Feeling “Accepted”

Last night I watched a fun movie, Accepted. For those unfamiliar with it, the premise of the movie is a young man graduating high school gets rejected by every college he applies to and his parents don’t take it well. In desperation he cleverly creates a fake college with some friends and…well, I don’t want to ruin it. It’s a fun movie and if you’re interested in a light humorous evening of movie watching, it’s a good choice.

Of course, this isn’t a movie review per se. It was certain aspects of the movie I found particularly relevant to the focus of this blog – self education. Two themes that emerged during the movie immediately resonated with me.

• Most of the current college and university education approach is founded upon a worship of standardization and a one-size-fits-all mentality.
• Anyone with a passionate desire to learn can do so and traditional schooling need not be the means by which they do that.

I take great care not to disrespect all higher educational institutions because that would be foolish. There are some wonderful places, some wonderful teachers, and many students for whom the college experience is a good option. One of my guiding life principles is diversity – honoring the uniqueness of everyone – that when applied to education must naturally lead to a belief that there are as many ways to properly educate people as there are people.

Higher education is at a crisis point though. Tuition is increasing at alarming rates while at the same time educational institutions are struggling with funding issues. The rigidity of the traditional education methods can’t keep up with a body of knowledge and skills that grows exponentially each year and will continue to do so with increasing speed. An educational system that was founded to foster the growth of the industrial age has yet to adequately give way to the realities of the information age.

Self education, informal learning or whatever you want to call it must be part of the present and future education solution. I do not believe our schools, by their very nature, can themselves satisfy all of the education needs of individuals and society.

It’s important for people to stop entering into college and university programs simply because it’s what we do to feel accepted and normal. Education is what’s important, not how we attain it. Learning that improves us and our lives is what’s important, not a piece of paper certifying such learning. Knowledge and information that contributes to the betterment of individuals and society is worthy of pursuit, not an academic résumé for its own sake.

Tagged as: standardized schooling, unschooling