Edupunk

From what I gather, edupunk is both a movement and a type of person. As a movement it is the exploration of non-traditional forms of education. A person that is an edupunk is anyone who chooses a non-traditional route to education. As you can imagine, there are countless different variations on education within the edupunk movement.

Anya Kamenetz, the writer of DIY U as well as the edupunk website seems to be a major player in the movement. She is a writer by profession and in turn a speaker and an activist. She has written two books, Generation Debt and DIY U, and currently writes a column called “Life in Beta” for Fast Company Magazine. I would say all of the edupunks featured in the “Stories” section of the website are major players as well. By allowing their stories to be published, they serve as role models to aspiring edupunks and success stories to those who are cynical about the whole movement.

So what is edupunk working towards? I can see a few things stick out from the readings. I think one of the most important tailoring education to one’s personal needs. They stressing knowing how you best learn and choosing a course of study that compliments that. I feel like a lot of people my age end up picking a major because they know they can make a good living when they graduate. This may not necessarily fulfill them, but our society has us thinking we need to choose what is practical over what we are passionate about. Edupunks believe that following you passion can absolutely be practical.

Edupunk is also working towards a reducing the frequency of student debt. By educating students on alternative options, they can borrow money more wisely and use it more efficiently.

Finally, edupunk aims to break the misconception that education only happens in a school or university. As we saw in the resources section from DIY U, there are plenty of options online for independent study. Internships are not only a great resume builder but usually very educational.