A Theoretical “Case Against Education”
24th May 2024
Education isn’t just about facts. But it’s partly about facts. Facts are easy to measure, and they’re a useful signpost for deeper understanding. If someone has never heard of Chaucer, Dickens, Melville, Twain, or Joyce, they probably haven’t learned to appreciate great literature. If someone can’t identify Washington, Lincoln, or either Roosevelt, they probably don’t understand the ebb and flow of American history. So what facts does the average American know?
In a 1999 poll, only 66% of Americans age 18-29 knew that the US won independence from Britain (as opposed to some other country). About 47% of Americans can name all three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial). 37% know the closest planet to the sun (Mercury). 58% know which gas causes most global warming (carbon dioxide). 44% know Auschwitz was the site of a concentration camp. Fewer than 50% (ie worse than chance) can correctly answer a true-false question about whether electrons are bigger than atoms.
Far too many people fail to make the necessary distinction between education and training. The reason that college educations aren’t doing what people want them to is that the academic tradition is all about education, which does indeed make you a better person but is less successful in procuring gainful employment, and what most people going to college these days want is training (of which STEM is the poster child) that will get them a well-paying job.
The greatest illustration of this distinction is the famous Dr. Watson’s evaluation of Sherlock Holmes in the original Conan Doyle story A Study in Scarlet, which I urge you to read because it’s well worth reading.