Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Richard Branson. According to this story in Forbes, 73 of the world’s 1,125 billionaires dropped out of school along the way. An op-ed in the Wall Street Journal reports on research that says preschool is counterproductive – keep the kids home with mom and dad longer. Finland, where kids start school at seven, is seen as a model of education. Peter Drucker famously said that the resarch university would not survive the shift to knowledge-based capitalism.
So, do we need less school, or different kinds of school, or what?
August 27th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Preschool is a great tool to socialize kids so they’re ready for kindergarten and beyond. However, there are people who don’t use preschool for what it’s intended and drop their kids off at all-day preschool and use it merely as a fancy babysitting tool. How is keeping kids home with mom and dad longer going to matter if the kids aren’t in the presence of mom and dad anyway?
Assuming any child has gotten enough of what they need by being in a classroom all day (at the age of three or 13 or whatever) is naive. You have to educate your children in and out of the classroom, no matter what age they start school or finish it. I don’t know about the upbringings of Gates and Branson and the like, but it’s not schooling or the lack thereof that made these guys billionaires — they had something else inside of them that made them reach that far and push the limits.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:08 am
73 of 1,125 is 0.6%, which is tiny compared to the drop-out rate. So in spite of the write-up, the Forbes numbers reinforce that on average, you’re better off staying in school than dropping out of it. When asked, Gates always says that you should only drop out if you see a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the world.
That said, I do see the point that traditional education isn’t well suited to schooling Bill Gates or Richard Branson. I’m just not sure there’s a system that would work well for them that wouldn’t fail for an even larger set of students.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Sorry, it’s 6% — but that’s still lower than typical drop-out rates.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:00 am
I think this may be confusing cause and effect. I suspect that Gates et al dropped out because they were thinking beyond what the classroom can offer. I don’t think that dropping out was what caused their “genius” (if I can call it that). For the vast majority of people, education, even in it’s current flawed state, is going to be much more beneficial than dropping out.
Also, while it is certainly a good idea for children to spend time at home with Mom & Dad, that reality (two-parent households that can afford to have one or both of the parents at home with the children) is becoming a luxury that most cannot afford.
August 27th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
For every report that says pre-school is counter productive, there are others suggesting that more early-childhood education programs would be beneficial to most children. If the kids at home are receiving quality care and educational enrichment from their parents, then that would qualify. But, this is not always the case.
Also, there are probably dozens of reasons why Finish students perform well (if that’s what you’re implying) besides the fact that they start school at age 7. There may be fewer single parent families; the quality of education they receive from age 7 onwards may be much better than what’s offered in most countries at any age, etc.
August 27th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
I also think, though I am not sure, that all went to college… Meaning, something may have been triggered while they were on campus. Many of us know, and people’s behavior supports, that great ideas/opportunities appear in and around campuses. The mix of brains, arts, outsiders, diversity (in thought as well as demographics), anarchy, etc. are a ‘Jane Jacobs’ like potpourri.
On the preschool — I saw the article and I came away feeling that like most of these issues related to ed in america — the crucial factor is the parents, not necessarily when/how/where they attend school. (barring obvious examples like DC’s public schools)….
August 27th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Wendy, the WSJ had a much more detailed article on Finnish education (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120425355065601997.html) about six months ago, and you’re right, starting at 7 wasn’t described as a major ingredient in their success.
There was an exhibit here in Toronto on all things Danish a few years ago, including some stuff on Denmark’s early childhood education program. I came away with the impression that it wasn’t so much about the kids, but about giving parents (typically mothers) the option of getting back into the workforce sooner.