Book Club - The Case Against Education

Welcome to the Seattle Intellectual Book Club! The 47th book we are reading is called "The Case Against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money" by Bryan Caplan.

Come grab a drink, discuss and hang out.

*Please note that it's okay if you don't finish the book but please make an effort to at least start reading the book.

Agenda:
6:30pm - 7:00pm Arrive & please buy drinks to support our venue if able
7:00pm - 8:30pm Group Discussion

Please let me know if you have any suggestions for upcoming books for the group to read, venues to meet at or any other constructive feedback on the format.

Here is the link to our Discord (text or voice chat rooms) to discuss anything book club related.
https://discord.gg/dRHj5ssaAy

Like what we are doing and want to chip in? Please consider donating. Donations will help cover the cost of the meet up registration. (about $400/year). Venmo is @Seattle_Intellectual_Bookclub

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Here is the book description from Amazon:

"Why we need to stop wasting public funds on education

Despite being immensely popular - and immensely lucrative - education is grossly overrated. In this explosive book, Bryan Caplan argues that the primary function of education is not to enhance students' skill but to certify their intelligence, work ethic, and conformity - in other words, to signal the qualities of a good employee.

Learn why students hunt for easy A's and casually forget most of what they learn after the final exam, why decades of growing access to education have not resulted in better jobs for the average worker but instead in runaway credential inflation, how employers reward workers for costly schooling they rarely if ever use, and why cutting education spending is the best remedy.

Caplan draws on the latest social science to show how the labor market values grades over knowledge and why the more education your rivals have, the more you need to impress employers. He explains why graduation is our society's top conformity signal and why even the most useless degrees can certify employability. He advocates two major policy responses. The first is educational austerity. Government needs to sharply cut education funding to curb this wasteful rat race. The second is more vocational education, because practical skills are more socially valuable than teaching students how to outshine their peers.

Romantic notions about education being "good for the soul" must yield to careful research and common sense - The Case Against Education points the way."