Is college worth it? High school seniors anxiously awaiting admissions decisions might find that question bizarre, but recently some strenuous arguments have been leveled against the value of a college degree.

上大學(xué)有意義嗎？那些在焦急等待著大學(xué)錄取通知書的高三學(xué)生可能會覺得這問題很怪，不過最近坊間針對大學(xué)文憑的價值，出現(xiàn)了種種熱議。

For more insight into those arguments, we turned to Dale J. Stephens, 20, the founder of UnCollege, which urges students to "hack their education" by finding their own pathways to success. Mr. Stephens, 20, is a Thiel fellow who spent his middle and high school years "unschooling," and then left college after a brief time there.

為了令爭論更富洞見，我們請到了20歲的戴爾·J.斯蒂芬斯，這位UnCollege（旨在改變上大學(xué)是取得成功的唯一途徑的社會運動——譯注）的創(chuàng)始人呼吁大學(xué)生們通過找到通往個人成功的路徑，來“沖擊教育”。斯蒂芬斯是蒂爾獎學(xué)金（Thiel fellow，硅谷投資人彼得·蒂爾創(chuàng)立的獎學(xué)金項目）獲得者，在初中和高中未接受正規(guī)教育，大學(xué)只上了很短時間就退學(xué)了。

Mr. Stephens envisions "a world where people make their own decisions," where college is not a foregone conclusion and young people forge their own paths to fulfillment.

斯蒂芬斯想象在未來，“人們會自行做出決定”，讀大學(xué)不再是理所當然的選擇，年輕人將走出一條自己的路，實現(xiàn)個人價值。

We asked Mr. Stephens for his responses to the five main arguments most often given for going to college. Here's what he had to say.

我們請斯蒂芬斯針對人們通常給出的上大學(xué)的五點理由來作出回應(yīng)。以下就是他的回答。

Reason 1: Learning in a rigorous, supported educational environment

原因一：在嚴格、能獲得支持的學(xué)術(shù)環(huán)境中學(xué)習(xí)

"If you want to learn, college is the last place you should go," Mr. Stephens said. "A lot of learning isn't happening on college campuses."

?“假如想學(xué)習(xí)，大學(xué)是你最不應(yīng)該去的地方，”斯蒂芬斯說：“在我們的大學(xué)校園里，多數(shù)時候人們并不在學(xué)習(xí)?！?/div>

That may sound surprising, given that college is virtually defined as an institution devoted to nourishing learning and intellectualism.

這聽來似乎有點讓人意外，畢竟大學(xué)的定義就是專注于哺育學(xué)習(xí)與智識的機構(gòu)。

Not true, Mr. Stephens said. "What you learn in college is generally the same skill set that you learn in a traditional school environment," he said. "You learn how to follow directions, meet deadlines and memorize facts."

這一點并不盡然，斯蒂芬斯說：“你在大學(xué)能學(xué)到的知識組合，大體上跟在傳統(tǒng)學(xué)校環(huán)境里學(xué)到的東西是一樣的。你學(xué)習(xí)的無外乎是遵從指令、在截止日期前交作業(yè)以及死記硬背而已?！?/div>

Although college provides structure and resources for learning, "I don't know that structure is a good thing," he said. "When you go out into the world, there's no structure like that. A job doesn't give you a syllabus." He added, "Learners should be able to access resources on their own terms." He described initiatives that provide laboratory, research and other facilities to the general public. Although these are not yet widely available, he said, they seem to be growing.

就算大學(xué)能提供學(xué)習(xí)的基礎(chǔ)框架和資源，情況仍然如此。斯蒂芬斯說：“我覺得這個基礎(chǔ)框架并非好事，在你走進社會時，會發(fā)現(xiàn)并沒有這種所謂的框架。做一份工作時，你根本沒有教學(xué)大綱可以參考?！彼a充說：“想要學(xué)習(xí)的人應(yīng)該有能力使用需要的資源?！边@具體指的是應(yīng)主動向公眾開放實驗室、研究中心和其他設(shè)施。他說，目前這類資源的開放程度還不高，不過看來發(fā)展趨勢不錯。

And he criticized the education system - and standardized testing in particular - for being "efficient but not effective." His ideal is self-directed education forged on the principles of project-based learning, perhaps with the guidance of mentors.

他還批評教育體制——尤其是標準化的測試——“高效率卻沒有實際作用”。他提議建立自我導(dǎo)向型教育模式，原則上推行以項目為基礎(chǔ)的學(xué)習(xí)方式，同時向?qū)W生提供導(dǎo)師的輔導(dǎo)。

Reason 2: Socializing and developing a network of friends and contacts

原因二：建立和發(fā)展朋友圈與人脈

Mr. Stephens said that many have advised him that he's missing out by not going to college, where, the rationale goes, he could be meeting women and drinking beer. His retort: "I like guys and Champagne."

斯蒂芬說，有不少人都對他說從大學(xué)輟學(xué)會讓他失去不少機會，他原本可以借讀大學(xué)之機認識女生、大喝啤酒，他對此反唇相譏：“我更喜歡男生和香檳?！?/div>

Underlying this flip yet frank answer is his conviction that the social world of college is a self-selecting, largely homogenous "bubble."

他的回答無禮卻坦誠，言下之意是想說大學(xué)的社交圈是一個“泡沫”，它強調(diào)的是自我選擇，同質(zhì)化傾向嚴重。

"You might end up limiting yourself if you only socialize with people on your dorm floor and in your classes," he said. Campus demographics might be diverse, he said, but "people are still there for the same reason." In contrast, he said, unschooling has allowed him to actively seek opportunities to meet people who travel different walks in life.

“如果你只結(jié)交同一幢宿舍樓或同班同學(xué)，會把你的圈子限定得非常狹窄，”他說。他認為大學(xué)生雖然來自五海四海，但“人們來到這里是基于相同的原因?！毕啾戎拢撾x正規(guī)教育的經(jīng)歷，令他可以主動尋找機會結(jié)交興趣迥異的朋友。

As for the value of making connections in college to nurture a professional network, people are increasingly using social media resources like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to make connections, Mr. Stephens said.

有人認為，讀大學(xué)有助于建立職業(yè)關(guān)系網(wǎng)，他反駁說，現(xiàn)在有越來越多的人是通過像LinkedIn、Twitter和Facebook這類社交媒體來搭建人脈的。

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