3 GOOD REASONS FOR NOT GOING TO SCHOOL ... but learn online instead

(1)

July 26, 1764, in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, four Lenape American Indians entered the schoolhouse, shot and killed schoolmaster Enoch Brown, and killed nine children.

Yes, killings in American schools have a long history, though the reasons for the violence vary.  But as a fact of life, violence of this sort has become almost weekly by now, if not daily, occurrences throughout American schools and campuses.   This may sound harsh, but check your newspapers and you’ll find it is the truth.

With modern high tech providing the means and methods, however, school can come to the student now, wherever he/she might be, via online education.  No more exposure to violence of any form.

(2)

It seems like there are more and more politically agitating professors in our colleges, more teachers with political or societal agendas of their own, coloring the teaching material in one way or another, for whatever are their ideological opinions.  Also, in the pursuit of “political correctness,” whatever that may be at the time and place, they may change or bend learning material one way or another.  Plus there are those who, for example, introduce or remove symbols in the work environment, such as say a crucifix in a classroom.  In other words, they try to transmit other thoughts and ideas in the teaching than the subject matter which is to be covered.

Needless to say, switching to online education cuts out all these coloring agents and/or politicizers, because online it’s the student’s choice to learn uncolored or in which color he/she wants to learn.

(3)

BECAUSE online education in almost anything is available practically everywhere, there is no need to use brick-and-mortar schools with a teacher standing in front of a class at all.  As Peter Gray  (Research Professor of Psychology at Boston College) documents in “Free to Learn” (Basic Books, 2013), today’s state of transmitting education via teachers in classrooms is comparable to a prison system, while, what is needed, and proven to work far better, is that learners must be entrusted to steer their own learning and development. Drawing on evidence from anthropology, psychology, and history, Gray demonstrates that free play is the primary means by which already children learn to control their lives, solve problems, get along with peers, and become emotionally resilient.  Quote:  “Unleashing the instinct to play makes our children happier, more self-reliant, and better students for life.”

Nothing could be better for fulfilling this mode of learning than going online.  Actually Gray has an example in the book of where precisely this was done in India, without giving the learners ANY instructions whatsoever, and WOW, how they learned ...

Not to mention the cost savings!

Consult http://www.straube.org

Empowering Education

 In 2013 Kiva U was created  to help empower the educational world. On this website, you can either join or create a team that correlates with your school, university, or club. It can be used to benefit students of all ages  and educators. Once you join the team, you are able to connect with your peers and other lenders through message boards, join with other teams to receive loans, and be able to make a larger impact, as well as give you the tools to spread the word about Kiva U.

Kiva U's goal is to touch the lives of thousands through microlending. Kiva U  collaborates with Citibank to engage students and educators on financial issues. The main idea is to apply the money towards the many costs  associated with an education and help with school loans. Not only is Kiva U good for financial assistance, but through experiential learning, digital collaboration, and the power of human connections, Kiva U will provide a platform for young people to take charge and change lives through microfinance and financial inclusion.

As Kiva U grows it will make a larger impact on the educational world.

Transforming Colleges to Reduce Cost

The National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) is one of today's leaders in reducing  the cost of education. NCAT is a nonprofit organization that works with colleges to redesign course structures and learning environments in the most efficient manner. Therefore, students excel in learning while the college saves substantial amounts of money.

With programs for both 2 year and 4 year colleges, NCAT, led by Dr. Carol A. Twigg, uses its experience and information technology to create the Program in Course Design (PCD). To date, there has been 30 course redesign projects, and of these 30 programs, 25 of them have been  huge successes. Of the 30 schools that offer this program there has been some dramatic changes.

-18 schools had a significant decrease in drop-failure withdrawal rates which ranged between 10% to 20%

-Schools reduced costs between 20% to 77%

-On average, each school reduced costs by 37%

-So far, the colleges have saved approximately $3million dollars

-Overall, there has been an increase in both student and faculty satisfaction

Currently, NCAT has proved to be a leader in the fight to reduce higher education costs, without reducing the quality of education and its enjoyment among students and educators. There are workshops all across the country run by NCAT to spread their  ideas about reducing education costs.