Hacking your own education
October 20, 2012
Dale J. Stephens‘ Hacking Your Education: Ditch the Lectures, Save Tens of Thousands, and Learn More Than Your Peers Ever Will is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com.
In Hacking Your Education, Stephens speaks to a new culture of “hackademics” who think college diplomas are antiquated.
Hackademics abandon society’s linear path to success and bend institutions to fit their own reality. Stephens shows how he and dozens of others have hacked their education, and how you can too.
Stephens — who leads UnCollege.org and is a Thiel Fellow — also notes that the 2013 Thiel Fellowship applications are now open. This is a program recognizing the top 24 entrepreneurs around the world under the age of 20.
Unschooling
Stephens left school at age 12 to become an unschooler. He has appeared at TED 2012 and in news outlets including CNN, ABC, NPR, The New York Times, Washington Post, Fast Company, and Forbes.
If you want to be unremarkably average, go to college, turn in your homework, and graduate summa cum laude. You’ll have a college degree to your name, but you won’t be any closer to changing the world.
The path to wild success does not involve jumping through hoops. If you want to succeed you cannot be a lemming. We all have something that makes us different in one way or another — and society has trained us to be ashamed of our unconventional quirks.
By using your unique qualities to your advantage, you can turn the conformist paradigm on its head and speed along the path to success. Ultimately the only authority you need is your own, and by defining success for yourself you’ll make happiness readily achievable. — Dale J. Stephens
Comments (79)
by biograaf
Education starts at birth and is meant to shape humans into brainwashed followers of the System. That’s the main issue because you don’t have to attend school to learn a profession.
by Tony Stender
Since we are discussing learning here I feel a need to post my 2 cents.
Learning is based on remembered multi-sensory experiences and the use and understanding of language and it’s use.
We accumulate experiences, which we model into conclusions and understandings, which become our total life’s contexts. These are held in the form of beliefs.
Those beliefs which allow for expansion of our contexts serve us by encouraging more learnings. Those which restrict our expansion of new contexts and better conclusions serve us poorly.
Many of the restrictive ones are emotionally based, and were established very early in life and so are difficult to correct or modify. They still direct our behavior, but are stored so far back in our memory as to be inaccessible. However they still dictate our behavior.
Often they create conflicts for us, as they clash with our rational thought processes. Such as when we create new goals, and proceed to reach them in our daily lives. When we hit these emotional walls we have built unconsciously for ourselves we are forced to stop and discover how we are in conflicts internally so that we can re-decide those errors and then continue on our way toward our goals.
There is no consideration in our educational system for approaching and solving these primitive blocks which are self inflicted, but solvable. Since it is such a simple concept, but not well understood, it may be that learning to solve such basic and common experiences could raise the IQ measures beyond that which we currently observe and perhaps increase our ability to discuss this kind of problem even more eloquently, functionally and concisely. Perhaps even to some conclusions.
Language can be very confusing, as it is passed from thinker to listener and integrated into our total contexts so we can respond. Multi-sensory processes reduced and translated into serial signals and back again into multi-sensory forms for integration and evaluation and finally inclusion or not.
It is an amazing thing to observe how complex the process is, and the abundance of various insights, which are possible from a single posting.
Since I am not in control of the meanings which can be made from my postings, I wonder how it will be understood here. Will it add to the understandings or be viewed as totally or partially incomprehensible.
In either case I value these forums and the dialog they generate. In fact the forums are often more informative than the postings they discuss.
The moderators voice is a refreshing concept for sure.
by Richard Hull
Mr Stender: Your post would be more persuasive if the reader didn’t discover in the first and last paragraphs that you don’t know when to use an apostrophe and when not.
by Daniel Griffin
Mr. Hull: To judge or criticize the intelligence or persuasiveness of ones post on the basis of punctuation rather than content is both childish and ineffective.
by Editor
Must be an editor :)
by Boristabby
Dear Ms Sassy.
As usual, Bri nails it.
Try to remember, half of us are below the IQ average.
by Editor
>half of us are below the IQ average
Yes, another good reason to bypass conventional education, which aims at the average and disadvantages the extremes and the poor, and to push for free universal online education for all levels.
by Bri
There was an article in Psychology Today, many years ago. It was on children that overcame very adverse circumstances. They stated the main reason as being, the childrens ability to seek out mentors or role models. In my opinion, we have a boot up program. It usually makes us emulate our parents. Particularly at first. Later we often choose heroes or other role models. The best ones are actual people in our day to day lives. These people can give us the mental software to achieve our goals. This often happens with those very effective teachers, that occasionally happen in the school system. The big problem today is that the role models kids choose tend to be rather shallow. Often times they are sports figures or celebrities. Many parents lament Lady Gaga as a role model. During my childhood there were ones of this nature too, but I was more taken by the heavy weights of history. To some extent my parents are responsiblefor this. Mainly indirectly. They incouraged me to be analytical. To think for my self, so chose in relation to that. I think a robot witha Watson type program would be unbelievably good for this. If I were a child again and I had one like that, I would ask it about everything. That’s the future of education in my eyes. It would have to have an instructor program in it. One that would evaluate what you ask, and lead you to greater truth and understanding, based on the sum of human knowledge and some key social issues, to help us integrate.
by Mr.X
We’d need free internet too.
by Editor
Yes, thanks for reminder. “Free” education that is inaccessible isn’t “free.”
by Mr.X
From the point of logic, my remark was superflous.But I have seen politicians twist words in ways that defy logic since… like forever.
by Mr.X
Ps: Bri for FORMOM (2.0)! Free obligatory rolemodel&online muppet.First I called it ultimate rolemodel- but this didn’t sell- probably because the abreviation seemed offensive.
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Animation Notes
by HHiram
Meh. The book’s content might apply to undergrads, but graduate students have always used the self-serve, self-directed model for education: learn what you need to learn in order to do what you need to do. The nice thing about an academic environment is that it holds you accountable for your learning, which Khan Academy and youtube videos do not. To get a PhD, you have to be able to perform. But for undergrads? Yeah, I buy the argument that spending $100k on a bachelor’s degree is pretty useless.
by Sno
I for one, felt like all those years of school were mostly wasted.
Sure, i did learn a few things along the way, but to be honest, i learned how to read “by myself”, got an excellent vocabulary/spelling from reading lots of books right after that, and then spent a great deal of time twiddling my thumbs and still getting ok grades. I sucked at english (not my native language), until i got my first computer and started playing a couple video games in english, and from there i was first in my class.
After that, i still had to wait around 5 years until i finally got internet at home, and to this day i still feel like this was the best thing that happened to me. Not only did my english improve radically, but i also was able to find information about anything i wanted, which, to someone naturally curious about the world, was enlightening.
by Mr.X
Well, the one thing I learned at school was manipulating others.
by Editor
QED :)
by Mr.X
Well, for this you’d have to know ;)
by Editor
“When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all.” — Paul Simon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLsDxvAErTU
by Gabriel
Don’t be like that Sno — everything you ever went through made you the person you are at this very very moment; that’s enough of a reason to celebrate it even if it seemed it was just a waste of time back then.
by Sno
Yea i know, what i mean is that, in hindsight, my childhood was incredibly boring and information-poor. It feels wasted because those were also the years of my life where i had the more learning potential, overall curiosity and open-mindedness. Even if i manage to keep an open mind and good learning ability, those are years i won’t get back. I’m not dismissing what i got from my childhood, i’m simply realizing how richer my life is now, in contrast.
by Gabriel
Sno, as you said…you are richer now in contrast – this is normal, this is like evolution, this is everyone….we are all, at any given moment, “our best”….the only reason we are like that right now is because of the foundations laid out in the past….and what is happening at present, will lead to an even better richer you, which you will then look at what you are doing right now (say, writing on this website), and say “you know, in retrospect…It feels like I wasted my time writing on kurzweilai-.net”.
It’s the same thing with people or the world at large….like I said with Bri, everything in retrospect seems stupid, childish, naive, abuse blah blah blah…and it always will, because we are always better ourselves — what’s most important is to always keep doing that…but that doesn’t also mean we can’t remember the past and feel proud of it, even if we are no longer living in it or doing what we used to do.
I guess by that logic, we should always try to do the best we can at any given moment, so in retrospect, we can at least say to ourselves that we did what we though was right at the time…even if, at large, it feels like we wasted our time or whatever.
Anyway, enough of my preaching :p
by Sno
Aha well i guess you have a point. Thanks for your “preaching”, it’s ok, i don’t mind ;)
by Mr.X
It is obvious the people advocating the end of schools have a rather limited view of things.
by Editor
I for one am not advocating the end of schoools. I’m encouraging people to DIY. People have the right to be enslaved if they wish.
by Mr.X
Enslaved.Well, just in case you didn’t notice, you’re not free anyway.I guess you got some bad grades and are angry now ;)
You didn’t chose your upringing, early environment, your reactions to all things influencing you, your genetics etc.If mom and dad can’t spell, but chose to keep you at home to make you one hell of a pius fellow, so be it.
You already have homeschooling, troubled backgrounds need intervention.
Anyway: Read “Good and Real”.It makes a pretty good case for a deterministic universe.
by Editor
Hah hah. Yeah, that’s it, just bad grades, like grades have any meaning. I agree, homeschooling by retards (some parents and some teachers) doesn’t work. So let’s invent an alternative!
by Mr.X
Well, if you’re not self-employed, but young and trying to find work…
I didn’t say they matter, it could have been that ther is sth you wanna get over.
Btw: You want to say there is no correlation between grades and skills?
At least, they can reflect people skills.
by Alan Wicks
A rather limited view. My wife and I homeschooled our 5 kids over a 20 year period. I have a Ph.D. and my wife is an RN. All but the youngest (so far) have their degrees and are doing some pretty creative things. Most of the homeschool families I know, and I have met several hundred, were reasonably bright and their kids, with rare exception, have gone on to do well in society. Please check your facts before expressing your prejudices.
by Editor
Alan, congratulations on homeschooling. I am a big supporter of homeschooling. What facts did I get wrong?
by Mr.X
Oh come on.You did take that personally, didn’t you?Think about uneducated folks homeschooling their kids.In fact, I’m pro homeschooling, as long as the state tests the kids.
by Editor
I agree. I’m against all forms of compulsion, including limiting choice of educational methods.
by Mr.X
So, a three year old kid won’t decide.The parents make the choices.
by Editor
Yes: you’ve summed up the problem nicely: “generational abuse.”
by Mr.X
And your solution?
There are many decisions a parent must make, some without obvious best choices.Where is the freedom? Taking kids away- they may would have chosen otherwise.Leaving them to their parents, the parents decide.
by Mr.X
Well.Now I know who you are.You’re the reeincarnation of Ayn Rand.
by Editor
Yes, and not a moment too soon!
by Mr.X
Well, if you feel offended you may want to take this Einsteins paraphrase (not even a word) to heart:
If a donkey lashes out at you, you wouldn’t be angry.You understand that this creature has little mind, and can’t really insult you.It’s the same way with dumb people.
by Editor
Zehr gut!
by Marcos Marin
@Mr.X
“If a donkey lashes out at you, you wouldn’t be angry.You understand that this creature has little mind”
That’s why I can NEVER be angry. =D
I disagreed with a previous post of yours where you said “Anxiety has its place” — it certainly does not — but waited until you disproved yourself to disclose =) I’m not changing my mind though, Einstein was still an idiot. He should’ve listened to his school teacher!
by Mr.X
I didn’t disprove myself, you just ignore any arguments ;)
by Mr.X
Well, I didn’t lash out on you.You lashed out on me.According to this metaphor. I guess that means your favorite food is “strawman.” And you’re an productive/industrial cook, I must say.
by Marcos Marin
I couldn’t lash out on you just as I could not lash out on my donkey. I still can’t simply leave it to his own devices, poor thing, I will eventually cook him industrially.
by Mr.X
In my “phrase” the donkey lashes out.Maybe you should read more carefully.
by Marcos Marin
Leave my donkey out of this.
by Editor
I have none. Above my pay grade.
by Mr.X
I’m sorry if I offended you?
Just ignore my ignorance.
“It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
by Editor
Not in the least! I enjoy your frankness.
by Mr.X
I guess you meant to say rudeness ;)
I have already made my experiences with this:
Monday
How do you think I look in this t-shirt?
Uh, well, it emphasizes your extra weight.
You guys are really frank.
Yeah.See ya.
Tuesday:
Wow, here you are.I thought you like yx.
Yes?
She was really mad at you, telling you have been rude yesterday…
by Bri
I really don’t want to interrupt and I mean it. I’ve really liked this exchange. It’s more real than just knowledge. It’s more important than just knowing, but you touched onto a subject Amara. I wouldn’t characterize it as generational abuse. It was a great survival strategy for humans for most of our existence. Public schools were supposed to augment that, but in the end they have many short comings. Good mentoring is by far more effective. We are a series of behavior patterns, and a good mentor can instill more effective patterns, in relation to acquiring knowledge. I think this will be replaced by AI, not to indoctrinate but to facilitate, an exploration of what knowledge will be more inkeeping with a particular persons development..
by Gabriel
In retrospect, all sorts of things we had to go through can look like “abuse” — that may not be the real case (or maybe it really is), but simply it was because it was a good idea as you said Bri (i.e. presumably the only/best idea we had at the time)….of course, that doesn’t mean we should never stop looking for better and better things to succeed them.
This evolutionary way of looking at things stems all around…tying yourself to a system from the past, regardless of how long or effective it’s worked, without even attempting to find something better to succeed it is indeed tantamount to self-abuse (this is especially true when said-idea is actually practical or even available), especially when, again, in retrospect, much that we went through can be described as abuse even if we didn’t describe it that way at the time (whether because we didn’t know, didn’t care, there was no other way etc…).
Unfortunately, tradition has a way of doing that on principle, for better or worse…worst of all because people can willfully ignore something better even if it’s something right in their faces. Better to learn from and celebrate the past….not live in it.
by Bri
My father once said something that really underlines the dynamic. Parent look to over come their limitations through their children.
by Tenner
The problem with the idea put forward here is it’s making a recommendation (don’t go to school or college) based on the experiences of an extremely small set of exceptional people. Those folks have made it, and made it big, I applaud them, but just because they have does not mean anyone and everyone can. The vast majority of people who leave school early don’t do very well, going to college is great way for people to get educated and get into professional jobs.
by Mr.X
@ Tenner: I agree.
by Editor
How do you know that? What’s amazing to me is just the opposite: that some people stil manage to succeed despite the massive brain damage from the conventional educational process. Of course, if someone has had the misfortune of having their mind dulled and any personal initiative beaten out of them by passively sitting in classrooms memorizing meaningless, useless information for years, they would need some time (and therapy) to recover their natural intelligence. And they would have trouble understanding or even imagining what it means to be an autodidact. So the real question I have is: are there any cases where conventional education has value? I can’t think of any, aside from access to labs and equipment, which would make more sense to make available on a per-hour fee basis in a shared facility, and access to other learners, which can be achieved for more efficiently via social media or online forums (as proven by 100s of thousands of online learners already), and without the usual damage from the controllers (“teachers”).
by Mr.X
Well.If you have had a background like me, e.g raised by a family of people whose eductation and means are rather modest, you wouldn’t think that everyone can just magically become autodidact.
Your childhood significantly influences your ways.Some people would be worse off if they were to be left alone with their family.
See all the stuff I write?It’s pretty bad, bud without school I couldn’t even write in a way people would understand (which is gradual, I would be even worse).
For example, I know no-one who consciously learns anything himself.
by Editor
Three words: “get over it” :)
by Mr.X
Well, people in charge of policies should take this into account.Not only your little, well-off world.
You don’t know how it is.It is easy to say get over it, maybe someone rapes you and some conversative tells you: Get over it.
by Editor
Wow, “non-sequitor” comes to mind…. :)
by Mr.X
Must be an autoditactical mind.
by Mr.X
Ps: You are against bad school influence, but bad parenting is ok now?
by Mr.X
” I have is: are there any cases where conventional education has value?”
There you had your answer.But I see, this is about ideology.
by Editor
Yes, my ideology is freedom from slavery, mind control, and abusive adults. Yours?
by Mr.X
Didn’t you write that post about crazy politicians?
Or, I guess, your schools in the USA must be really bad^^
Or you have some other agenda.
Well, in case you didn’t notice, I’m for slavery and servedom, war, dead, criminals and unhealthy meals.People should suffer for pleasure.I like puritanism and calvinism.
by Editor
Thanks for sharing.
by Mr.X
You use all those big words that can mean anything.In the end, you said nothing.
by Editor
Yes, you are right. “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Feel better now?
by Mr.X
“It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Feel better now?
Well.What does freedom mean?I’m trying to learn.
by Editor
The only way to learn what freedom means is to experience it. You can do it, Mr. X! Go for it!
by Mr.X
Well, I already experienced some “freedom.” If you’re not a low wage worker you’ll get taxed to death.Literally.Germany isn’t exactly friendly with small business.
by Marcos Marin
@ Mr.X
” I’m for slavery and servedom, war, dead, criminals and unhealthy meals.”
As the highly educated evil mastermind I am, I for one welcome you to our ranks.
I must disagree about the unhealthy meals though, it is one main method to achieve all others! But then again it is probably a matter of taste. Welcome.
by Mr.X
Depending on where you live you should think about giving free beer for all people of voting age.
If you do that often enough, you can destroy them all while becoming more popular, and finally getting access to other wpms!
by Editor
Huh?
by BipedalJoe
…anyway, education will sort of be displaced by augmented reality and the web, when anyone can explore anything at any time, that just changes everything, The Future of Education is Autonomous Exploration http://bit.ly/XjTQZl or education hacking or whatever you´d call it, explore the vast universe of possible memes in real time, cool, see you in the future and the stars, hehe
by Editor
BipedalJoe: Your blog post at http://bit.ly/XjTQZl on “The Future of Education is Autonomous Exploration” is really excellent: “I see the possibilites to once again explore the world of knowledge and culture as the pre-education societies did. Developing technologies are very disruptive, and with the evolving Semantic Web and human-machine interfaces like Augmented Realtiy, the abstract and the physical world merge together, so that it´s once again possible to explore reality autonomously.”
by Dale Stephens
Hi Tenner.
Thanks for your comment. I have a few points to make on this topic:
1. The “vast majority” of people that leave college (50% of students drop out before receiving a degree) are not dropping out in order to pursue MORE education but because they can’t afford the education they are receiving (http://aol.it/OWY2NC and http://bit.ly/OWYprm) Dropping out to pursue a specific educational plan is a very different story.
2. College is increasingly not a guarantee of a job after graduation. 53% of recent grads are unemployed or working jobs that don’t require a degree (http://bit.ly/OWYFXk).
UnCollege is building a support network and set of resources to support these self directed learners and help them succeed outside of the traditional support network provided by college. While it isn’t necessarily right for EVERYONE, you definitely do not have to be the next Bill Gates to succeed as a self directed learner.
by Bri
There are two big virtues to this approach. First, your interest or drive is the motivating factor. Second, you learn at your own pace. If something comes up that slows you down, your drive makes you take the time to master it. With on line education access you can have many mentors, and find great support. Life isn’t regimented. Things come up, that if you are in a traditional education system, you might not get a chance to recoup. I think Ray learned things this way. Your drive makes you want to learn and master a subject.
by Mr.X
@Bri. Well, I strongly suggest learning self-control first.
The ability to generate motivation “strategically” is a valuable asset.
I recommend the V-educational model: Broad knowledge/skill in many things and one strongly developed field of expertise.
Ps: I know my description doesn’t fit exactly, the picture is more complete.A picture is worth 10 words, or so they say (‘._.’).
by ajay
@bri,you just said what i wanna express,its exactly true what you spoke…………:)