Tag Archives: Education

Full Employment to Graduates from this Trade School

Posted on 14 November, 2019 by alfin2101

“With its old-timey rituals, rigorous scheduling, and immersive culture, Williamson has a military-school feel.” But according to the students she interviewed, the prospect of a good-paying career makes the strict rules more than worth it. __ Source “Full Employment” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Competence, Education | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Dirty Little Secret Revealed by US SAT Scores

Posted on 12 July, 2019 by alfin2101

Some Groups are Over-Represented in Higher Education Identity politics is making a mockery out of higher education. Many are admitted to elite colleges who cannot be taught, and others who should be admitted are being discriminated against because of their … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, University | Tagged | 2 Comments

Higher Education Cannot Go On Like This

Posted on 14 December, 2018 by alfin2101

Higher education needs to change, and falling enrollments are beginning to make that clearer to key players in the collegiate milieu. __ Richard Vedder Colleges are being forced into closure at increasingly rapid rates. The reasons are many, and vary … Continue reading →

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Income for High School Dropouts vs. Various College Degrees

Posted on 12 September, 2018 by alfin2101

Income and Unemployment by College Degree The table above compares the top 5 US college degrees with the bottom 5. For a closer look at the analysis done by BankRate to reach their conclusions, see here. … actuarial science was … Continue reading →

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On Putting the Freeloaders Back to Work

Posted on 11 April, 2018 by alfin2101

In case you still believe that Donald Trump is not accomplishing important work behind the Twitter smokescreen, consider the issue of “welfare reform,” otherwise known as putting the freeloaders back to work. According to government statistics, there are about 6.9 … Continue reading →

Posted in Donald Trump, Economics | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Forest Schools and The Dangerous Child

Posted on 4 March, 2018 by alfin2101

The following article is cross-posted in adapted form. It was originally published on The Dangerous Child blog. Liberating children from the tyranny of classroom indoctrination and institutional groupthink should begin early. The “forest school movement” and the “forest kindergarten movement” … Continue reading →

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What’s College Good For?

Posted on 12 December, 2017 by alfin2101

Barely more than half of all college students graduate within 6 years with a bachelor’s degree. Most of the rest never graduate. Imagine going to school for 6 + years and never graduating. Imagine the debt you can build up, … Continue reading →

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A Mind Forever Young

Posted on 30 October, 2017 by alfin2101

Maintaining A Youthful Outlook Two striking features of healthy children are a curious inquisitiveness and a sense of playfulness. Young kids are always asking questions. Ordinary preschool children ask about 100 questions per day. But then something tragic often happens … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood Development, Competence, Creativity | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Arthur Robinson PhD: A Competent Man

Posted on 24 July, 2017 by alfin2101

A Portrait of Competence Art Robinson received a BS in Chemistry from Cal Tech — where he was a student of Linus Pauling — and a PhD in Chemistry from UCSD, where he taught chemistry for a few years before … Continue reading →

Posted in Competence, Education, Optimism | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Teacher’s Job is to Prevent Students from Learning

Posted on 13 July, 2017 by alfin2101

Schools today are based on the underlying assumption that students should learn answers. This commonsensical assumption is wrong. Students should instead learn how to ask questions and pursue their own answers. __ Roger Schank Children begin learning while in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood Development, Competence, Education | Tagged | 1 Comment

How Reality is Like a Circle, and Not Politically Correct

Posted on 24 June, 2017 by alfin2101

Reality as it is incorporated into the brain is neither tame nor sequential. It is cyclical and wild. The sooner we learn to equip our young to deal with the evolving world as it is — rather than an idealised … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood Development, Education | Tagged | 6 Comments

BASIS Charter Schools Outperform: A Standout Educational Alternative

Posted on 23 March, 2017 by alfin2101

BASIS.ed students consistently rank among the top in the world in critical thinking and problem solving in math, reading, and science. A BASIS.ed education is a blend of the rigorous standards seen around the world plus the ingenuity and creativity … Continue reading →

Posted in Dangerous Child, Education, High School | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Alternative Approach to High School: The University Model

Posted on 21 March, 2017 by alfin2101

Note: Most of this posting is based on an earlier blog posting by Bruce Hall High Schools Too Often Are Used as Daycare Facilities for Overgrown Children The educational system in the US is geared to produce lifelong adolescents, possessing … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, High School, University | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A Competent Society from the Ground Up

Posted on 4 February, 2017 by alfin2101

US Government Schools Designed to Destroy Young Minds A monstrous zombie bureaucracy in Washington DC controls the government school system, and strongly influences education throughout the US.  Over the decades, the zombies have destroyed young minds by the millions.  But … Continue reading →

Posted in Competence, Dangerous Child, Donald Trump, Draining the Swamp, Education, Government, Groupthink, High School, Zombies | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Advanced Brain Training Helps Make Dangerous Children a Potent Force

Posted on 6 January, 2017 by alfin2101

The following article is adapted from recent postings on The Dangerous Child On “Videogames” That Help Dangerous Children become more Dangerous Adam Gazzaley’s (MD, PhD) talk on optimising the human mind using advanced tools of cognitive neuroscience begins at about … Continue reading →

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Universities Overproducing PhDs

Posted on 20 June, 2016 by alfin2101

Median Salaries and Employability of PhDs Falling A PhD isn’t what it used to be. Almost 40% of new recipients of PhDs are left with only stopgap jobs or job prospects. Taxi drivers and bartenders, for example, are becoming much … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, University | Tagged , | 2 Comments

A Thoroughly Corrupt System of Rent-Seeking and Academic Lobotomy, with Some Alternatives

Posted on 3 June, 2016 by alfin2101

… the cost of university per student has risen by almost five times the rate of inflation since 1983, and graduate salaries have been flat for much of the past decade. Student debt has grown so large that it stops … Continue reading →

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Learning to Transcend Failure is a Necessary Part of Growing Up

Posted on 29 April, 2016 by alfin2101

The following article is adapted from a posting published earlier on The Dangerous Child blog How Can Children Master Financial Skills by Age 18? Humans learn best by trying — by going out on the limb for something. Early tries … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Competence, Dangerous Child, Everything You Think You Know Just Ain't So, Groupthink, Philosophy, University | Tagged , | 2 Comments

What is the Best Return on Investment from US Colleges and Universities?

Posted on 28 April, 2016 by alfin2101

In the past, college was a ticket to a brighter future. Now, it’s a ticket to immense debt and an uncertain financial future for far too many students. Student loan debt in the U.S. has now topped $1 trillion. According … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Childhood Development, Dangerous Child, Dangerous Child FAQs, Education | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Universities are Doomed, College is Revolting

Posted on 16 March, 2015 by alfin2101

… most schools just don’t do a very good job anymore. They are four year summer camps for kids who got trophies for showing up. Now, they get degrees for showing up. Gone are most course requirements and core curricula, … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Education, University | Tagged , | 15 Comments

A Coming Disruption in Education

Posted on 27 July, 2014 by alfin2101

From “The Futurist” blog comes a provocative essay on the future of education entitled “The Education Disruption: 2015“. (via Xenosystems) It is worth reading the entire essay, although I have excerpted some of the parts that I feel especially important. … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Education | Tagged | 1 Comment

Higher Education Unplugged

Posted on 10 January, 2014 by alfin2101

Where is higher education heading? A credential, like any common currency, is valued only because of the collective agreement to assign it value. The value of a college degree has been in question since the Great Recession, but there have … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Competence, Education | Tagged | 2 Comments

Buying Credentials: A Poor Substitute for Education

Posted on 27 November, 2013 by alfin2101

Despite $1 trillion in college loan debt, there is no sign that US college students are being well educated. They study less, lack quantitative reasoning skills, are poor at critical thinking, and attempt to balance binge drinking and laying about … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Education | Tagged | 3 Comments

Don’t Raise Your Children to be Wage Slaves

Posted on 10 September, 2013 by alfin2101

There are a number of disadvantages to working at a job, that is, working for a company or for someone else. Job security is never perfect, and in the days of Obama, uncertainty is an unwelcome guest in a growing … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Dangerous Child, Survival Prepping | Tagged , | 2 Comments