This week there are two carnivals to report on, and I’m happy to buy my tickets for each of them.
First is the Carnival of Education hosted by the Education Wonks. As usual, it’s a tantalizing treat. My favorite this week is a post about the isolating effects of technology by Leader Talk. He helps to remind us that there is still need for human contact. This is definitely true in my profession, in which a plethora of new websites have sprung up to match students to colleges using computerized algorithms. This is all fine and dandy, but choosing a college requires an individual weighting of the criteria. In all cases, college consulting is a custom job. One can generalize about certain aspects of a college. But ultimately the choice is an individual one, and it makes sense to have a guide helping students arrive at their selection. I don’t think I’ll be replaced by an algorithm anytime soon.
Then there is the Carnival of Homeschooling. This week’s confection is cooked up by Beverly Hernandez. My favorite post this week is one by Why Homeschool on the value of an elite education, which took me over to the original post on this topic by Paul Graham. Paul is a venture capitalist. He contends that attending an elite college–by itself–does not guarantee success. Attending a small or lesser-known college may be just as beneficial for most people. Success is not a function of education alone. It is a function of who you are, what you know, and how you combine your talents to get stuff done. Great post.