Editor's note: the following story is a
guest post by David Cohen, a homeschool dad and advocate for self-directed
learning.
Truth be told, I wasn't homeschooled. But looking back on my own
educational experience, I can tell you this--I have homeschool envy. The
'conveyor-belt' didn't work for me when I was a student but now I know why.
Because I consistently see the fruit of homeschooling in the lives of
individuals who have been home educated, I have tremendous respect for
you--homeschool parents--for sacrificing so much to provide a personalized
learning environment for your children.
On to the story.
Homeschool grads and the guy from Goldman Sachs
Before I get to the video referenced in the title,
I'd like to tell you a story about an individual I recently met in New York
City--the story relates to what you will see in the video.
On the last evening of a conference I attended in NYC, the organizers hosted
an event at a posh restaurant in the Upper East Side. Moments after I
arrived, a well-dressed guy spotted 'CollegePlus' on my name badge, and he
began asking me what
CollegePlus
is about.
I gave him the rundown, explaining how we create customized bachelor's
degree programs for homeschool students to earn their degree without debt,
in about two years, while preparing them to launch into grad school, the
workforce, or start their own business.
"Homeschoolers? Debt-free college?" he said. I got the feeling he was
intrigued but slightly baffled because he didn't ask me any questions.
Instead, he started telling me his story. After getting his MBA at Harvard
he was immediately hired by Goldman Sachs, at age 24. While at Goldman, he
rose to senior management, and after a successful career there, he left to
start his own firm in Manhattan.
Now, the next turn our conversation took was a little shocking. He told me
the worst hires he's ever made, whether at Goldman, or at his own firm, were
college grads that had degrees from big name schools.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because most of them don't come to me with enough life or work experience
to actually solve problems and get the job done."
At that point in the conversation, I had him pull up the following video on
his iPad. I explained all of the students in the video are homeschool grads
and have gone through CollegePlus.
After watching it he said, "I'm not the only successful entrepreneur in
Manhattan who is frustrated with our Ivy League alma maters. The system is
broken. What I saw on the video sounds like the solution we need."
Seeing the glimmer of hope in his
eyes reminded me why I'm so passionate about self-directed learning and why
I believe homeschoolers are poised to provide value and solutions to
problems in ways that 'conveyor-belt' students cannot.
So the question is--if the Fortune 100 folks
are looking for individuals who got real-world experience while they earned
their degree, maybe there's something to homeschooling and the CollegePlus
approach to higher education.
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