Can You Be Successful Without A College Degree?

1. Why go to university?

2. Do your reasons for doing a degree apply to all universities (good/bad/indifferent)? Do your reasons for doing a degree apply to all subjects? 

3. Rate the importance of the following: subject knowledge, develop critical thinking skills, learn workload/time management, networking with like-minded peers

4. True or False?

a) Most employers see having a college/university degree as a basic formality - they have no real interest in your subject knowledge, or what kind of student you were.

b) Most students see going to university as a rite of passage; the student lifestyle (leaving home, parties, making friends) outweighs any negative costs.

c) Tony Blair (former UK PM) said that he wanted 50% of young people to attend university. This should be the benchmark for all countries.

d) Going to university and accruing a large amount of debt with a worthless degree is the real reason why young people can't succeed.

5. What do you think the infographic (see below) will recommend: going to university, or starting a career?

Read infographic here: College Degree Reading

6. What is your reaction? Were you surprised that careers without a degree have seen their salaries tripled, while careers that demand a degree have only doubled? How about the eightfold increase in tuition cost? American student debt hit $1.5 trillion in 2018 - is this sustainable?

7. What is the situation in your country? Does it mirror the situation in the US?

8. Are university enrollments falling/rising/staying the same?

9. In terms of earnings, is there a big gap between those who go to university and those who don't?

10. Has the average family size changed in your country?

11. What do people in your country want more of: vacation time, technology, restaurant dinners, or something else?

12. Is the average home in your country getting bigger/smaller/more expensive?

13. Do you have enough plumbers, electricians, hairdressers, nurses, or do young people no longer want to pursue those careers?

14. Do you know any famous people who didn't go to university?

15. Complete the following sentence (regarding your time at university)

If I had to do it all again,...

...........

Situation

You are the head of the CBI (Confederation of British Industry). You are concerned that labour shortages in the jobs market and a workforce that lacks practical skills is hindering UK growth. You are appearing on a radio show as a guest. Make your case for young people choosing a career over going to university. Your host (your teacher) will ask you questions.

.........

Discuss quotes

"Colleges are places where pebbles are polished and diamonds are dimmed."

- Robert Green Ingersoll

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."

- Mark Twain

"Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain at one end you lose at the other. It's like feeding a dog on his own tail. It won't fatten the dog."

- Mark Twain

Student Handout PDF: College

Remote Learning: PhD Divas

1. What is the purpose of children’s education?

2. Who is mainly responsible for a child’s academic success - the parents or the teachers?

3. How did the pandemic affect the ability to learn for a) yourself b) your family c) your country's education system? Were there any benefits that came from the changes made?

4. Do educators in your country express the desire to 'get back to normal'? What is normal, according to you?

5. Are you happy with the standards that your education system provides? Are they a good indicator of what young people can do? Could/should there be an alternative to sitting exams  and testing students' memories?

6. How do you best learn?

Read the blogpost here from Sugata Mitra (The film 'Slumdog Millionaire' used his work as an inspiration):

PhD Divas Reading

7. What do you think about his views on using the internet as an educator, and assessment rather than exams? Can knowledge available on the internet replace in-class teaching? 

8. Should Google be allowed during examinations? Should students be excused memorising dates/equations/theorems when they can be easily found with a search engine?

9. Can having an internet connection and a mobile device replace going to a bricks-and-mortar school?

10. Which statement do you agree with most?

a) How much students learn depends on how much background knowledge they have; that is why teaching facts is so necessary.

b) Thinking and reasoning processes are more important than specific curriculum content.

11. What do you think of his idea that there is no 'normal' to go back to? Should we favour digital learning more than we are now?

12. Have you ever studied for a PhD? What was it in? Did you defend your thesis at a 'viva voce'? How did you prepare for it? Was it an enjoyable experience?

13. Do you think that PhD-style vivas could be used as a type of assessment for younger students?

Read article here: PhD Divas Reading 2

14. Do you agree with Sugata when he says "We need to measure the three general topics in today's world: comprehension, communication and computing skills"? If you don't, what advice would you give to a young person regarding useful subjects to study?

13. What kind of students would his approach produce, do you think? Do you think that the students would be better for it? Can you think of any drawbacks to his approach? Would favouring 'finding things out' lead to better outcomes for society in general?

..........

Situation

You are part of Sugata's team at NIIT University Rajasthan. You have been invited to a meeting with the UK's secretary of education, (your teacher), who is sceptical but interested in your approach. Convince him of the value of your ideas.

..........

Discuss quotes

"The Indian education system, like the Indian bureaucratic system, is Victorian and still in the 19th century. Our schools are still designed to produce clerks for an empire that does not exist anymore."

--- Sugata Mitra

"Go to a job interview and tell an employer that you can recite the 17 times table; they don't care. Why are we still teaching it?"

--- Sugata Mitra

"He who opens a school door, closes a prison."

--- Victor Hugo

"Men and women must be educated, in a great degree, by the opinions and manners of the society they live in."

--- Mary Wollstonecraft

“Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.”

― Martin Luther King Jr.

Student Handout PDF: PhD Divas

Photo: August de Richelieu