Project Polymath - The Polymath Foundation

Vital Stats

Laban J

people helped300
People Doing It 5

The Problem

AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION IS FAILING! It is already known that American K-12 education is failing in the global theatre. What most people do not realize, however, is that our university-level institutions are also in a state of free-fall. Findings from national tests in a recent study by the Commission on the Future of Higher Education demonstrate that among recent graduates of four-year colleges, merely 34, 38, and 40 percent were proficient in prose, document, and quantitative literacy, respectively. These numbers reflect the inability of American college and university graduates to compete on the global frontier. Why does America seem to be trending toward academic and innovative failure? Dr. Robert D. Atkinson has recently written, “Colleges are focused on teaching kids content, not on teaching them skills, and too many students are focused on passing the multitude of tests in the multitude of classes they take, rather than really learning.” Essentially, universities are turning out capped and gowned graduates that know a lot of information (at least right before being tested on it) but are clueless about how to apply their knowledge outside of a classroom setting. The future of education will be a hard-fought battle as Americans are forced to ask what types of thinkers and problem solvers are necessary to sustain the level and expectations of innovation in the emerging creative economy. American industry leaders and research facilities will need to make crucial choices as they begin to deeply contemplate what will make the country not only sustainable but competitive in the global economy. Will America turn out post-secondary graduates that know not only what to think, but also how to think? Is now perhaps when the time is most ripe, and America is most ready, for a massive paradigm shift as it nurtures and trains the future renaissance men and women of our world?

Plan of Action

We're building a university. A new and very different type of university, where students can learn any subject or combination of subjects. Where their work is guided by their own goals and interests, instead of canned majors. Where students work on changing the world even before they graduate - indeed, as part of the curriculum. Where graduates can return to again and again, to learn any skill at any time. Where leadership and creativity collide and produce thousands of innovative, polymathic thinkers. We're building a startup incubator, for those who wish to use it. Students navigate the coursework through projects of their own design. Ambitious worldchanging projects, like “build a car that runs on water.” Like minds form collaborations, and before you know it, the foundation of the next billion dollar company is being built on your campus - several hundred times over. We could leave it at that, like virtually every other university in existence, but we go a step further: we'll help you launch the business, give you resources, and even grant academic credits for your entrepreneurial activity. Because the best way to train leaders... is to let them lead. We're building a renaissance. There were always a handful of extraordinary individuals in an era. People like Einstein, Newton, Beethoven, Franklin. But what if they weren't so extraordinary? What if an entire generation were systematically trained and supported to achieve at that level? We envision a world of unlimited accomplishment, where students dare to dream and unlock their full potential. And we invite you to join us.

For More Info

The Polymath Foundation - http://www.projectpolymath.org

Education