The Purpose of Education
My 17-year-old has been an entrepreneur since before he could spell the word. And I’m still trying to make sense of my feelings around it.
→ Age 8: Selling candy to classmates
→ Age 12: Flipping skateboard parts
→ Now: Building a dropshipping business (and not planning to attend college)
Watching my son embark on a path very different from my own has me questioning what a “practical education” means and how much value it even has. When I really look at my own path critically, I'm not confident it makes sense for today's world.
I fell into entrepreneurship almost by accident and it took me forever to be intentional about it. So I admire his drive, but I also worry he's bypassing some important steps and I certainly worry about what his future looks like without college. Does any parent not worry, though?! Can you tell I'm really conflicted?!
What IS the purpose of education?
A current student from my grad school recently reached out for "historical documentation" of my time there 20+ years ago. Talk about feeling old! I didn’t love it. But it did inspire a nice walk down memory lane.
I did that program before the age of smart phones, so I actually had little in terms of “historical documentation,” but I reached out to a friend and she found this fun photo of my desk.
My desk at California College of the Arts Circa 2005
As you can tell from the photo, there wasn’t a lot of traditional graphic design happening in this Design MFA program. It was an incredibly luxurious time of creative freedom.
I had time to think big thoughts, make weird things with my hands, and oh man—it was such a gift to be pushed creatively every day by my classmates and instructors.
I made those black and white typography posters with magazines, scissors, and a large format photocopier. I made those flowers with painted paper as part of a project on being a “wallflower.” And for my first project in the program, I had to figure out how to make cool stuff with a pumice stone! What a treat.
I don’t think I learned a single practical thing in those two years. Does that matter? I still don’t know.
My instructors were incredible artists—many have pieces in SFMOMA's permanent collection. But did any of them have thriving businesses? I don't think so.
A few things it would've been nice to learn in grad school:
→ How to niche in a way that's profitable and feels good → Pricing models and how to package services → How to be profitable, not just chase revenue → How to confidently position yourself as an expert → How to create systems that let you scale without burning out
The real question
I recently heard Ezra Klein talk with Rebecca Winthrop, an education expert, about the “purpose of education” on his podcast. I ended up listening to some of it twice and can’t stop thinking about it.
Rebecca Winthrop said, when thinking about how kids should be educated and to what end: "We have to think about three parts—Why do you want your kids to be educated? How do kids learn? And what should they learn?"
With AI now able to write essays and pass exams better than most students, we're being forced to rethink everything.
My son questions the relevance of school and even though I’m a liberal arts college person to my core (and I happily made weird art with a pumice stone in grad school), I struggle to argue with him sometimes. With AI changing everything and the cost of education what it is, it seems harder to justify learning for the sake of learning. Although I still believe in good ol' critical thinking skills—that somewhat nebulous value that us liberal arts folks love to champion.
What about you?
What do you wish you'd learned in school that would have helped with your business? And what do you value about your education that has nothing to do with practical skills?
Has your path (or your kid's path) challenged conventional ideas about what education should be?
Goodies Just For You
WHAT I'M THINKING ABOUT: I haven't read it yet, but I'm really interested in The Disengaged Teen, the new book by Rebecca Winthrop, Ezra Klein's guest on the podcast episode I talked about above. The little blurb on the publisher's website: A powerful toolkit for parents of both checked-out and stressed-out teens that shows exactly what to do (and stop doing) to support their academic and emotional flourishing.
WHAT I'M BAKING: I had my first Basque cheesecake just a few years ago in Sonoma. My boyfriend is mostly gluten free, so the crustless thing was exciting. I've now made this Bon Appetit recipe a couple of times and it's surprisingly forgiving. But looks and tastes impressive. I've never tried to make a traditional cheesecake with the water bath and all that, but this one doesn't have any of that. The top gets brown, but it doesn't taste burnt. If you're nervous about taking it out of the oven at the right time, watch this video to see the right jiggle.
WHO I'M ADMIRING: One of my oldest Bay Area friends, Hilary Duwe, is also a brilliant designer. She owns PH7 Design with Peggy Riley. Hilary and I met 20 years ago at a party. We discovered we're both married to Wesleyan grads (I'm a Wesleyan grad too); both of our dads are doctors; we're both graphic designers; we're only a few weeks apart in age, and then we had babies 3 weeks apart; at the time, both of our husbands were tech reporters; and we keep finding more and more things in common over the years. But all YOU really need to know is that she and Peggy do fantastic work and Hilary's husband is a talented web developer, so they can really do it all. They have a gorgeous new brand and website. Check them out!
