sometimes, when someone is assigned a task, you want actual proof that they've mastered the skill set needed for that task, and for want of a better system, a degree can be a useful proxy for that proof.

But unless you're training for a specific job or role that requires specific proof of a specific skill set, there's no actual logical reason that your learning journey should be in the form of a degree program.

"I have a degree in something completely unrelated to my job, but it's still worth it because I learned so much!"

Great, I love that for you, but unless you specifically need the actual degree credential for an external verification purpose, you could've learned just as much from a course of study not centered on a degree.

"I use my art history degree in my marketing job all the time!"

Unless you were specifically hired for your art history degree, what you mean is you use your art history knowledge in your marketing job -- which, again, great, but doesn't require a degree program.

"My boss said it looked good that I have a liberal arts degree because it shows I'm not just looking for money!"

That's Employer for "I assume you're independently wealthy and won't demand a living wage."

"But lots of employers just want employees to have a college degree in any field and they don't care what!"

Yeah. That's. That's the problem I'm objecting to. What logical sense does it make to want an employee who has A Skill, but be completely indifferent as to what skill or what relevance it does or doesn't have to the tasks they're being hired to do?

The only reasons an employer would consider a candidate with a college degree in an unrelated field to be more qualified than a candidate without a degree is: *because they think that someone who could spend ~$45000 and ~360 hours on something is in some way A Better Class Of Person than someone who couldn't (this is classism), or *because they think the cognitive skills involved in pursuing a degree reflect some kind of "general intelligence" indicative of being Good At Learning In General (this is ableism and let's be real, also classism).

There is no non-ableist, non-classist reason for jobs to require "a degree" that isn't a specific degree related to the skills of that specific job.

"But what about Critical Thinking Skills and Cultural Literacy and Being An Informed Citizen? These are things that everyone should learn, not just people training for a specific job!"

If these are skills that EVERYONE should learn, then they belong in K-12 education (the universal tier of education that's free and For Everyone). Why put it in the Optional, Extra level of schooling?

I mean, historically, the reason is that the "everyone" who needed a core college education didn't mean "everyone"; it meant "Everyone in the upper classes who would be the next generation of leaders and are more culturally and intellectually refined than the commoners." Obviously, the working classes don't need "critical thinking skills"; their simple peasant brains probably couldn't handle them anyway. (Again. Classism and ableism are always intertwined.)

And the impulse to "democratize" that by giving "everyone" the educational experience of the upper classes is like. Well-meaning I guess, but almost a microcosm of how "democratizing" elitist institutions without critically examining them leads to some wildly skewed conclusions. "Everyone" can't achieve the lifestyle of the upper classes by achieving the education of the upper classes, because the lifestyle and education of the upper classes is defined by and supported by a command relationship to the lower classes.

"That's why the U.S. should make college tuition free like in [other country]!"

Look, I agree, but that's only addressing one of the many problems here. Tuition isn't the only cost of college (in a capitalist system where time is money, the time commitment alone is expensive), and even if those costs were addressed (e.g. with a student stipend), "Everyone should have access to a useless degree" doesn't make the degrees any less useless, and doesn't address the central question: If not for a specific credential for a specific job/role/position, why does voluntary learning need to involve a degree program?

"But what if I want to get a degree as a personal challenge to myself to prove that I can?"

I mean, look, you do you, but I'll point out that I also do this, and I don't think it's a good thing. I've spent months agonizing over assignments -- not for a grade, but because I wanted my teacher to think I was Smart. And that is a hell of a thing to still be internalizing as a whole-ass middle-aged adult who's written many critiques of behaviorism. I think that impulse in me is a product of assessment-reward-punishment indoctrination, and I need to kill the teacher inside my head. I'm not saying that's true for you. But I'm also talking about how we talk about education as a social and public policy issue, which isn't necessarily about any given individual's personal goals.

"But if people only study what they want to study, they won't encounter new things that they don't know will enrich their lives! Degree programs require students to diversify and broaden their horizons!"

Do they? Sure, this happens sometimes (although, again, I think this is really the role of K-12 schooling), but I think the reverse happens even more often: The grading structure of degree programs actively penalizes students for "broadening their horizons" beyond the degree requirements. If you're taking a class for a degree program, but the class itself isn't required for the degree, you have a strong incentive not to take anything challenging that might bring down your GPA. I've dropped classes for that reason, which was an entirely rational choice on my part. If I'd been "learning for its own sake" and "broadening my horizons" outside the context of a graded degree program, I'd be much more likely to stick with a skill I'm mediocre at, and possibly progress at least from low-mediocre to passable. People are more willing to try things they're not good at if there aren't tangible material consequences for "failure."

"Okay but why are you writing such a long post about it? Yeah, we can all tell you've spent too long in school, because you won't shut up."

Because academic credentialism and the conflation of learning and "degree programs" is classist and ableist in both intent and effect. And the more Trump&Co. attack universities and professors and students and experts, the more progressives cling to academic credentialism out of reflexive contrarianism, and start screaming about how "anti-intellectualism" is a real problem we need to be worried about, and gifted kids are marginalized for being too smart, and it can be cool and progressive to insist that everybody but you is just intrinsically stupid, because you're pushing back against "anti-intellectualism"!

Because the cultural movement I hate most -- reclassifying young adults as children -- relies heavily on this framework of postsecondary degree programs as a Developmental Stage for Children in 13th-16th grade, and if you argue that students should actually have some autonomy in their voluntary educations that, not for nothing, they're paying for, people will scream that you're an anti-intellectual who hates learning for its own sake.

Because debates about things like the ethics of students cheating or using genAI or whatever to skip out on schoolwork get mired in endless circular arguments about what the purpose of grades and degrees even is supposed to be, between "Cheating and ChatGPTing your assignments is bad because you won't actually know how to do the skills you're theoretically being certified to do" vs. "A college degree is just a bullshit pointless hoop to jump through to get a bullshit pointless job, so who cares if you're 'really learning'?" vs. "But you're supposed to be learning for its own sake, not just trying to get a grade and a degree! This anti-intellectualism is why Trump won!" and it's all an incredibly pointless argument if there's no consensus on what the purpose of a degree program is or should be, or if people are insisting on conflating degree requirements with "learning for its own sake."

[hyperlexichypatia]

I'm currently studying a business-adjacent degree and most of the material is some variation of "How to manipulate people." There's a lot wrong with how business is taught and practiced.

But I want to point out that OP is also wrong about "electives." A class you're required to take is, by definition, not an elective. A class you're required to take, that isn't part of your major, is a gen ed requirement. And yes, those are also bullshit.

"But there are some things everyone needs to know regardless of their major! STEM grads who never learned humanities are how we get the Torment Nexus!"

Yes, there are some things everyone needs to know regardless of their specialization -- and those things should be taught in K-12 schooling. You know, the schooling that's explicitly for everyone.

Gen ed requirements in college aren't based on an idea of what "everyone" needs to know, because they didn't originate in a time and cultural context in which "everyone" went to college. They're based on an idea of what everyone in the upper classes should know within upper-class society.

So yes, business degrees are bullshit, but postsecondary education should be for specialization (even if it's specialization in a bullshit field that shouldn't exist). General education that everyone should know should be taught in K-12, where everyone can study it.

[rebuiltzine]

Bridging Divides, Building Citizens: The Fremont Conservative Institute’s Mission to Unite America

In an age marked by political polarization and ideological echo chambers, one organization is standing tall with a bold and necessary vision: to foster unity—not uniformity—through principled civic education. The Fremont Conservative Institute, Ltd. (FCI) is rewriting the narrative around conservatism in America, not through partisanship or culture war tactics, but through respectful dialogue,…

[bsahely]

FROM CRISIS TO COHERENCE: A Regenerative Reframing of the MAHA Assessment Through the Lenses of Coherence Theory, TATi Grammar, and Life-Value Onto-Axiology | ChatGPT4o

[Download Full Document (PDF)] The Make Our Children Healthy Again (MAHA) Assessment presents a stark and urgent diagnosis: America’s children are the sickest generation in modern history, burdened by rising rates of obesity, diabetes, allergies, neurodevelopmental disorders, and psychosocial distress. Four primary drivers are identified — ultra-processed foods, environmental toxins, digital…

[frnwhcom]

Pioneering Progress: The Educational Legacy of Alice Holloway Young

Alice Holloway Young, an unsung heroine in the annals of education, dedicated her life to transforming educational landscapes for minorities and all students in Rochester, New York, and beyond. Her journey, marked by perseverance and innovation, left an indelible mark on educational policy and practice. Early Life and Career Beginnings Born into an era of limited opportunities for African…

[captaingimpy]

The Myth of Adult Education: Why the Andragogy vs. Pedagogy Divide Fails

One of the most pervasive myths in education today is that adults and children require fundamentally different approaches to learning. This belief has fueled an entire industry dedicated to “andragogy,” a concept coined to define the supposed unique ways adults learn. But is this dichotomy—adult education versus child education—real? I argue it is not. Instead, this divide reflects social…

[hyperlexichypatia]

College should be free for anyone who wants to study anything, for any reason.

A college degree should only be required for certain specialized careers.

College classes that aren't designed as requirements for those certain specific careers shouldn't require grades, credits, or exams, and shouldn't be focused on a degree track.

College students, whether studying for a specific career or just for their own knowledge, should be regarded as adult consumers directing their own education, not as students in "13th grade" with colleges acting in loco parentis.

Any college instructor who refers to "moulding" or "shaping" students, or uses the phrase "their parents entrust us," should be summarily fired.

At the risk of sounding anti-intellectual, I think that college should be free and also not a requirement for employment outside of highly specialized career fields

[townpostin]

Teachers' Association Elects New Leadership in Jamshedpur

JSSTA’s East Singhbhum unit forms new executive body at district convention Key Points: • East Singhbhum JSSTA holds district convention, restructures executive body • MLA Saryu Rai emphasizes importance of quality education at the event • New committee aims to strengthen teachers’ rights and educational reform JAMSHEDPUR – The local teachers’ association has elected new leadership, signaling a…

[hyperlexichypatia]

This is my extremist radical proposal for drastically reforming the U.S. education system: In K-12 schooling, no student should ever spend or be expected to spend more than 8 hours per day in school or doing schoolwork or doing school-adjacent tasks. Students should spend the remaining 16 hours per day doing things that have nothing to do with school, like sleeping, eating, and hanging out.

But -- and this part is key! -- as students progress, the ratio of in-school time to independent-study time should shift.

Early elementary school kids, through about third or fourth grade, should just go to school for 8 hours a day and have no homework. None. No independent reading, no agendas to sign, nothing. They should leave school for the day and not have to think about school again until the next morning. Oh, and their 8 hour school day should include breaks, outside time, lunch, art, music, independent reading, and other non-tested subjects, because childhood is short and learning should be fun.

Beginning around fourth or fifth grade, students should have a slightly shorter school day, of 6 or 7 hours, and some small, manageable homework/independent study tasks. Things like "Read a book and report back on it," "Practice your math tasks and see if you can do them by yourself," "Study our vocabulary words." These tasks should be manageable enough that no student ever has to spend more than 8 hours a day total on schoolwork, but can still give the student an opportunity to practice self-reliance.

(Note: Kids this age [around 10+] should be considered old enough to be home alone for a couple of hours while their parents are busy, like they have been in most societies for most of human history, so this shouldn't be a threat to parents' work schedules. And anyway, it's not like current school schedules line up much with parental work schedules. But also, separately and unrelatedly, adult work schedules should also be drastically reduced.)

By high school, the ratio should shift to about 4-5 in-school hours a day to 3-4 independent-work hours a day. Homework for high schoolers can involve more complex self-directed activities like doing research and writing reports, doing projects, running experiments, etc. This will give them a smoother transition if they go to college, where the general guideline is that every class requires two hours of independent work for every hour of class time. And if they don't go on to college, they can still get practice at independent research that will serve them well in whatever they choose to do with the rest of their lives.

Now... I admit that my extremist radical proposal is not perfect. Namely, this still leaves the problem of parents. Any requirement of homework or independent study time or anything for students to do when they're not legally required to be physically in the school building is going to be dependent on the student having parents/guardians/family who have to at least not actively impede the student's studying. Any educational benefits of independent study have to be weighed against the possibility that some students won't get to do it because their parents monopolize their time with work or other tasks. Ideally, I think if a student was consistently not completing their homework tasks, the teachers wouldn't respond with punishment, but with a concerned conversation with the student about their home environment, and maybe accommodations like staying after school in the library. That's not a perfect solution, but it might be something. Still a massive improvement over the current system.

[nepalniceties]

Reflecting on SEE Results 2080: A Call for Educational Reform

The results of this year’s Secondary Education Examination (SEE) in Nepal have once again ignited a debate about the state of education, student learning capabilities, and the effectiveness of teaching methodologies. With more students failing than passing, stakeholders are raising pertinent questions about the current educational framework and the future trajectory of Nepal’s academic…

[geopolicraticus]

TODAY IN PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY

Wilhelm von Humboldt and the Historian’s Task

It is the 257th anniversary of the birth of Wilhelm von Humboldt (22 June 1767 – 08 April 1835), who was born in Potsdam, then part of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, on this day in 1767.

Wilhelm von Humboldt, like his equally famous younger brother, Alexander von Humboldt, was a man of wide learning who synthesized many forms of scholarship in his works. He was a philosopher, a linguist, and an educational reformer whose influenced rippled over Europe, often indirectly.  

Quora:              https://philosophyofhistory.quora.com/ 

Discord:           https://discord.gg/r3dudQvGxD

Links:               https://jnnielsen.carrd.co/

Newsletter:     http://eepurl.com/dMh0_-/

Text post:        https://geopolicraticus.substack.com/p/wilhelm-von-humboldt-and-the-historians  

Video:               https://youtu.be/7GQWjH8wRDM  

Podcast:           https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/HyiSWSejDKb  

[ncfcatalyst]

House Bill 3: Ron DeSantis' Latest Education Reform

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 3 on March 25, prohibiting children under 14 from joining social media and requiring a platform to obtain parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds. The bill does not name any specific social media platforms, but states that its targets are social media sites that promote “infinite scrolling,” display likes, feature auto-play videos and have…

[firstoccupier]

Scrutiny Surrounds New Executive Order on Education: Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling

In a bold move that has ignited controversy across the educational landscape, President [Name] has issued an Executive Order titled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” aiming to reshape the content taught in America’s classrooms. The order, announced on January 29, 2025, reflects a concerted effort to address growing concerns over educational practices that some argue undermine…

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"All But 50 Students Strike When Principal Fired," Toronto Star. February 15, 1943. Page 3. --- "NO BOSS, NO SCHOOL" SAY 750 OF SCHOOL'S 800 STUDENTS - BRUCE CLARKE, THE PRINCIPAL THEY WANT - THEY MARCHED IN SUB-ZERO WEATHER FOR THREE HOURS ---- 750 PUPILS ON STRIKE AT RUNNYMEDE C.I. AFTER PRINCIPAL FIRED ---- March From School Singing "On Runnymede, Demand Clarke Be Reinstated ---- PARADE IN SUB-ZERO ---- When the bell rang for the opening of classes today about 750 Runnymede collegiate pupils burst into song and marched from the school. They said they will stay out on strike until their principal for 12 years. Bruce W. Clarke, is reinstated. He was dismissed by a five 10 four vote of the York township board of education Saturday.

When teachers arrived at the school they were greeted with cheers and applause or with "boos." Harry Durrant, chairman of the board of education, was greeted in silence. George E. Evans, acting principal, was also grested with silence.

The pupils formed a line and marched out of the school singing "On Runnymede," the school marching song. A few gathered in school corridors to await further developments. They were told to return to their homes until tomorrow.

By an almost unanimous vote before classes this morning, the pupils agreed to strike. They paraded in orderly fashion out of the school in sub-zero weather and marched for three hours, shouting and carrying banners.

They paraded in front of ex-Principal Clarke's home and were told by him to go to their homes, but they continued to march.

Chairman Harry Durrant of York township board of education declared the school closed until tomorrow: He said "it would be useless" for George E. Evans, temporary principal, "to attempt to carry on classes today."

He said the students carried on an orderly demonstration in the school. "They simply gathered in the halls and then marched out carrying banners they had apparently made during the week-end," he said. "We will attempt to get them back tomorrow when they have cooled off somewhat."

Police said the parading students made no trouble other than causing minor traffic delays.

Today the pupils were to begin writing their first set of examinations since the board of education issued a report naming certain changes to be made in the "honor system" of teaching and study at Runnymede.

The placards bore remarks such as "Honor Still Prevails at Runnymede," and "No Boss. No School."

One of the signs said "Up With Clarke, Down With Howard."

[chronicsymptomsyndrome]

Clinical studies be like

1 billion random boys were tested. results show that 0% of girls are autistic* 👍

1 billion autistic males were tested. results show that 0% of autistics are female* 👍

1 billion minors were tested. results show ADHD stops at age 18, often to be replaced by plain laziness* 👍

*certified😎 totally credible source✨ we are pros🤓 with coats🥼

[389]

“Education is meant to teach people how to think, not what to think. If it’s doing the latter, it’s not education—it’s propaganda.” — James Lindsay, commentary on education reform