Peterson Academy: A line in the sand between educated and accredited
I've seriously been considering enrolling in Peterson Academy, Jordan Peterson's upcoming "alternative" to traditional university. I still am considering, in fact, so this post may be partly me arguing with myself.
Priced at only $450/year (for now, in pre-enrollment), it seems like a complete steal, compared to traditional universities (especially American) that can leave you in debt for life. It's even a steal when compared to more accessible Western education, such as the UK, Italy, etc. (at least I see it as such).
Credit: Peterson Academy
So when you see the price, it feels like a no-brainer. Except for now, what PA is offering is less a traditional university experience and feels closer to online education platforms like MasterClass or Coursera. Great platforms. I spent high school learning on Coursera and many other similar platforms. With top-notch educators from places like Yale, Harvard, Princeton, etc. For free. Well, I wanted to educate myself, not get a certificate, which would've cost some money. But still.
Point is, you can learn a whole lot from such platforms. And the course trailers for Peterson Academy are looking very attractive. They certainly promise to educate you and challenge your mind, which is what education should be all about.
The big issue people are having with PA is lack of accreditation (for now). And while JBP says they're working to get accredited, people seem doubtful, myself included. For one thing, the government isn't known for supporting individuals or groups attempting to fuck the system and start off on their own. They're not particularly known for giving a toss about you receiving a proper education, either. Besides, given Peterson's reputation, I find it hard to believe they'll be tripping over themselves to accredit his academy which he himself says will be an attempt to cancel the universities that originally canceled him.
Are you studying to learn or to receive a degree?
Inevitably, that seems to be the question that PA poses its potential students at the moment. And naturally, the answer should be to learn. Even if it's not accredited, Peterson Academy is looking very promising and likely to challenge your mind.
It also promises to introduce you to complex, even "difficult" subjects in an accessible, palatable way. In other words, it could help you grow. And if that was all there was to it, I'd be enrolled already.
The problem is, there's lots of ways to grow in today's world. Information is out there, in abundance. For now. Courses from top universities are already circulating online on Yotube and other platforms. Gratis. And I mean quality stuff, not woke piss-away-your-parents-debt kinda courses. Good stuff.
We have never in our history had so many options and so many resources to learn. In that, we are extremely lucky.
As someone on Reddit cleverly pointed out, given the sheer quantity of information available, you could use a guide, and PA offers to be that guide for a fee.
Credit: Peterson Academy
Except, if we're not comparing with universities (which we can't, if PA is not accredited), the fee becomes substantial, not small. After all, I know several of the teachers in PA from free podcasts (including JBP's own). Some of them have their own podcasts and blogs available online for free, which can all act as a tremendous educational treasure trove already.
I'm just not sure I can learn that much more from them in eight-lesson courses than I can from their public appearances, podcasts, and so on. And if I'm only learning for learning's sake, which I agree we should do, then I'm not sure I want to spend $450 if I can do it for free.
But we crave that structure.
That's how they get you, in the end. We like structure. We need it. We need someone (preferably in a suit) telling us what to read and asking clever questions. It's not something to be embarrassed about, nor is it a failing particularly on our part.
I think it's a good move to enroll into a structured something if you know that's the only way you'll learn. I myself am drawn to the structure, to the thought of starting school of some sort in the fall.
But it also makes me wonder, if I want to learn and have the possibility already open to me, why can't I do it outside of an organized structure? It seems to me that until we rewire some of these ways in which our brains have been conditioned (to believe we can only learn in an academic, organized setting), then it won't really be possible to reform and drastically alter the educational realm.
Will Peterson Academy rival traditional university? I don't think so. Not in the near future, anyway, but I'm doubtful in general.
Will it broaden your horizons? Most definitely. I have high respect for JBP and his judgment. He's obviously a very very smart man, and I imagine the people he deems worth listening to really are so.
Will I be enrolling? I don't know yet. I don't know if I'm willing to pay for the guide, when I could push myself a bit and organize my time to make better use of information already freely available on the Internet. At the same time, I'm keeping a close eye on my self, noticing where I'm having trouble organizing and might need a little push.
$450 is no small sum. There are 18 courses ready to roll already, with the promise of 3 new courses per month. In a year, that's 36 courses, topped with the initial 18, that's 54 courses. 8 hours each, that's 432 hours of recorded lectures (plus what you'll spend reading and writing additional material. Comes out at roughly $1 an hour, if not less. That doesn't sound so bad.
Would you spend $1/hour to learn something new?
As someone without a university degree, I would've really been interested in the accreditation. Then again, I recognize I'm still early in my life. Who knows what value, if any, university education will have 20-30 years from now? And how it will compare to actual knowledge, of which it's no guarantee.
I'll probably write about it here if I do decide to join. Until then...
What do you think? Any opinions on Peterson Academy or the education system in general?
University education has no value now, unless your goal is to be a slave to a government and its mobs. I believe we must be guilding parallel existences to the one we've been told is the only one of value that there is. There is much more to say on this subject.
So the only quandary I see here is do it for free, or do it with PA? I imagine someone else's organization of the free courses available would be of great value, and at $1 an hour, there is hardly any cost at all.
However, I have some qualms about PA due to Peterson's support of murder in the Middle East. I do not understand how he could possibly hold that position, having greatly respected him before now.
It's a great idea though. Kudos to him for putting it together, and to you for considering it.
Same here, definitely. I was just listening to a podcast of his with one of the PA lecturers and he very casually made a reference to the situation in the Middle East. Very off-putting. I don't know what's worse, because for a while I thought it was a political thing, as he seems to be running with a lot of pro-Israel people. That would be depressing, too, to know he supports it purely for show/his own interest. To think he genuinely thinks it's a good thing, that's even scarier. But I still think we can learn a lot from people we disagree with, so I really don't know. :D
100%. Why I never went. At the same time, it always haunted me. The idea that I missed out (on university as it should be, not as it is, if it makes sense).
Thank you :) It's always great getting input from someone whose opinion you respect, as I do yours. I hope you're well, my dear.
I'm highly educated. University is where I learned to be even more clueless than I was when I went in. I started drinking and doing drugs. I got a swelled head. I was an asshole for years afterwards. You didn't miss anything.
I'm very well. Happy, excited, learning lots of cool, useful things, like growing my own food and preserving it.
Thank you for being here for us all! I respect your opinion, too!
I think there are more Universities than not which can safely be described as 'party schools', and an even higher percentage of kids who are going for the specific purpose of delaying the real world a few more years cuz they ain't ready yet. (This was me)
Over the years I've learnt that learning to learn is the most powerful tool. Structure yes, but motivation, consistency, discipline, and social engagement. Not quite sure how you'd teach these, but they're definitely not being taught right now.
Honestly, if 50% of Universities were permanently shut down overnight we'd be better off for it
Well, it's not the easiest topic to discuss. I understand that some people don't believe in educational institutions and think that there is no need to spend four or more years there to get a degree. This is true because not every job requires that education and you can take courses, get experience, and still land a good job. But some fields require "standard" education, and personally, I believe that it's still worth going for that degree and diploma. Besides that, it's a great opportunity to build connections and develop skills like communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Now, there are so many different extra platforms, sites and so on where you can learn or get help. I'm struggling with writing, and that's why I'm taking a course. And I also use https://essay-company.org/, which offers writing services to assist with academic work. When it comes to education, you need to be flexible and hardworking to succeed.