“Today’s universities are as corrupt as the medieval Catholic Church,” Thiel said in the release. “The Reformation is underway.”
I get Thiel dislikes the university system. But the idea of giving students 100k instead of a four-year education is wrongheaded. Most kids by a long shot need the structure of a university to accomplish their educational and by extension their life's goals. It's true a few exceptional kids can and probably should skip a university education but they are very few. It's probably best to have them pursue their goals under their initiative rather than entice them with $100k. My concern is that they will lose the chance to learn valuable skills in school. We know that most businesses will fail. Just because you get 100k does not mean you'll succeed. To me, it makes better sense for students to finish their education and then pursue their world changing ideas.
Agree, they are exceptional. What I find problematic is the way Thiel is choosing the candidates. He's choosing the exceptional ones and touting them as normal everyday students. Sure if you sort for the exceptional ones then you're going to have success. It's not valid to criticize the university system and prove your point by only picking the best. The way to prove the point is to pick a random set and see the results. The way Theil is doing it proves nothing. He puts dought in the university system without giving a valid fix or alternative for the great majority of students. We know exceptional people will do exceptional things. There's nothing new there.
And ... assuming that you work in the tech industry, rather than as a university academic or lobbyist, why not focus on the positive - what Thiel Fellows can accomplish?
I've worked for two famous R1 universities. Even more than most tech companies, they have a lot of room for improvement! The dichotomy of "universities should be shielded from all criticism" and "fire all tenured faculty, burn down the establishment" is not helpful to anyone.
I get Thiel dislikes the university system. But the idea of giving students 100k instead of a four-year education is wrongheaded. Most kids by a long shot need the structure of a university to accomplish their educational and by extension their life's goals. It's true a few exceptional kids can and probably should skip a university education but they are very few. It's probably best to have them pursue their goals under their initiative rather than entice them with $100k. My concern is that they will lose the chance to learn valuable skills in school. We know that most businesses will fail. Just because you get 100k does not mean you'll succeed. To me, it makes better sense for students to finish their education and then pursue their world changing ideas.