The Self Education of You

By Charles Tolleson
May 6, 2011

This is a paragraph from Wikipedia about the book, “The Education of Henry Adams”. - “The Education is much more a record of Adams's introspection than of his deeds. It is an extended meditation on the social, technological, political, and intellectual changes that occurred over Adams's lifetime. Adams concluded that his traditional education failed to help him come to terms with these rapid changes; hence his need for self-education. The organizing thread of the book is how the "proper" schooling and other aspects of his youth, was time wasted; thus his search for self-education through experiences, friendships, and reading.”

We should wonder about the cost of a college education of the 21st century. One can spend 50 to 100 thousand dollars on a four year college degree, a degree that may or may not get you a job. A college degree just does not have the value it had in the past. College tuition costs have outpaced the inflation rate. The inflation rate from 1986 through 2009 was about 100%, a doubling of costs. During that time period college tuition increased a whopping 400%.
This inflation costs can be attributed to the education’s industry monopoly and lobbying power. During that time student loans have increased which creates more customers but fewer suppliers, thus the suppliers can raise their prices.

I suggest it is time for young people to boycott the education cartels and get an education on their own in real time. A young person should get a job and contribute money to their 401k or IRA instead of money that would have gone for college tuition.

There are many jobs that do not require a college degree. Airline pilot, air traffic controller, ship’s captain, restaurant manager, stock broker, realtor, property manager, plumber, barber, and sales are professions that do not require a college degree. Owning your own small business does not require a college degree but it does provide a good education.

Prison guards do not need any college. They can retire at age 55 with 85% of their final year’s salary and free medical insurance. As a California prison guard, you can make six figures in overtime and bonuses alone.

I know a man who dropped out of high school. He had aced an algebra test but got a failing grade because he had not turned in his homework. The government prison schools do not accept individualism. The man who dropped out of high school is now an airline pilot.

“The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.” Albert Einstein

Teaching is one of the oldest professions on earth. From the time of Socrates and Confucius we have honored the pedagogues. Teaching will not go away, but the methods of teaching will change. People will always want to get into the minds of the young people to mold those minds into the ideologies of those who are convinced their lifestyles are the way all humans should live. Even Socrates was charged with polluting the minds of the youths of Athens. Some day all knowledge will be easily accessible from a chip implemented in the brain or from a mobile multi media device so teaching, like other professions, will change and become less of a profession than today. Even the medical profession will change with home diagnostic kits and robotic surgeries.

William Shakespeare left school when he was 14. Here is a list of great people who did not attend or finish college. The 17th president of the United States, Andrew Johnson, worked most of his childhood as a tailor and did not learn to read and write until as an adult, taught by his wife.

If a young person wants the same as a college education they can do it by reading and practicing from online sources. There are free algebra, history and other courses online. A young person should pursue an education on his or her own time. They should keep a log of the time and subjects they study. After a few years of learning they could write a book about their education, citing the logs and subjects they studied, all the time working full time and contributing to their own retirement. Then the young person should go into politics to promote themselves, their book, and to promote the opportunity to get a real education in the most cost effective way, thus diminishing the power of the education cartel and its ability to pick the ideologies to teach to the next generation of State worshipers.

“The institution of the democratic State is a remarkable example of modern idolatry. By ritually celebrating elections that are played out like a great social mass, the State allows us to participate in a religion that will influence the idol in our favour. If we make the idol an offering of the right ballot, it will bring us security, lifetime employment, a guaranteed pension, free medical care, environmental protection and a good school for our children. All these favours will rain down on us. We will not have to do anything to earn them. What could be more magical than that belief?” Christian Michel