Two Types of Knowledge
There are two types of knowledge. There is theoretical knowledge and there is practical knowledge. Theoretical knowledge is reading something such as notes and having to learn it. Practical knowledge is what you learn from your experiences such as your “street smarts”. Dale Stephens who is a 19-year-old entrepreneur believes that college is a waste of time. He believes that the first two years of college are nonsense and you only learn theoretical knowledge, which you don’t need to know for your job in the long run. He believes practical knowledge is what you really need and that is what will get you far in life. I believe that Dale Stephens is correct. However many people believe that Dale Stephens has no idea what he is talking about and he is going to corrupt the public. The first two years of college is paying money to learn things that you necessarily do not need to learn and instead you could be making money or increasing your creativity doing something else.
The general argument made by Dale Stephens is that college could potentially be a waste time and put you farther into debt than you already were. More specifically Dale Stephens argues that there is a gap in between theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge. He wrote, “I don’t feel that I’ve learned things that I couldn’t have learned on my own”. “I’m not going to recommend if you want to become a doctor to skip out on medical school,” he said. But for many jobs (he named law among them), students who pass necessary certifications should be able to practice without a formal college degree”. In this passage Dale Stephens is saying how college is just teaching him things that he could of done by him self. However instead of him teaching himself these things, he’s paying a lot of money to go to college, which will later put him in debt in life. He’s also saying how people should be able to practice their majors without a formal degree. A formal degree just means that the person has gone to college and paid a lot of money. But what if someone can’t afford college. He doesn’t think it’s worth going to college if your going to be in debt later in life, which is how, most people are. Most people get jobs that aren’t even able to pay back their debt and some people cant even find jobs. College can really kill some people economically.
Dale Stephens also stated “It’s true that degrees open doors currently”. Stephens is saying how right now in present time degrees are the way to go but however in the future he doesn’t believe you are going to need degrees to be successful. He believes that creativity and street smarts are the way to go in life. Why waste money on college when you don’t even need the first two years of college? That’s one of the main points that Stephens is trying to get across. Dale is trying to change the future of the world by showing the real point of education. He is trying to change how people view college and what it does for them. Many people think that they just need to go to college because you cant get a job without college. Stephens is trying to show how that is a false statement.
In my view Dale Stephens is right for many reasons. The first two years of college is where you take courses that don’t really matter and most kids are just fooling around in college. Parents are paying tens of thousands of dollars for their kids to party and not even focus on their schoolwork. Instead of the first two years of college, kids can expand on their creativity and find out what they like to do and even earn money in the workforce. Than once a young individual knows what he wants to do he should than enlist in college. Most students just sit in the classroom and think them to themselves why am I learning this and that this class is such a waste of time. Well instead of parents paying for their kids to not even pay attention, the kid could be at home working a job and earning money. For example, say Ben went to a very expensive out of state college that was 45,000 dollars a year. Ben is undecided and has no clue what he wants to do with his life so his first two years he just takes a bunch of general education courses that have nothing to do with his future. As Ben sits in class not focusing and falling asleep he asks him self why am I even taking these? They are such a waste of time. Ben has no choice but to take these classes because that’s what he needs to do to get his degree. Many majors require the students to get a certain amount of credits, which is why many most students have to go to their first two years of college. Ben’s parents are wasting 90,000 in those two years paying for these classes that don’t even matter. It’s basically a waste of money and time. In those two years, instead of spending 90,000 dollars, Ben could have been working a job and made around 50,000 in those two years.
Although I agree with Dale Stephens and his belief in creativity, there are a few points that I agree with the opposite. If Ben would of found something he liked it than his whole life could have been changed. If Ben was taking the class psychology and decided that he really enjoyed it that could decide his future. He could take more and more classes that have to do with psychology and than he can major in that. This process of picking something you like can be defined as creativity. Dale Stephens said that college kills creativity. However trying different courses and seeing what you like is you being creative. The first two years of college can sometimes help people find what they want to do in the future which basically contradicts Dale Stephens ideas. An example of this would be say Ben attended college and was an undecided major. In his first year he took a few general education courses and found a class that he really enjoyed. He loved psychology and really wanted to pursue it in the future. Psychology ended up becoming Bens major and after he finished college he became a psychologist. Ben was making 150 grand a year for the rest of his career and lived a very comfortable lifestyle. If Ben never went to college he might not of found this path and may of done something that did not get him as far. Yes, Ben had to pay money to go to college but he was probably able to pay it back in just a few years. With the help from his parents Ben was probably able to pay for college, which ended up helping him in the long run. The big question is though is it worth it to go for this risk and possibly be in debt for the rest of your life.
Although many people try to contradict Stephens’s ideas, he stays true to his ideas. He fights for what he thinks is right and try’s to convince the public to agree with his ideas. Although some people believe college is necessary, I believe that more people don’t think it is. More people in the world don’t attend college than attend college because many people cannot afford it. The main people don’t go to college is because they cannot afford it. Because people cannot afford it this can however increase their creativity. By staying home and working and finding your inner self can benefit you more in the future than if you had went to college.
Dale Stephens believes that college is killing the creativity of the public and I mostly agree with him. I believe that the first two years of college might not be necessary because it is a waste of money and that it usually when kids fool around. Parents are paying thousands of dollars for their kids to take classes that they are not even interested in. Instead these bright young individuals could be pursuing something that they are actually interested in. For example if Ben wants to open his business and wanted to become a young entrepreneur going to college could potentially stop that. If Ben wanted to make is own business at home but his parents sent him to college he wouldn’t of been able to do it. College can really kill an individual’s sense of creativity and lead them on the wrong path of their life.
However another point that can be said against Dale Stephens ideas are the last two years of college. Many people believe that college is what transforms people into the intelligent adults that they are. Many points are argued against Dale Stephens, which are listed below. The last two years of college are very important because they decide your future. In the last two years of college you basically become a man/women, you grow into a responsible adult, and you get track of a career path. Without college yes you would have a lot of money in your pocket at that time, but later in life you would not be making a lot. College is what makes you able to get a degree, which gets you a job, which makes you money. There are only so few jobs when you don’t attend college or get a degree. Many people also do not believe that they can get out of debt of their college expenses. If you go to college and work hard and get a good job you will easily be able to pay backs your debts and make a lot of money!
I believe that Dale Stephens is correct with his statements. There is no point in wasting precious money on things that you do not entirely need. Why pay for money when you can make money? Many people look at this question over and over again thinking of the right decision before they decide to pay for a university. The big question is will the job I get after college is able to financially support me and my family and pay back my debts. If you think your going to be able to do that, than go for it but many people including Dale Stephens think it is a waste of time. College is a very big decision in a person’s life. Some people want to attend it and hopefully get a job in the future that will get them out of their debt and others would rather work instead. Spending money on college is most likely a mistake if you cannot afford it.
