The ‘drop out’ success stories are there for all to see, books have been published, and it all looks so easy looking back. But what of the unsuccessful drop outs, the ones that didn’t quite make the cut, what happened to them? It’s a fascinating discussion that opens up the relevance of academics. Coolfidence’s Ronnie Apteker dives in after having been intrigued, and at the same time concerned, after reading an article on the end of the academic system. Ronnie says it all boils down to making money, and asks if this should be the objective. A battle between the quantity of money and the quality of education. An interesting read. – Stuart Lowman
by Ronnie Apteker*
Why do we go to school? Or university? What is all about? Does anyone remember? Is it just about getting a piece of paper? Is it just about becoming an authority on a subject? Or is there more to it? Isn’t it also about developing leadership abilities? And isn’t it also about tapping into your creative energy? And what about learning how to manage processes? And what about learning to listen and absorb knowledge? And what about the opportunity to network, meet people and build relationships?
Drop out?
I read an article in a business journal a while back that was very intriguing. This well-written piece did make me a little nervous though. It hinted at the end of the academic system, as we know it. University professors are earning commissions for identifying talent. Perhaps I misunderstood this but it sounds like students are being encouraged to launch start-ups long before they graduate. Young people are dropping out of top universities at faster and faster rates to get into the IT start-up phenomena that the Internet has helped spark off. My question is: is it healthy? And when does this end? Is a boy in a school, say, going to drop out at age 14 to start a company? And what next? Is a teenager going to become a billionaire? Is this clever?
Yes, I have a lot of questions on my mind this spring day. Not only are people experiencing extreme pressure and stress at younger and younger ages but soon there is going to be pressure to drop out of university. I mean, if everyone else is doing it then what is wrong with you hanging around campus when there is a revolution going on out there. Furthermore, you continually hear the term “exit strategy” which appears to go hand-in-hand with the majority of these new start-ups. What exactly is an “exit strategy”? Let’s see. 10 years ago we never had so many business oriented publications. We never had students dropping out of universities to launch start-ups. And we never heard of the term “exit strategy”. Do you know that it is actually a military term that first surfaced in the Vietnam war – do the job and get out. Yes, guerrilla tactics have come to business.
Exit?
If everyone has an exit strategy, and I mean everyone, then who will actually do any work? I mean, who will be left to do the work if everyone exits? Yes, war has exit strategies because then you take no prisoners. Is this what business has become? A war? Who is the enemy in this new war? And who are the champions? I think I am getting carried away, but I’m sure you get the point though. The enemy is quantity again. And quality, our poor understated hero, is really getting pushed aside.
How do you rank?
When I was a kid my parents had a car which stayed in our family for over 10 years. These days we change our cars every other year. And the cars are more robust and reliable than ever. This is classic quantity over quality. Let’s look at these in another way. If education = quality and money = quantity then the world seems to be becoming more quantitative each day. Are our values changing? Surely we should become leaders and get educated before we get rich? Surely this will help us cope and it will help us to make a difference. It is not surprising though that quantity rules over quality. We have become a world that ranks everything. Numbers are the order of the day in this the times of the Miss World, the Fortune 500, etc.
I remember when a Professor was someone with a pipe and a certain intriguing mystery to them and now they are becoming investment bankers and recruitment brokers. Perhaps I am over-reacting. Perhaps this is just a phase the world is going through. And perhaps technology is not controlling our lives. And perhaps cellphones will stop ringing in cinemas. Perhaps people will stop being slaves to their e-mail. And perhaps the Rand will strengthen.
Phew!
Sorry. I really lost it there for a minute. My cellphone rang, new e-mail arrived, my social media messaging went off, and my voice mail just took a message… all at once. Kinda threw my timing out. Oh, and my laptop said it was running low on battery. That really scared me. Where were we? Oh yes, education. I read this somewhere once, “Many people quit looking for work when they find a job.” I can’t remember who actually said this but whoever it was, this is spot on (but this is another story altogether).
I used to think that people graduate and go on to find a job. But from what I have been seeing out there it looks like there may be a new trend that inspires youngsters to quit school before finding, er, discovering puberty. Sure it is great to have young entrepreneurs in the world. And yes, it is great to have successful kids. But what about dysfunctional kids? And what about people who actually build something they believe in? What about making a difference in the world? What about the quality of life? These youngsters are talking about exit strategies. Money seems to be the driving force here. Is greed motivating us these days? I really hope not.
Summing up
Money is a curious subject. A financial wizard at our company once said, “Money is the root of all evil. But then a man needs roots”. Doesn’t an education get us in touch with these roots? Think about this before you think about dropping out of what you started studying. Money is not an easy thing to get your mind around. Don’t get me wrong – I am not saying I don’t appreciate money. I am just sad to see that its power is coming more and more into play and its competition, poor old quality, is not making any strides. Weird hey, you need money to get an education. But in these times it seems you don’t need an education to get money. Think about this strange irony as we journey deeper into the mystery that has been called the Progress Paradox.
- Ronnie Apteker is one of the three founders of Internet Solutions. His latest business endeavour is coolfidence.com – click here to see what it’s about. You can follow him @RonnieApteker.
