
Ask HN: Would you prefer your kids educated for a job, or as an entrepreneur? - andrewstuart
It seems many education systems are focused on giving kids the skills to work for someone else - some company.<p>Presuming you had kids, would you prefer they take the education path to a job&#x2F;career, or do you see some sort of alternative where they learn how to find and make money on their own by seeking out opportunity in an entrepreneurial manner?
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matt_the_bass
As with most things developmental, I think kids are very much molded by what
is modeled for them. Generally this is by parents. If their parents teach them
by example to work hard, be considerate of other people, don’t be afraid of
trying out new ideas, and that taking educated risks are ok, then likely these
kids will develop into someone who could be an entrepreneur. They still need a
standard enducation and they still need working experience.

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muzani
I think all people have their own personalities, not necessarily a nurture
thing. Some people don't have the chaos-loving mindset it takes to be an
entrepreneur.

2-3 generations ago, the optimum was working class. This generation it seems
to be entrepreneurship. With AI and tech impact in 20 years, it's really hard
to see how it would be for the next generation.

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BartBoch
imo you cannot teach kids to be business people without proper real-life
experience. So send them to regular schools, but create them an environment to
be entrepreneurs. Without "working class" experience they will be not good
managers and leaders. I think every person, especially one that are from rich
families, should work as a sales clerk or similar to get real life experience.

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sgeneris
Experience is gained on the job, not during education.

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BartBoch
We have to agree to disagree. Education is a part of the real-life experience.
Schools give you a chance to develop socially, work in teams, learn how to
succeed. Education is not only books and library, its real life experience as
well. For many people first grown-up experience they get.

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rajacombinator
I’d prefer my kids educated for life.

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sgeneris
Education is developing people's intellect and reasoning ability, turning them
into members of civilized society. It is not job training.

And the fact that the former has been replaced with the latter shows: the US
is no longer a society, let alone a civilized one.

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ajeet_dhaliwal
Out of the two entrepreneur, i wish I’d woken up sooner but didn’t even
realize it was an option

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oldmancoyote
The child should make this decision after a well rounded pre-college
education.

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sgeneris
Well rounded education? No such thing anymore.

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oldmancoyote
Why would you say such a thing? It's simply wrong.

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slovette
Academia lays important foundations. Discipline. The meaning of commitment and
followthrough. It simulates some important root behaviors that are essential
in being successful at all things. At the same time it instills a foundation
of basic knowledge. These are the things I find academia important for, not
degrees or qualifications.

My boys are young and entrepreneurship is a big word to them, and as of today
a highly romanticized false idea by the rest of the world it seems.

I wish for my little boys to grow up knowing the value of knowledge, while
maintaining an implicit understanding that their lives are wholly defined by
their own ability to see the world as something they can change. There’s
literally nothing you can’t do if you can learn it.

I suppose the TLDR: Its not a choice between the two. Ones the foundation, the
other is a world view and self belief.

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sgeneris
You mean when there was still academia. There isn't anymore. It's been
replaced with vocational training.

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whb07
Why is it binary ?

