Education is the human equivalent of a mating dance or brilliant plumage.....

[jodymarie aimee]

Economists Don’t Know Crap About Education

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/02/20/economists-dont-know-crap-about-education

His argument goes something like this: the only value of an education is getting a job after graduation.

Businesses only care about school because they think it signifies whether prospective employees will be good or bad at their jobs. And students don’t care about learning – they only care about appearing to have learned something to lure prospective employers. Once you’re hired, if you don’t have the skills, employers have an incentive to give you on the job training. Getting an education is just about getting a foot in the door. It’s all just a charade.

Therefore, we should cut education funding and put kids to work in high school where they can learn how to do the jobs they’ll need to survive.

No wonder economics is sometimes called “The Dismal Science.” Can you imagine having such a dim view of the world where THAT load of crap makes sense?

We’re all just worker drones and education is the human equivalent of a mating dance or brilliant plumage – but instead of attracting the opposite sex, we’re attracting a new boss.

[exboyfil]

1. I would like to spread the meme

of Caplan's mascot, the preteen Roman slave lead mine worker.

[FarCenter]

2. Interesting idea?

Almost everyone pays lip service to the glories of education, but actions speak louder than words. Ponder this: If a student wants to study at Princeton, he doesn't really need to apply or pay tuition. He can simply show up and start taking classes. As a professor, I assure you that we make near-zero effort to stop unofficial education; indeed, the rare, earnestly curious student touches our hearts. At the end of four years at Princeton, though, the guerrilla student would lack one precious thing: a diploma. The fact that almost no one tries this route — saving hundreds of thousands of dollars along the way — is a strong sign that students understand the value of certification over actual learning.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-caplan-education-credentials-20180211-story.html

Good example of a disconnect: Singer is talking about K-12 education, while Caplan is talking about higher education. It is the value of the latter that is most suspect.

[dawg]

3. It's a waste of neurons for workers to learn or know things ...

that aren't directly useful to their employers.