There’s little trust between teacher and student. Students must be disciplined for talking out of turn. Students must sit still for 3 hours while class is ongoing, with a short 10-15 minute break in the middle. Students cannot be trusted to be self-directed. It’s assumed that, if left to their own devices, they would simply flounder without the “structure” of school.
The student is told they must prove what they’ve learned to the authority figure, the instructor. Unfortunately, the way the current system is set up, the main ways you prove you learned is through a paper and pencil test where you fill in bubbles, or maybe write in answers. Or, you write a paper explaining what you learned or make an argument on a limited number of topics to choose from.
This is in contrast to trust.
A college student should be trusted that they want to learn, and in their fourth year synthesis project, they can “prove” their learning much better by applying the knowledge they gathered into an applied-to-life project. Some students will slack or do the bare minimum and just try to get by. But just because there are a few “rotten apples” doesn’t mean you have to treat everyone as if they’re trying to pull a fast one on you. Most people want to do a good job. (source) Especially if they’re adults who are in school by choice. There have been many books written on this subject, and the vast majority of research shows that humans don’t need to be ruled by an iron fist to be productive. In fact, micromanaging people does the opposite; it demoralizes people and makes them less motivated to work hard, or innovate.
Teachers would be better served to be experts in the subjects of their personal choice, as well as educated on how to best teach. There are many brilliant professors who, unfortunately, don’t know how to teach the subjects they are otherwise so brilliant at. Ideally, teachers would have both an equal amount of training in their subject(s) of choice, as well as, in teaching.
The cost of education is currently unaffordable in the U.S. for most of the population. The average cost of attendance is anywhere from $10,000 for a state school, assuming you are a resident of that state, to $36,000 for private education. I don’t know of anyone in my lifetime, who is around my age, who has paid out of pocket, every last penny of their college education. Most get loans, scholarships, grants, and money from their families or state programs, if possible.
The Solution
But what if universities didn’t have to pay for a brick and mortar university? What if universities were a wide network of experts, who had an education in teaching as well, as you could simply drop them a video call when you need them?
For example, if you’re interested in geometry, maybe your university has an expert you can call, who lives in Switzerland, but is affiliated and vetted by the school, and you could arrange a time to talk with them about where you’re stuck with your geometry learning, and the instructor could help you when you need them. Instead of an instructor assigning you homework, books, and tests, they could make suggestions as to which projects would help you learn the subject you’re interested in.
While a video call is inferior to an in-person, one-on-one interaction with an instructor, it is certainly a lot less expensive than the current system of paying sky high tuition, which goes toward not only the staff, but also the buildings, the maintenance of those buildings, and the landscaping.
The buildings and their maintenance alone is 15% of the tuition’s budget. Imagine now, paying 15% less for school. That’s $1,500 off for a state school, and $5,400 for a private institution. The video conference idea doesn’t seem so scary when you think of how much it can save you long term.
This is my four-year plan for a university education.
In the first year, it’s a good time to gain the big picture, such as the theoretical knowledge necessary to understanding what’s out there that you can learn for the foundation of your education. You would be encouraged to pick as many or as few of the first year general subjects as you wish.
This is counter to the traditional system, which forces you to take subjects you will likely never use in your lifetime, and which you will likely forget. A professional dancer doesn’t need to know calculus, and a calculus professor doesn’t need to know how to do ballet. It’s okay not to know everything and to specialize and become the best in your chosen field, because there is a limited amount of time on earth, and learning calculus when you really want to be a ballerina has limited value.
Subjects would be taught all throughout the year, with one week breaks each season, for a total of four weeks off in a year. This is because health psychology studies overwhelmingly have shown taking a vacation, offers tremendous health benefits. (source) Some studies have shown taking a week to de-stress and get away from the troubles of school or work offers health benefits such as lowered cardiovascular disease risk for up to an entire year after the break is taken. These vacations also allow the brain to recharge and be in better performance for the learning that will continue after the break.
1st year (general)
Humanities Social sciences Natural sciences Formal sciences Applied sciences
In the second year, there would be a new list of subjects that can be learned, based off of the first year’s foundation of knowledge. The student would pick as many or as few subjects as they wish to learn for the second year. This year would be a hybrid of both theoretical and applied education. Students would do less book reading this year, and spend more time working out in the field half the time, applying what they have learned or are learning. For example, say you always dreamed of being a prolific novelist. You might take all the humanities courses, but leave the formal sciences behind.
Then, you might start a concrete, detailed plan for how to begin learning to write well. An expert and teacher on writing could be your resource guide, as well as your consultant. The instructor could direct you to the right places to find a useful book, or maybe to an expert who could assist you in the direction you’re working toward. If the teacher isn’t an expert on writing horror, but knows of someone respected in the field, you could try to contact them. People are busy, but sometimes they are willing to help, and their advice should be treated as invaluable.
2nd yeaR (expanded)
Humanities
Arts
History
Home economics
Languages and literature
Law
Philosophy
Theology
Social sciences
Anthropology
Economics
Geography
Political science
Psychology
Sociology
Social work
Natural sciences
Biology
Chemistry
Earth science
Space sciences
Physics
Formal sciences
Computer science
Mathematics
Applied Sciences
Business
Engineering and technology
Medicine and health
The third year is for specializing in your chosen field(s) of study. From this list you would gain access to more applied and specific training, such as going to conferences. This is the year you would take instruction and finish writing your plan as to how you are going to write that great novel, or invent that new software, or maybe even come up with a scientific paper to submit to a peer-reviewed journal, depending on your personal interests and values.
3RD YEAR (specialized)
Humanities
Arts
Performing arts
Music
Dance
Television
Theater
Film
Visual arts
Fine arts
Applied arts
Fashion
History
African history
American history
Ancient history
Asian history
Australian history
Ecclesiastical history of the Catholic Church
Economic history
Environmental history
European history
Intellectual history
Jewish history
Latin American history
Modern history
History of philosophy
Political history
Pre-Columbian era
Russian history
History of culture
Scientific history
Technological history
World history
Public history
Home economics
Cooking
Cleaning
Clothing
Family studies
Finance
Gardening
Health
Nutrition
Languages and literature
Linguistics
Comparative literature
Creative writing
English literature
History of literature
Literary theory
Poetry
World literature
Law
Administrative law
Canon law
Civil law
Comparative law
Competition law
Constitutional law
Criminal law
Islamic law
Jewish law
Jurisprudence
Legal management
Procedural law
Substantive law
Philosophy
Aesthetics
Applied philosophy
Epistemology
Ethics
Logic
Meta-philosophy
Meta-physics
Philosophical traditions and schools
Social philosophy and political philosophy
Theology
Biblical studies
Religious studies
Biblical Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic
Buddhist theology
Christian theology
Hindu theology
Jewish theology
Muslim theology
Social sciences
Anthropology
Biological anthropology
Linguistic anthropology
Cultural anthropology
Social anthropology
Archaeology
Economics
Agricultural economics
Anarchist economics
Applied economics
Behavioral economics
Bioeconomics
Complexity economics
Computational economics
Consumer economics
Development economics
Ecological economics
Econometrics
Economic geography
Economic sociology
Economic systems
Education economics
Energy economics
Entrepreneurial economics
Environmental economics
Evolutionary economics
Experimental economics
Feminist economics
Financial econometrics
Financial economics
Green economics
Growth economics
Human development theory
Economics (cont.)
Industrial organization
Information economics
Institutional economics
International economics
Islamic economics
Labor economics
Law and economics
Macroeconomics
Managerial economics
Marxian economics
Mathematical economics
Microeconomics
Monetary economics
Neuroeconomics
Participatory economics
Political economy
Public economics
Public finance
Real estate economics
Resource economics
Social choice theory
Socialist economics
Socioeconomics
Transport economics
Welfare economics
Geography
Physical geography
Human geography
Integrated geography
Cartography
Political science
American politics
Canadian politics
Civics
Comparative politics
European studies
Geopolitics
International relations
International organizations
Nationalism studies
Peace and conflict studies
Political science (cont.)
Policy studies
Political behavior
Political culture
Political economy
Political history
Political philosophy
Public administration
Public law
Psephology
Social choice theory
Psychology
Abnormal psychology
Applied psychology
Biological psychology
Clinical neuropsychology
Clinical psychology
Cognitive psychology
Community psychology
Comparative psychology
Conservation psychology
Consumer psychology
Criminal psychology
Cultural psychology
Developmental psychology
Differential psychology
Ecological psychology
Educational psychology
Environmental psychology
Evolutionary psychology
Experimental psychology
Group psychology
Family psychology
Feminine psychology
Forensic developmental psychology
Forensic psychology
Health psychology
Humanistic psychology
Indigenous psychology
Legal psychology
Mathematical psychology
Media psychology
Psychology (cont.)
Medical psychology
Military psychology
Moral psychology and descriptive ethics
Music psychology
Neuropsychology
Occupational health psychology
Occupational psychology
Organizational psychology
Parapsychology
Pediatric psychology
Pedology
Personality psychology
Phenomenology
Political psychology
Positive psychology
Psychoanalysis
Psychobiology
Psychology of religion
Psychometrics
Psychopathology
Psychophysics
Quantitative psychology
Rehabilitation psychology
School psychology
Social psychology
Sport psychology
Traffic psychology
Transpersonal psychology
Sociology
Analytical sociology
Applied sociology
Architectural sociology
Area studies
Behavioral sociology
Collective behavior
Community informatics
Comparative sociology
Conflict theory
Criminology/Criminal justice
Critical management studies
Critical sociology
Cultural sociology
Cultural studies
Demography/population
Digital sociology
Dramaturgical sociology
Economic sociology
Educational sociology
Empirical sociology
Environmental sociology
Evolutionary sociology
Feminist sociology
Figurational sociology
Future studies
Gender studies
Historical sociology
Human ecology
Humanistic sociology
Industrial sociology
Interactionism
Interpretive sociology
Jealousy sociology
Macrosociology
Marxist sociology
Mathematical sociology
Medical sociology
Mesosociology
Microsociology
Military sociology
Natural resource sociology
Organizational studies
Phenomenological sociology
Policy sociology
Psychoanalytic sociology
Science and technology studies
Sexology
Social capital
Social change
Social conflict theory
Social control
Social economy
Social philosophy
Social policy
Social psychology
Social stratification
Social theory
Social transformation
Sociobiology
Sociocybernetics
Sociolinguistics
Sociology (cont.)
Sociology of aging
Sociology of agriculture
Sociology of art
Sociology of autism
Sociology of childhood
Sociology of conflict
Sociology of culture
Sociology of cyberspace
Sociology of development
Sociology of deviance
Sociology of disaster
Sociology of education
Sociology of emotions
Sociology of fatherhood
Sociology of finance
Sociology of food
Sociology of gender
Sociology of generations
Sociology of globalization
Sociology of government
Sociology of health and illness
Sociology of human consciousness
Sociology of immigration
Sociology of knowledge
Sociology of language
Sociology of law
Sociology of leisure
Sociology of markets
Sociology of marriage
Sociology of motherhood
Sociology of music
Sociology of natural resources
Sociology of organizations
Sociology of peace, war, and social conflict
Sociology of punishment
Sociology of race and ethnic relations
Sociology of religion
Sociology of risk
Sociology of science
Sociology of scientific knowledge
Sociology of social change
Sociology of social movements
Sociology of space
Sociology of sport
Sociology of technology
Sociology of terrorism
Sociology of the body
Sociology of the family
Sociology of the history of science
Sociology of the internet
Sociology of work
Sociomusicology
Structural sociology
Theoretical sociology
Urban/rural sociology
Victimology
Visual sociology
Social work
Clinical social work
Community practice
Mental health
Psychosocial rehabilitation
Person-centered therapy
Family therapy
Financial social work
Natural sciences
Biology
Aerobiology
Anatomy
Biochemistry
Bioinformatics
Biophysics
Biotechnology
Botany
Cell biology
Chronobiology
Computational biology
Cryobiology
Developmental biology
Ecology
Endocrinology
Evolutionary biology
Genetics
Histology
Human biology
Immunology
Biology (cont.)
Linology
Linnaean taxonomy
Marine biology
Mathematical biology
Microbiology
Molecular biology
Mycology
Neuroscience
Nutrition
Paleobiology
Parasitology
Pathology
Physiology
Structural biology
Systematics
Systems biology
Virology
Xenobiology
Zoology
Chemistry
Agrochemistry
Analytical chemistry
Astrochemistry
Atmospheric chemistry
Biochemistry (outline)
Chemical biology
Chemical engineering (outline)
Cheminformatics
Computational chemistry
Cosmochemistry
Electrochemistry
Environmental chemistry
Femtochemistry
Flavor
Flow chemistry
Geochemistry
Green chemistry
Histochemistry
Hydrogenation
Immunochemistry
Inorganic chemistry
Marine chemistry
Mathematical chemistry
Mechanochemistry
Medicinal chemistry
Chemistry (cont.)
Molecular biology
Molecular mechanics
Nanotechnology
Natural product chemistry
Neurochemistry
Oenology
Organic chemistry (outline)
Organometallic chemistry
Petrochemistry
Pharmacology
Photochemistry
Physical chemistry
Physical organic chemistry
Phytochemistry
Polymer chemistry
Quantum chemistry
Radiochemistry
Solid-state chemistry
Sonochemistry
Supramolecular chemistry
Surface chemistry
Synthetic chemistry
Theoretical chemistry
Thermochemistry
Earth science
Edaphology
Environmental chemistry
Environmental science
Gemology
Geochemistry
Geodesy
Physical geography
Geophysics
Paleontology
Space sciences
Astrobiology
Astronomy
Astrophysics
Interstellar medium
Numerical simulations
Physical cosmology
Stellar astrophysics
Planetary science
Physics
Acoustics
Aerodynamics
Applied physics
Astrophysics
Atomic, molecular, and optical physics
Biophysics
Computational physics
Condensed matter physics
Cryogenics
Electricity
Electromagnetism
Elementary particle physics
Experimental physics
Fluid dynamics
Geophysics
Physics (cont.)
Mathematical physics
Mechanics
Medical physics
Molecular physics
Newtonian dynamics
Nuclear physics
Optics
Plasma physics
Quantum physics
Solid mechanics
Solid state physics
Statistical mechanics
Theoretical physics
Thermal physics
Thermodynamics
Formal sciences
Computer science
Logic in computer science
Algorithms
Artificial intelligence
Data structures
Computer architecture
Computer graphics
Computer communications
Computer security and reliability
Computing in mathematics, natural sciences, engineering, and medicine
Computer science (cont.)
Computing in social sciences, arts, humanities, and professions
Distributed computing
Human-computer interaction
Operating systems
Parallel computing
Programming languages
Quantum computing
Software engineering
Theory of computation
VLSI design
Mathematics
Pure mathematics
Mathematical logic and foundations of mathematics
Algebra
Analysis
Probability theory
Geometry
Number theory
Applied mathematics
Approximation theory
Combinatorics
Cryptography
Dynamical systems
Game theory
Graph theory
Information theory
Mathematical physics
Numerical analysis
Operations research
Statistics
Theory of computation
Applied sciences
Business
Accounting
Business management
Finance
Marketing
Operations management
Engineering and technology
Chemical engineering
Bioengineering
Catalysis
Materials engineering
Molecular engineering
Nanotechnology
Polymer engineering
Process design
Process engineering
Reaction engineering
Thermodynamics
Transport phenomena
Civil engineering
Coastal engineering
Earthquake engineering
Ecological engineering
Environmental engineering
Geotechnical engineering
Hydraulic engineering
Mining engineering
Transportation engineering
Structural engineering
Structural mechanics
Surveying
Educational technology
Instructional design
Human performance technology
Knowledge management
Electrical engineering
Applied physics
Computer engineering
Computer science
Control systems engineering
Electronic engineering
Engineering physics
Information theory
Mechantronics
Power engineering
Quantum computing
Robotics
Semiconductors
Telecommunications engineering
Materials science and engineering
Biomaterials
Ceramic engineering
Crystallography
Nanomaterials
Photonics
Physical metallurgy
Polymer engineering
Polymer science
Semiconductors
Mechanical engineering
Aerospace engineering
Acoustical engineering
Automotive engineering
Biomedical engineering
Continuum mechanics
Fluid mechanics
Heat transfer
Industrial engineering
Manufacturing engineering
Marine engineering
Mass transfer
Mechatronics
Nanoengineering
Ocean engineering
Optical engineering
Robotics
Thermodynamics
Systems science
Chaos theory
Complex systems
Conceptual systems
Control theory
Cybernetics
Network science
Operations research
Systems biology
System dynamics
Systems ecology
Systems engineering
Systems psychology
Systems theory
Systems theory in anthropology
Medicine and health
Alternative medicine
Audiology
Clinical laboratory sciences
Clinical physiology
Dentistry
Dermatology
Emergency medicine
Epidemiology
Geriatrics
Gynaecology
Health informatics
Hematology
Infectious disease
Intensive care medicine
Internal medicine
Medical toxiocology
Music therapy
Nursing
Nutrition
Obstetrics
Occupational hygiene
Occupational therapy
Occupational toxicology
Ophthalmology
Optometry
Otolaryngology
Pathology
Pediatrics
Pharmaceutical sciences
Physical fitness
Physical therapy
Physiotherapy
Podiatry
Preventative medicine
Primary care
Psychiatry
Psychology
Public health
Radiology
Recreational therapy
Rehabilitation medicine
Respiratory medicine
Sleep medicine
Speech-language pathology
Sports medicine
Surgery
Traditional medicine
Urology
Veterinary medicine
4TH YEAR (synthesized)
Fourth year is your final synthesis of everything you learned. The last year, you wrote your bucket list of things you want to accomplish in your lifetime. This is the year to actually work toward those bucket list items.
For example, if your goal is to learn a foreign language, maybe you go to Japan and stay there for a year to immerse yourself in the language and culture. Maybe your goal is to make friends while you’re there and actively practice everything you learned about the Japanese language in your studies over the last three years.
For some people, this isn’t financially feasible, but that doesn’t mean you can never cross off any of those bucket list items. You could make a website based on your learning to share with others. You could build your own greenhouse and sell your plants. You could audition for a play in the city or a community theater. There are lots of options, and not all of them have to be expensive.
The final year is supposed to be about accomplishing what you set out to accomplish in your life, not just pay a fortune to get a better paying, more prestigious job.
College could be a place that’s more than that. It could be a place to accomplish your dreams.
References
Leah Wortham et al., Autonomy-Mastery-Purpose: Structuring Clinical Courses to Enhance these Critical Goals, 17 INT’L J. CLINICAL LEGAL EDUC., no. 2, 2012, at 105.
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