Who needs a University when we have Google?

Who needs a University when we have Google?

Ironically, this question is from a book that is required for a class at my.. You guessed it, University. College is where most people go in search of success. We have been told our whole lives that the order of life is K-12 schooling, then college to get a degree. Maybe a Masters if that's what you wish. Because we have been told that this is what is required to get a job, support our families, and be successful. The current educational system with all the standardized testing is built "like a factory", just pumping out students; attempting to make each one the same.

Jeff Jarvis suggests a new educational system, better fit for today's day and age. One of his many ideas is to make education more of a club and less of a class. A system where peers work together and the best students teach subjects. Peer-to-peer education. This would work like a food web of learning. Students all connected in a network, helping and critiquing each other.

Another point he brings to his readers' attention is the fact that schools make students memorize information. One of my favorite quotes by Jeff "Why are we still teaching students to memorize facts when facts are available through search?" Years ago memorization was an important tool. But now with the majority of the population owning smart phones and having any resource they want at their finger tips, a fact is just a couple clicks away. The solution? Fulfill the students' curiosity. Do research, let the students ask questions and find the answers to them.

One thing that I would like to see change in our education system is the need to declare a major. Every student that goes through a 4 year university is generally required to take 2 years of prerequisites, and 2 years or courses that pertain to your major or minor. Why can't students just take whatever courses are interesting to them? Each course would still have credit amounts, and there would still be a required amount of credits to graduate. But instead of taking the required classes, students could take any classes they choose, and get a degree. The degree would just be an "I took enough credits to graduate" certificate. Then when applying to businesses after college, instead of saying "I have a degree in Math" you could just show them the courses you have taken. Students would have a portfolio of classes that reflect their interests and skills.

One thing that I have noticed in my couple years of college is that I don't tend to take classes that won't help with my degree. In fact I don't know one student that does. Because, as we all know, college is ridiculously expensive. I do hope that the cost of college will go down, but even if it didn't, the graduation portfolio of classes would be a way for students to explore their interests and not be "wasting money". For some people it's easy. They know exactly what they want to major in; major in it, and graduate. As for the students like me, they would love to explore programs that many different majors offer. Graduation portfolio would also relieve a lot of the pressure to be set and stone in one major. I could take classes in many different fields, and use that to apply to a vast array of jobs.