Why College Fails Young Men—and the Blueprint They Actually Need
Posted by freedomforall 10 hours, 12 minutes ago to Books
Excerpt:
"Now is the right time for a book like this, because the nature of college has changed radically. It was once an institution that gave young men a chance to perfect their critical thinking skills and expand their knowledge of the world. Now it’s just an expensive extension of adolescence—a halfway house to lounge around, take a few classes, and party, while being indoctrinated with insane ideas from thoroughly corrupt professors. The nature of college has degraded over the last hundred years, and its downhill descent has accelerated in recent years.
I used to say—after I graduated in 1968—that I considered college a misallocation of four years of time and a bunch of money. Even though in those days it was still reasonably worthwhile, fairly exclusive, and relatively cheap. Now, paradoxically, it has little value, most everyone goes, but it’s brutally expensive. As time went on, I increasingly saw it as a waste of time. Now I see college as destructive, an active detriment.
...
We’ve divided the four years of college into 16 quarters, called cycles. Each cycle centers around a practical, real-world experience. For instance, learning to be an emergency medical technician (EMT). The knowledge and practical skills acquired stay with you for the rest of your life, and you can immediately get a job doing that. Maxim parlayed his EMT qualifications into working as a medic for a forest firefighting team, where he was paid $600 per day with no ancillary expenses. That’s a fantastic gig for an 18-year-old kid. Meanwhile, you’ll take related academic courses on biology and anatomy.
By the time you finish the 16 cycles, you’ll know how to fly a plane as a private pilot. You will spend a month in Florida operating heavy equipment—tractors, bulldozers, backhoes, cranes—something that will be valuable for the rest of your life. You’ll go to Canada and spend a month learning to work metal and become a welder. You’ll spend a month learning to build a house. You’ll learn open-ocean sailing. You’ll spend a month learning to survive in the wilderness, and another working with horses and cattle on a ranch. You’ll spend three months in Thailand learning martial arts, because any young man should know how to defend himself and his family. And much more."
"Now is the right time for a book like this, because the nature of college has changed radically. It was once an institution that gave young men a chance to perfect their critical thinking skills and expand their knowledge of the world. Now it’s just an expensive extension of adolescence—a halfway house to lounge around, take a few classes, and party, while being indoctrinated with insane ideas from thoroughly corrupt professors. The nature of college has degraded over the last hundred years, and its downhill descent has accelerated in recent years.
I used to say—after I graduated in 1968—that I considered college a misallocation of four years of time and a bunch of money. Even though in those days it was still reasonably worthwhile, fairly exclusive, and relatively cheap. Now, paradoxically, it has little value, most everyone goes, but it’s brutally expensive. As time went on, I increasingly saw it as a waste of time. Now I see college as destructive, an active detriment.
...
We’ve divided the four years of college into 16 quarters, called cycles. Each cycle centers around a practical, real-world experience. For instance, learning to be an emergency medical technician (EMT). The knowledge and practical skills acquired stay with you for the rest of your life, and you can immediately get a job doing that. Maxim parlayed his EMT qualifications into working as a medic for a forest firefighting team, where he was paid $600 per day with no ancillary expenses. That’s a fantastic gig for an 18-year-old kid. Meanwhile, you’ll take related academic courses on biology and anatomy.
By the time you finish the 16 cycles, you’ll know how to fly a plane as a private pilot. You will spend a month in Florida operating heavy equipment—tractors, bulldozers, backhoes, cranes—something that will be valuable for the rest of your life. You’ll go to Canada and spend a month learning to work metal and become a welder. You’ll spend a month learning to build a house. You’ll learn open-ocean sailing. You’ll spend a month learning to survive in the wilderness, and another working with horses and cattle on a ranch. You’ll spend three months in Thailand learning martial arts, because any young man should know how to defend himself and his family. And much more."
