The Top Twelve Reasons NOT to Follow a Traditional Educational Approach

Non-traditional education tends to get ignored or disregarded in American society. The assumption is that traditional education is just better. But is that the case? Here are twelve reasons why traditional education is NOT the best choice:

1. Traditional education awards degrees on the basis of time served and credit earned, while non-traditional education awards degrees on the basis of competencies and performance skills.

2. Traditional education bases degree requirements on the medieval formula of some generalized education and some specialized education, but non-traditional education bases degree requirements on an agreement between the student and the faculty, aimed at helping the student achieve his or her career, personal, or professional goals.

3. Traditional education awards the degree when the student meets certain numerical requirements, but non-traditional education awards the degree when the student’s actual work and learning reach agreed-upon levels.

4. Non-traditional education assumes learning desirable at any age, and that degrees should be available to people of all ages, but traditional education in secular and Christian colleges considers the years from age 18 to 22 as the period when a first degree should be earned.

5. Non-traditional education sees any part of the world as appropriate for some learning, while traditional education, even Christian education, considers the classroom as the primary source of information and the campus as the center of learning.

6. Traditional education believes in printed text materials as the principal learning resource, while non-traditional education believes the range of learning resources is limitless, from the daily newspaper to personal interviews; from videocassettes to microcomputers to world travel.

7. Non-traditional education faculty are judged on competency and personal qualities, in addition to credentials and degrees (take note: a non-traditional faculty must still be academically qualified), but traditional education faculty must only have appropriate credentials and degrees.

8. Traditional education cultivates dependence on authority through prescribed curricula, required campus residence, and required classes, while non-traditional education cultivates self-direction and independence through planned independent study, both on and off campus.

9. Non-traditional education credits and degrees also take into consideration learning how to learn and the integration of diverse fields of knowledge, while traditional education credits and degrees are based primarily on mastery of course content.

10. Traditional education curricula are generally oriented toward traditional disciplines and well-established professions, while non-traditional education Curricula reflect the student’s individual needs and goals and are likely to be problem-oriented, issue-oriented, and world-oriented.

11. Non-traditional education aims at producing lifelong learners, capable of responding all through their lives to their own evolving needs and those of society, while traditional education aims at producing “finished products” – students who are done with their education and ready for the job market.

12. Lastly, to adapt the old Chinese saying, traditional education gives you a fish and feeds you for a day, while non-traditional education teaches you how to fish, and feeds you for life.