When I was in school, I was the kind of student who would get into trouble for thinking and learning in class. Thinking and learning means you are off topic rather than mindlessly performing low-value busywork. Unfortunately, I was weak. I didn't have it in me to keep fighting when people kept telling me not to learn. I allowed society to bully me out of my educational pursuits.
I can guarantee that there are people who are stronger and more capable than I am. How do we treat them? By slamming doors shut.
We care more about a piece of paper than we do about people. There's a term for this. It's known as credentialism. This is seen in many forms, including opportunities.
There is nothing that can be learned in school that can't be learned elsewhere. Despite this fact, many employers maintain strict requirements in regards to credentials. If you learn outside of the schools, regardless of what you have to offer, they will throw away your application.
The schools have a reputation for expanding opportunity. This is a common and flawed misconception. For many people, some highly capable, our schools are taking away opportunities.
Schooling is highly restrictive by nature. The simple reality is that a vast majority of the population would learn best elsewhere, even if they don't know it. As a result, people are being deprived of opportunity simply for pursuing the educations that are right for them.
Credentialism is inherently flawed and inequitable. People who come from disadvantaged backgrounds will not win in a credentialist arms race. Even if we fully subsidized all levels of schooling, people who are already well off will have an easier time forgoing an income.
Pretty much all of the flaws associated with credentialism can be found in our K-12 system. Although we haven't eliminated the achievement gap, we have definitely narrowed it. During this time, the value of a diploma has plummeted. Many jobs that used to require a diploma now require a college degree. This has definitively harmed economic mobility.
Our K-12 system has been a complete disaster. What's the solution? According to liberals, we need to push the cause of these problems even harder. If we treat college the same way that we treat high school, we are supposed to see the exact opposite results. They have not provided any explanation as to why the same thing will be so different.
Again, credentialism is best for those who are already well off. People who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, who liberals claim to be helping, are disproportionately less likely to acquire credentials. Attempts to strengthen credentialism appear certain to make things even worse for them.
In particular, there has been a push for what Democrats frequently misrepresent as free college. In reality, free college would be even more expensive than the current system. It's better thought of as subsidized college. Some have referred to the concept as tuition-free college, which seems acceptable. Regardless, this concept would do more to strengthen credentialism than to create a more equitable society.
The current push for college subsidies is the College for All Act. That name alone should raise red flags. College is clearly not for everyone. The very name implies that it's wrong to learn outside of a collegiate environment.
As I have already stated, people from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to acquire credentials, even with these proposals. We also have to look at the impact of credential inflation. College degrees would undoubtedly lose value if more people obtained them. Stronger credentials would be required to stand out. As far as I'm aware, no defense of subsidizing college tuition has even taken credential inflation into consideration. This also means that this concept would more like shift opportunities around rather than legitimately increase opportunities.
If people who are well off are disproportionately more likely to learn through academic institutions, certain groups such as minorities are disproportionately more likely to learn elsewhere. Since the College for All Act would strengthen credentialism, it would disproportionately harm the minorities that Democrats claim to be helping.
There are highly capable individuals who are effectively being prohibited from making meaningful contributions to society. Subsidizing college won't fix the problem for these people. Instead, it will result in even less opportunity for millions of Americans.
We should be pushing in the exact opposite direction. More of the same has never worked, and there's no reason to believe that it will work this time. Instead of further restricting opportunity for those who don't acquire a piece of paper, we should ensure that there are multiple pathways to success. We need to start putting people above paper.
Much like attempts to cancel student debt, the College for All Act is immoral. The government should not punish highly capable individuals purely on the basis that they don't let the government control and restrict their educations. This is precisely why nobody who cares about educational rights will support such a horrible piece of legislation.
Update: Since I first wrote this, these same concepts have been included in Joe Biden's American Families Plan. I have changed the title of this post to reflect the more widely used language..
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