1. It takes at least high school education (maybe more?) to engage with Professor Caplan's arguments, check the studies on sheepskin effect, signalling, learning and forgetting, etc. In Professor Caplan's world there would be far fewer with the ability to read his book :)
2. The thing with "vocational training" is it's never something the well educated wish for their own kids. Just for the unwashed masses. Also it's a one way street. You get a kid to drop out of school at 13 or 14 to learn a trade as an apprentice, you are making a committal decision early in life and hard to reverse. That kid is unlikely to learn if she has a natural talent for surgery, say, and that route is closed off. A person with a medical degree can always pick a different vocation later in life.
Studying physics, chemistry accounting economics without math is impossible it s the vey core it maybe boring but also trains students to think abstractly and keep a thought proces going until the aha erlebnis
You nailed it! And what if part of a basic education included useful things like how to manage your finances, how to fill out a tax form, how to read contracts, how to tell if you're being scammed, how to push the reset button on the electrical switch. I'm an old dog but I'm amazed at how many things younger people who know everything don't know about this basic survival stuff. And yes, how to cook, how to run a vacuum cleaner, how to take care of yourself. A bit of critical thinking and problem solving?
LOVED READING THIS AND TOTALLY AGREE - I EXPECT TO SEE A REVOLUTION IN THE EDUCATION SPACE ...I'VE BEEN DREAMING OF BETTER SINCE MY 1970 1ST GRADE CLASS WHEN IT DAWNED ON ME HOW STUPID IT IS TO MAKE EVERYONE LEARN AT THE SAME SPEED - I WANTED MY TALKING COMPUTER HAVING SEEN 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY AND I HAD TO WAIT 55 YEARS TO SEE IT - SO KIDS OF THE FUTURE NOW SHOULD BE DOING USEFUL STUFF AND LEARNING AND GETTING PAID TO LEARN LIKE JOHN DEWEY IMAGINED LIVING AND DOING LIKE LITTLE ADULTS HAVING A SAY IN WHAT THEY LEARN AND DO NOT JUST ANSWER MACHINES - AUTONOMY AND A BIT ANTI-AUTHORITY - MY EDUCATION HAD A BIT OF THIS FLAVOR
Some scattered thoughts:
1. It takes at least high school education (maybe more?) to engage with Professor Caplan's arguments, check the studies on sheepskin effect, signalling, learning and forgetting, etc. In Professor Caplan's world there would be far fewer with the ability to read his book :)
2. The thing with "vocational training" is it's never something the well educated wish for their own kids. Just for the unwashed masses. Also it's a one way street. You get a kid to drop out of school at 13 or 14 to learn a trade as an apprentice, you are making a committal decision early in life and hard to reverse. That kid is unlikely to learn if she has a natural talent for surgery, say, and that route is closed off. A person with a medical degree can always pick a different vocation later in life.
Studying physics, chemistry accounting economics without math is impossible it s the vey core it maybe boring but also trains students to think abstractly and keep a thought proces going until the aha erlebnis
You nailed it! And what if part of a basic education included useful things like how to manage your finances, how to fill out a tax form, how to read contracts, how to tell if you're being scammed, how to push the reset button on the electrical switch. I'm an old dog but I'm amazed at how many things younger people who know everything don't know about this basic survival stuff. And yes, how to cook, how to run a vacuum cleaner, how to take care of yourself. A bit of critical thinking and problem solving?
LOVED READING THIS AND TOTALLY AGREE - I EXPECT TO SEE A REVOLUTION IN THE EDUCATION SPACE ...I'VE BEEN DREAMING OF BETTER SINCE MY 1970 1ST GRADE CLASS WHEN IT DAWNED ON ME HOW STUPID IT IS TO MAKE EVERYONE LEARN AT THE SAME SPEED - I WANTED MY TALKING COMPUTER HAVING SEEN 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY AND I HAD TO WAIT 55 YEARS TO SEE IT - SO KIDS OF THE FUTURE NOW SHOULD BE DOING USEFUL STUFF AND LEARNING AND GETTING PAID TO LEARN LIKE JOHN DEWEY IMAGINED LIVING AND DOING LIKE LITTLE ADULTS HAVING A SAY IN WHAT THEY LEARN AND DO NOT JUST ANSWER MACHINES - AUTONOMY AND A BIT ANTI-AUTHORITY - MY EDUCATION HAD A BIT OF THIS FLAVOR