Professor Klein offers a few worthwhile suggestions for alternative engagement during the 2020-2021 school year, including learning online. But if engaging from home has always been an option, why do so many young adults make tremendous sacrifices to go off to college every year?

Because a structured learning experience, in which mentors guide you along a path of growth, delivers tangible outcomes. Because in college (and gap year programs, summer camps, etc.), young adults build meaningful relationships and find people who care about what they do. Because getting away from home and out of your childhood-developmental environment accelerates emotional maturity and builds essential life skills.

A case for experiential education

The foundational principle of experiential education is that genuine learning comes through experience. Experiences like being pushed out of your comfort zone, building resilience and tenacity in the face of uncertainty, and distilling learnings into everyday life. Like… the experience we are all in now! Those of us who have the privilege of thinking beyond surviving it are faced with the opportunity to apply what we’re learning into a better way of living on this planet. And, if we’re lucky, the chance to collaborate on what we’re learning with a small community of peers whose concerns mirror ours, and whose dreams are complementary. What we could dream up together!

If you had plans to attend university this fall, you might be focused on what you’re missing out on right now. I encourage you to think instead about what you could do. Get out in the fresh air. Identify your big questions. Look for new stories in your old relationships. Get in touch with your body. Test out which self-care practices work best for you. Unplug from all the external content and media pressures, and tune into your inner drive. Develop your capacity to express yourself. Build a healthy relationship with change. Gain a broader perspective of our shared cultural moment. Strategize creatively about your goals. Clarify what matters to you.

Small-scale, big shifts

One thing I know is that there are amazing alternative education programs out there, designed to foster that which is alive inside of you. Just this week and last, the increased relevance of the gap year option for current college students was highlighted in both the New York Times and on Good Morning America.

Yes, the future is uncertain, but we all need things to look forward to. And small-scale programs have more ability to adapt quickly and respond to change than large institutions. Plus, smaller group size and flexible refund policies will both afford you peace of mind as you invest in your future.

Here’s my suggestion: if you are a college-aged person, and you have the resources to get out of the house, consider an alternative education this summer or upcoming school year. Especially one that doesn’t involve thousands of peers, tens of thousands of dollars of debt, or Zoom.