School of Hard Blocks Part I: Syllabus Day
“If I could create college to prepare students for the real world, what would I teach?”
The gravity of the question hit me harder than a Tyson uppercut.
Courtesy of tenor.com
Main reason was the survey wasn’t geared to a specific class…
It was for the entire masters program.
Moreso, it acknowledged an underground flaw in our current educational system.
How do you even answer such a broad question? Let’s first understand why that question is even important.
Historically, majority of us were raised in some skeletal infrastructure that resembled the following chronological pattern:
Birds & Bees → Whining while carried out the Womb → DNA Development → Graduate with Good Grades → Pursue Company Payroll → Start a Family →Strive for Success
The generation before us believed that this blueprint would be the gatekeeper for success.
Very structured, specific, and streamlined.
So many people go and pursue higher education opportunities with this systematic approach.
It’s simple math, right?
Courtesy of tenor.com
In theory, it’s a fair formula.
But execution-wise? Well, equations can arrive at the right answer by different math.
Let me explain.
We live in a modern-day society where social media has become a microcosm of the microwave mentality instilled into our millennial generation. Meaning, we want our championship rings from the game of life. Right now.
For better or for worse, it is what it is.
What I have learned though is that you don’t need a college degree to do big things in society. Skill, stamina and life experiences can suffice. The great American philosopher J.Cole summarized it like this on his track, Villematic:
“Life is your professor, know that b***h is gon’ test ya!”
In a 2016 study, nearly 30% of today’s billionaires didn’t’ have a bachelor’s degree. In his book, “How Rich People Think.” Steve Siebold, who studied thousands of wealthy people for over 30 years, stated, “Many world-class performers have little formal education, and have amassed their wealth through the acquisition and subsequent sale of specific knowledge,” (Source: CNBC)
“Formal education will make you a living,” Siebold says. “Self-education will make you a fortune. Decide today to become a lifelong student and take control of your own self-education.” (Source: CNBC)
Courtesy of giphy.com
Siebold said something then.
McGraw-Hill, world-renowned academia publisher, conducts an annual Workforce Readiness Survey. In their research, they discovered that only 4 in 10 college seniors believed they were ready for the game. Corporate America. The Real World.
Now, hold the phone doc…you’re telling me that only 40% of our country’s future leaders feel anchored enough in their education to take over Planet Earth as enabled adults???
These statistics are sobering.
If you have ever stepped foot on an academic institution for higher learning, more is to be desired when 60% of graduates feel ill equipped to attend Real World University.
You walk across that graduation stage with so much pressure to position yourself with a job/career, that it makes your knees buckle like Bambi like this poor soul.
Courtesy of gfycat.com
Bless her heart and those ligaments but don’t fret. I’m here for you.
Disclaimer: Before you believe there is a personal vendetta against people who go to college, let me preface this by providing a bit of my own academic positioning for full perspective:
· Preschool/Elementary/Middle/High School Graduate
· 5 years for Bachelors of Science (4 years + 1 year victory lap)
· 2 years for graduate school (Masters in Biomedical Sciences)
Of all my life’s stepping stones, being the first man in my family to graduate from college is one of the greatest things I’ve ever accomplished. Earning my stripes in school paved the way for me to earn a good living and provide for my family so I’m forever grateful for that.
However, as a former professional student, seeing a multitude of syllabi with immortal surveys to cap off the semester was the bane of my existence. Many scholastic veterans feel me when I say these surveys were breeding grounds for professors requesting solicited feedback. Yet, rarely implementing it.
Those annoying questionnaires made me long for the good ole days of REAL questions that DEMANDED legitimate answers:
“Who’s ready for their Capri-Suns & Lunchables?!?!”.
Courtesy of kidsmomo.com
I flashback to the days when soccer moms would probe the squad with the aforementioned inquiry as our residential snack subject matter expert.
Till this day, I miss those moments…
Courtesy of tenor.com
Unfortunately, you’ll come to find out that your adolescence years are not always indicative of the life you encounter when exploring the uncharted waters of aging.
Now, some individuals grow up in homes with parents that prepare them for life post-puberty by instilling core tenants used to take their lives to the next level. By exposing their kids to these opportunities, they are ready to make decisions that can positively impact their future when the time is right.
For those that weren’t given the information as they’ve transitioned out of infancy where pooping in your pampers was protocol to becoming tax paying citizens, you’d figured college would be the perfect coach to provide the playbook on foundational tools in winning at the game of life. An educational cocoon built to breed you before your quest into the corporate world.
Tutoring young people in the art of adulthood early is key.
Remaining a child cerebrally is a crutch.
Education determines how the early seeds of learning are incubated, bearing the fruits of our labor. It’s something that semester-ending surveys can’t quantify. But the survey question that kicked this entire article off…was different.
“If I could build college to prepare students for the real world, what would I teach?”
Now, you may fall into one or more of the following categories:
A. Taught at home by family (Upbringing)
B. Took classes that may apply (Curriculum)
C. Read books/studied content (Self-Taught)
If you have, go you! Definitely on the right track!
For those that some of this information may be new or has yet to be emphasized in a digestible way, enjoy what the School of Hard Blocks has to offer.
The Hard Blocks’ coursework was crafted by the personal experiences of multiple college friends, succeeding in varying industries from Finance, Engineering, Information Technology, Accounting, Consulting, Entrepreneurship and Medicine to name a few.
IT was important that I diversified the pool of professional people to provide their vantage points. Using multiple industries makes this information apropos to anyone. Hard Blocks was created brick by brick with some of the brightest minds I know so grab your skull protection and a shovel. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming:
“If I could build college to prepare students for the real world, what would I teach?”
I’ve narrowed the prerequisite down to 5 courses in order to graduate with your degree in “Blockonomics” from HBU:
- HBU 101:The Decision:
- Should I even go to college?
- What should I major in?
- HBU 200: Money Management
- Financial Principles
- Prioritizing profits
- W-2 vs. 1099: Importance of Ownership
- HBU 247: Time Management:
- Popularity vs. Productivity
- To-Do List
- Highly Effective People Habits
- HBU 300: Relationship Building
- Art of Likability
- Artificial Intelligence
- HBU 360: Corporate Politics
- Negotiation
- Public Speaking
- Self Confidence
Let’s begin building, shall we?
