The Case Against Education: What's Taking So Long
I started writing The Case Against Education in 2011. I’m still not done, but I’m shooting for release in 2017. What’s taking so long?
Almost the opposite of writer’s block. The book is taking a long time because I’ve repeatedly realized I needed more space to do justice to the richness of the topic. Economists, psychologists, sociologists, and education researchers have written libraries on education, and I take my time digesting their contributions. As a result, the book has turned into an “accordion project”: When I start writing a chapter, I realize what I have to say requires more than a chapter.
The current organization:
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Magic of Education
Chapter 2: The Puzzle Is Real: The
Ubiquity of Useless Education
Chapter 3: The Puzzle Is Real: The
Handsome Rewards of Useless Education
Chapter 4: The Signs of Signaling:
In Case You’re Still Not Convinced
Chapter 5: Who Cares If It’s
Signaling? The Selfish Return to
Education
Chapter 6: We Care If It’s
Signaling: The Social Return to Education
Chapter 7: Nourishing Mother: Is
Education Good for the Soul?
Chapter 8: The White Elephant in
the Room: We Need Far Less Education
Chapter 9: 1>0: We Need More
Vocational Education
Chapter 10: Four Chats on Human
Capital, Signaling, and Life Well-Lived
Conclusion
Chapters 5 and 6 were originally supposed to be a single chapter. Now I’ve spent 16 months writing them. Still, I have no complaints. The Case Against Education will be the most research-intensive book I’ll ever write, and I have the good fortune to be able to toil until I’m pleased with the quality of the work.
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