Wick Sloane’s ‘76 latest column in Inside Higher Ed highlights the marvelous pamphlet (pdf) that he has written in the spirit of Thomas Paine.

Common Sense calls for an American educational revolution for the 21st century. The bachelor’s degree is obsolete and expensive. That degree started in the 14th century, before Gutenberg, when the pedagogical constraint was the shortage of books. Instead, the nation should focus federal, public funds on being sure that by twenty-one years old, everyone has the critical thinking and language and quantitative skills to pass the Advanced Placement Exams in English Language and Composition and in Statistics.

Wick and I disagree about most things, but there is little doubt that he is right about this. College is a cruel hoax for many of those convinced to attend, and tricked into large amounts of debt while doing so. The notion that even 50% of the population, much less “everyone,” should get a college degree is as ludicrous as the claim that “everyone” should get a masters. Why not require that everyone get a Ph.D.? Educational romanticism does much harm, the good intentions of those who prattle such nonsense notwithstanding.

So, every dollar that the federal government devotes to subsidizing the college should be devoted to high school. Given the power of the college industrial complex, the odds of this happening are close to zero. But I hope that Wick keeps up the fight!