The most expensive way to learn

Education is far more affordable than most people realize. The reason people think that education is expensive isn't because of the education itself. This is actually due to the costs of excessive educational constraints.

There is nothing that can be learned in school that can't be learned elsewhere. I would say that most people would actually learn better outside an environment that tightly restricts what, where, when, why, and how they are allowed to learn. Unfortunately, it's not education that leads to opportunities in this country. It's the piece of paper that comes from schools.

There has been a push in recent years for "free" college. We already have "free" high schools, but that hasn't been very effective. As more people graduate high school, the value of a diploma has plummeted. Jobs that used to be available for high school graduates now require college degrees. I have yet to encounter even an attempt to explain why treating college the same way as high school will produce the opposite results. More than likely, this would increase the investment to acquire the most desirable jobs, putting these jobs even further out of the reach of those we are claiming to help.

Of course, "free" college is far from free. Attempts to subsidize the process would push more people into feeling obligated to attend. If the same services are provided for more people, we will end up paying even more than we are now.

The solution to our nation's educational crisis is not to increase our spending on educational constraints. Instead, we should be more supportive of learning that occurs elsewhere. This would be nowhere near as expensive, and it could provide hope for those who can't win in a credentialist arms race. Simply put, we can save a fortune by embracing a more equitable approach to education.