Chalkboard, computer, homeschooling: Use what works best

Jim Kunz said parents have been lied to. They've been told since their kids were babies that a "real" education means sitting in a classroom for 13 years, dutifully listening to teachers lecture. If they're kids make good enough grades, take the "right" classes and participate in "appropriate" activities, they can make it into the best colleges. Of course, only four-year institutions will do.

It's all malarkey, said Kunz, and parents who believe the hype are getting ripped off -- to the tune of $50,000 to $100,000 for a four-year education.

"What we call `education' in America is not the same as learning," said Kunz, a former educator and self-appointed champion of non-traditional education. "A person these days can get a high school degree and still be incompetent. That's not right. What we're saying is that there are many ways to learn, many of which are beyond the classroom."

There are other -- and sometimes better -- ways to learn, Kunz said, if only modern educational systems and society would be more accepting of non-traditional methods. He said both high school and college students should be in charge of their education. If a student learns better in front of a computer screen than a chalkboard, let him learn that way.

In the same vein, if homeschooling is best for a student, Kunz said the state should find ways to make sure those students can get into college.

Kunz is on a one-man crusade to convince educators, parents and students that "self-directed learning" is the wave of the future. He advocates completely shaking up secondary and higher education because "the system we have isn't working."

Out of his frustration, Kunz founded Independence, Mo.-based National Student Financial Aid Association, a nonprofit that helps students acquire diplomas through non-traditional means. One of NSFAA's most ambitious programs, a virtual-degree granting institution called Scholars University, is pending approval from Missouri.

Educators and others in the field of education call Kunz a "visionary" and an "innovator."

Paul Krouse, the publisher of "Who's Who Among American High School Students" and a 25-year colleague of Kunz, said in the early 1970s, Kunz told colleges they needed to reach students through direct mail.

Admissions directors balked at the idea of marketing a university. Direct mail is now the industry standard.

"Jim has always been way, way ahead of the curve," said Krouse, the president of Educational Communica-tions Inc. based in Lake Forest, Ill.

"He enjoys creating solutions before other people know there's a problem," he said.

Trollinger is a reporter with the Kansas City Business Journal, a sister publication.

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