Earlier this week, we read pieces by Dale J. Stephens, the originator of the "UnCollege" movement. Stephens' movement advocates questioning of the typical education cycle: one attends college in order to learn things that will allow him/her to attain a good job. Stephens is in favor of "break[ing] down the dichotomy between education and life." For this reason, he founded "UnCollege" as a support base for independent learners who wish to make the world into a classroom instead of restricting themselves to learning at a four year collegiate institution. Although this is a very interesting notion, there are certain portions of it which I agree with, and others which I despise; this blog post will shed light on both view points, while making you reconsider your own personal values.
     Throughout his works, Stephens presents many facts as to why one should consider not attending college, and instead opt to learn things through various other means. One of the largest factors Stephens cites is the cost of tuition: 'people graduate with an average of $26,000-plus in debt.' College debt often constricts people for a large portion of their lives. Buying a home, a car, or paying the bills is made significantly harder when factoring in college debts. There are many ways around paying full tuition, such as scholarships, that may make attending college worth it. Otherwise, I agree that a mountain of debt is a legitimate reason to forgo college, however I believe that without attending the options for your life are severely limited. For example, without attending an undergraduate institution it would be extremely difficult to sit for exams such as the MCAT or the LSAT which serve as the portals to hyper-focused graduate institutions where you learn things that are essential to being a doctor or lawyer. Without taking these exams and attending graduate school, it is unnecessarily difficult to become a doctor or a lawyer; these are examples of how life would be constricted without college. Interestingly, undergraduate college classes such as chemistry, and biology which require a fully equipped laboratory, a resource readily available at college institutions. 
     Besides money, Stephens argues that not enough is learned in college to merit going, citing facts from "Academically Adrift" (a book that studies undergraduate education in America): "As many as 45% of students show 'no improvement in critical thinking, complex reasoning or written communication during their first two years in college.'" I find huge fault with this statistic for several reasons. Firstly, I do not believe this statistic takes into account all of the resources available at colleges outside of class such as museums, art fairs, concerts, etc. Attending such events that were organized by my university has allowed me to greatly develop my critical thinking, even within my first two years of college. Secondly, nobody said that the point of college was to become a genius. College may be a place where you learn certain things you may never end up utilizing in life, however from these mundane things you can learn a valuable lesson: endurance. It is unrealistic to devalue college simply because everything you learn may not be directly applicable to life or a career.
     Stephens' movement is largely based on the idea self-education. I believe in self-educating, and I do so everyday while being college student. I do not think anything Stephens advocates necessitates dropping out of college, and I think the notion is extremely dramatic. When you think about people who drop out similarly to Stephens, Steve Jobs, or any other successful dropouts, you must take into consideration that they are not the average person. Steve Jobs was already brilliant, and had stumbled upon a unique niche which allowed for his eventual success. Stephens comes from a very educated family and is extremely intelligent on his own; college was not meant for him, but everyone is not like him. I think that it is very pompous of him to grandstand like college is a failed institution, as if everyone is like him. Although he states several times that his approach is not for everyone, his work is so biased that it is sickening. I also would have liked to see how Stephens views the role of teachers, something he did very little of.
     Despite my dislike of Stephens himself, there are positive things that can be taken from his ideology. Learning everyday is essential and he suggests interesting ways to do so, such as logging on for massive open online courses. However, it is possible to attend MOOCs while in college. Go to class, go home, do homework, drink on weekend; this is not the point of college, unlike Stephens underhandedly asserts. I think that college ultimately tries to teach students how to become self-learners and well-developed people, otherwise universities would not have so many readily available resources on campus. People attend college for many different reasons. When deciding whether to go or not, you must personally assess yourself and your situation. Ways in which you can benefit outside of the classroom must be also be taken into account, so ask yourself what resources are available at your potential/current college. Watch the following video to learn how to take advantage of your college experience.