Posted on 02/22/2021 4:33:53 AM PST by gattaca
Conservatives need to create 'our own America inside of America,' famed producer says.
Dinesh D'Souza is proposing an alternative online university system with $5,000 yearly tuition, saying it could crush liberals' hold over higher education.
The famed producer and author told the John Solomon Reports podcast this weekend that the new college system should be part of conservatives' effort to defeat cancel culture and censorship by building their own educational and entertainment infrastructures.
"With regard to digital media and media generally – I mean we have to build our own platform. So I'm very much in the camp that says that at least in the short term, we need to build an alternative educational infrastructure, entertainment infrastructure, we need our own comedians, we really need the whole thing," D'Sousa said.
"We need our own America inside of America," he added.
He said a top-notch online education system was key to the whole infrastructure.
"We basically need one online university that has assembled together, the 100 top teachers and scholars in the world that will offer a Harvard level education for $5,000 a year. If you did that, you would make all of higher education obsolete overnight. I mean, the universities wouldn't go away, but it was kind of like when the iPhone first came out, suddenly, all other phones were obsolete. We can do that for education, we can do that for media, you just have to make the right moves."
D'Souza discussed the logistics of starting these new infrastructures.
"I think that the money is there and the will exists to do it. It's just that our side is very erratic and there hasn't been the creativity on the supply side to create these things. I mean, just think, for example, of the amount of creativity it took for Roger Ailes to go to Rupert Murdoch and just say, 'Listen, you know, all these cable channels are fighting for half the country. Geez, why don't we start one, make it a real thing, we'll offer a rival point of view, we'll take the other half of the country.'"
"It's so simple," D'Souza continued, "I mean, for decades before that, you know, all we did - our side did was, you know, complain about media, document the media bias. 'Oh, it's all so biased. We're going to give the bias award to you know' - who cares? Do your own thing and build your own, you know, mousetrap, and that's really what Roger Ailes did. And that's been my model for the world of documentaries and even feature films in Hollywood. That should be the model for education. That should be the model for everything."
There have been various alternative educational institutions established in recent years to try and change the tide of higher education. Some of these include places like the Patriot Academy and Wallbuilders, which teach students about America's founding, focus more on the cultural aspect of education.
Cheaper, faster, and more skills-oriented educational institutions that places like University Ventures are investing in pioneer the way for more effective education that helps prepare students for the workplace.
Co-founder and managing director of University Ventures, Ryan Craig, has said that employers are looking for job candidates with technical skills, so his organization invests in what's called "last-mile" training providers that focus on those skills.
One of these "last-mile" training providers, AlwaysHired, "is an immersive tech sales bootcamp for recent graduates who want to gain sales skills and get a job in the tech industry."
Craig is an author of a book entitled "A New U: Faster + Cheaper Alternatives to College" which discusses the issues with higher education and offers better solutions.
Fifty plus years ago, in my first income tax course at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the professor made a joke: "There are 3 rules of taxation you need to memorize. Somebody will be changing everything else, so be prepared to keep looking up current law to know what to do."
We all laughed, but that statement remains one of the few things I learned in college that is still true today. Of course, the first tax course was a requirement to earn a BS in Accounting, and he was the only professor teaching that class, so we all heard it.
The problem is that those TEACHING the kids are NOT "teaching" them (like my mom and many of my relatives did fifty years ago). Today's "educators" teach nothing, but tell the children that they "know things"...when in fact they do not.
Right-When we were in grade school and HS, there were some simple and very precise tests to determine whether or not you ‘got it’ Students’ ‘feelings’ were not part of the calculation.
None of that goes on now. I especially remember our grade school teachers... no way was anyone going to fudge on THEIR lessons
For the difficult degrees in subjects like medicine and engineering, a credible central testing site would have to be a requirement. For other subjects, a simple test would suffice.
Women's studies: Men are bad. Answer - True. Ok you pass.
Ethnic studies: White people are racist. Answer - True. Ok - you pass.
History:
1. People of color are peaceful and loving and never oppressed anyone. Answer - True.
2. White men have always oppressed the entire world. Answer - True. Ok - you pass.
I like the concept but I am of the opinion that a “University Marketplace” would be a better concept. Basically each class has a required set of tests / labs. The University then assembles a syllabus of classes/videos/books etc that are recommended for study for each subject. Classes than then be selected and taken by the student from the instructor that has a teaching style that best fits the student’s learning method.
There is already a similar structure in the IT world. Between YouTube, Udemy, CBTNuggets and others, there are a wide range of topics covered in these online classes that can be purchased individually or in groups.
That way, those that already know the material and need little if any classwork or training can proceed directly to testing. Those that need a lot of help can go find the assistance that they need, and teachers/professors/instructors can get paid for their instruction.
What the student pays the “university” for is the tracking and record of progress and conference of a degree or certification upon completion of the criteria.
When I was doing re-engineering we learned that you don’t hold up 90% of the process for 10%. So few overall students/courses would require in person, you could easily reconfigure most 2 year undergrad courses for free. Centralized skills testing already exists for state level exams for paramedics and nurses, as well as other listening. The technology exists.
I think if I win powerball I will start this.
What about science labs?
And THAT is the exact weak spot. The "online" plan is good, if only classroom instruction is required. Unfortunately, many fields of expertise (and not just science) require hands-on experience. There is no substitute for it. Figure out how to do THAT, and you've got "a winner".
We could still use the labs at a community college as the rooms aren't exactly overused.
Learn plumbing. Plumbers make a fortune.
I’m not talking about entry-level physics or chemistry. As for my major (geology), there is no community college in the land that would have the necessary samples and such for the upper level classes.
Get rid of that, and a home-schooled 18 year old who passed the tests for literacy, writing ability, and technical knowledge would win the job over a college graduate with a lower score.
I’m crossing my fingers and hope you win the POWERBALL. Who knows though. If you can convince enough backers you might not need to win the POWERBALL. Start small, start local, and maybe it will take off.
You can already get a world class education watching YouTube videos from MIT, Stanford, Yale and a host other colleges.
* * * *
Yes, The Teaching Company pioneered audiotapes and CDs and now videos in their Great Courses series.
I used to take those audios out from my local library and listen during my commute. What a wonderful use of time.
One of my favorites was Professor Arnold Weinstein of Brown University and his Classics of American Literature
https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/classics-of-american-literature
All that’s really required is to wrap some discussion and exercises around these audios by the finest professors.
Bill O’Reilly’s series of audios and David McCullough’s books on audiotape. This is the stuff of great education in the humanities.
In truth, computer programming can be mastered on-line. And many sites such as w3schools.com are already performing this function.
Love this initiative of Dinesh D’Sousa. He’s on the right track...
Mit is trying to figure out how to connect the watcher to the tester, then one will be able to get a degree from there online. Matter of time.
A lot comes down to how an instructors teaching stye and approach fit a students learning stye and background and how the course subject matter is tailored to mesh with the individual students curriculum
The ability to select an online Prof out of a slate of instructors on an online menu to meet an individual students learning needs is a very positive feature, as is the ability to learn the subject matter by watching two or more profs teach the same subject matter from different perspectives and teaching styles can be a powerful learning tool.
As is the ability to refer a student to another instructors better or more in depth treatment of a particularly difficult or critical aspect of the subject matter.
Wife just signed up this year at SNHU online for her masters.
Dinesh gas much to offer for serious consideration.
Not crazy about him
Problematic
But it’s a decent idea......but college is more than school
Falwell som is a bonafide freak
As is his wife
The school to their credit axed him but good
I’m sure liberty is fine
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