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Should students leave school early?

10/3/2015

6 Comments

 
PictureSir Richard Branson - en.wikipedia.org
That's what Sir Richard Branson has suggested at the Disruptors event in central London. The conference features debates on the future of education with panellists including Professor Brian Cox and Wendy Kopp, founder of Teach for All.

You may think that's crazy and will limit the young person's prospects, but Sir Richard Branson speaks from experience. He dropped out of school and published the youth culture magazine Student at 17.

In later life, he set up Virgin Records before moving into transport, telecommunications and health among many other sectors and whose Virgin Group now boasts more than 100 companies.

He proposes that children should leave school at 16 and go travelling to learn the life skills they need to get on in the world. Learning about things relevant to real life, they would develop knowledge of how retail and business works.

The billionaire entrepreneur said the current system sees youngsters spend too many years at school. He believes university courses could be condensed to implement this.

"I think by the age of 16, for most they should have learnt all the basics that they need to get out into the outside world," he told the Press Association.

"My own feeling is that at age 16, ideally, they should go off and travel for a year, and if they want to go to university they should be able to go to a university course that is not longer than about two years."

He also pointed out that shorter courses would result in lower fees, to stop students being "saddled with tones and tonnes of debt". Source: Press Association.


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Not everybody has the same personal skills as Sir Richard. Let's face it—we can't all be billionaire entrepreneurs. Some of us are meant for gentler pursuits, like being the best mother possible, or acting or … writing.

Take me, for instance. Living in Australia in the late 50s, my family moved from Melbourne to Adelaide when I was sixteen. I enrolled in the local high school, but beforehand, the headmaster required an interview. I turned up beautifully dressed. He confronted me with the question of whether I really wanted to learn. I said no, and bowed out of further education. I don't know if my mother approved, but she and grandmother must have accepted my decision.

The first job I found was working as a junior in a city advertising agency, hired by a very understanding boss. I didn't do much but answer the phone and greet clients and must have been a big disappointment to him because I never showed an interest in learning the business. But back then, employers cared about their staff. He found me a job with his doctor friend as a receptionist.

Back in the late 50s, there were few expectations placed on a girl. She would work before marriage and then retire to raise her family. That's what I did, only taking up paid employment when I left Australia for England.

But most of all, I gained experience during my long life, which has given me plenty of material to draw on when writing novels. At the moment, I've working on my early memoirs. I'll be satisfied if I can give an accurate account of the life of a naive young woman from earlier times.

Of one thing I am sure: each individual is unique.

How do you stand on the controversial subject? Should students gain as much knowledge as possible to prime them for employment? Or do you think they could possibly find their own way in today's society?



6 Comments
Alice Gerard link
10/3/2015 07:50:33 am

What a wonderful story! I too believe that there is too much emphasis on formal education and too little emphasis on real life experience and on travel. If I could do it all over again, I would leave school at sixteen and travel the world, learning foreign languages and experiencing other cultures. Since I finally freed myself of formal education, I have tried to make up for lost time by traveling and learning languages and being open to other people's stories. I've learned gardening and all about nature. I think that the best way to learn is to do what you most want to learn. It is more organic than formal education and, therefore, a better choice.

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Candess link
10/3/2015 11:08:11 am

For many years I have said that I think young people should work before going on to college. When I attended Gonzaga University as an older student (in my early 30s) it was clear that I learned on two tracks. One was what I needed to learn to work in the world and one was what I needed to learn to feed back to my professors for good grades.

I too dropped out of high school but for a different reason. I got my GED and returned to school and now have a doctorate.

Some students need more interactive experiences, some need more of a challenge and some need to be trained for a trade that will support them in their lives. One size does not fit all.

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Amar Naik link
10/3/2015 11:15:03 am

i guess the fundamental debate should be on how to enrich next generation rather then on the time spent by them in school. examples are plenty based on which side of debate we want to take

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Amy Bovaird link
10/3/2015 09:53:16 pm

Francene,
I don't know. I'm torn. I love education, you see. I'm a lifelong learner. I think it depends on the individual. But one think I'm certain on -- your memoir will be really interesting with all your experiences! Keep writing and let your readers know when you're nearing completion!!
Thanks, Amy

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Mike Gardner link
10/5/2015 02:22:05 am

Great post, personally i'm also one of those that left school at 16 and I enjoyed it far too much to get any qualifications, i'm now the proud owner of a masters degree and run a successful business (but not on the same scale as Sir Richard). I have always told and allowed my kids to follow their dreams, My Daufgter was always intent on going to University, she is very academic and is well on her way to achieving her dream of becoming a forensic Antropologist, my son on the other hand, did his A-levels and then went to work for a few years before going travelling, he is now also achieving his dream and is in his final year at drama school, if five years ago you would of asked them where they wanted to be in five years time, I doubt they would have asked for much more thatn they have, it'shorses for courses

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sacha link
10/5/2015 07:19:14 pm

College should be attended for tge love if knowledge and expanding the mind. The reality is that sometimes a degree won't get you the job.

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    Francene Stanley
    From England, I use news items in my novels which you can see below, all linked to an Amazon near you.

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