The book that has caused the most arguments b/w my wife and I is “The Case Against Education” by Bryan Caplan (highly recommend)

I believe our kids should not go to college and have used lines and arguments from this book with her

Notes:

1. The book’s thesis is actually not advocating against college

2. I’ve lost the war but have won a battle or two. My kids will be going to college (99%)

However, here are my 7 takeaways or favorite ideas or passages from The Case Against Education

► 1. The real signals of education

What does someone with education signal?

1. conscientiousness

2. discipline & conformity

3. attention to detail and quality

4. understanding & deference to social expectations

It’s not really about an ability to learn or what they’ve learned.

The book distinguishes b/w the idea that education imparts useful skills (human capital theory) and the signaling model (education signals pre-existing qualities).

He argues that a significant portion of education’s value comes from signaling.

► 2. Employers love these signals

Employers look for workers who conform not in abstract sense but who look, act and talk like modern model workers.

They are:

* team players

* deferential to superiors but not slavish

* congenial to co-workers but put biz first

They don’t say controversial things.

They know and do what is socially acceptable.

► 3. We teach kids useless things

Don’t introduce students to hobbies (art history and philosophy) vs introducing them to careers. Get rid of impractical education like music, language, social studies, etc

Why do we learn poetry and novels instead of technical writing? Music, physics, math proofs, etc are useless for most

The curriculum and job market are not aligned.

A large part of education spending is wasted on courses that have little to no application in the real world or in the job market.

(Note: I discuss the things we will not be teaching in The School of Entrepreneuring here)

► 4. Learning to learn is a myth

The idea that college helps students learn how to learn is false.

College students are bad at reasoning about events in the world despite years of science and math training.

They don’t absorb the scientific method and habitually use it to analyze the world.

College sciences teaches what to think about things on the syllabus and not how to think about the world.

► 5. Credential inflation & useless knowledge

Credential inflation leads to over-education, requiring higher degrees for jobs that previously needed less schooling, thus inflating the importance of formal education credentials.

Broadening educational knowledge is usually shorthand for teaching them irrelevant things.

► 6. Valuable math education > theoretical

We should prefer math that is most valuable in everyday life, economic understanding, and the job market. This would include:

1. Basic arithmetic

2. Statistics and probability

3. Personal finance

4. Algebra

5. Applied math when relevant for a field to solve practical problems

► 7. Shift to vocational and job-specific training

Broad, generalized education is not useful and incredibly wasteful.

Instead, we should shift to education which is:

1. Directly Related to Employment: Education programs that provide specific skills closely aligned with the needs of the job market and employers’ demands.

2. Efficient and Cost-Effective: Programs that offer a good return on investment by efficiently teaching skills that lead to employment without unnecessary coursework.

3. Adaptable and Up-to-Date: Vocational training that can quickly adapt to changes in the job market, ensuring students learn relevant and current skills.

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That’s all.

I highly recommend the book even if you know you disagree with the underlying premise/ideas. It is well-researched and still an easy read.

2 other books which I’d recommend and which I’ve written about are Excellent Sheep (I discussed it here) and The Power of the Adolescent Brain (which I discussed here).