Let’s Talk about School! A Collaborative Conversation ft. Dan Brown
Watch Dan’s video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYn4tyQMuqE&index=1&list=UUkSj-DR2aS3_wPmAE7d7Qlg
Send your video responses to danbrownuniverse@gmail.com
Back to School Video from 2 years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REUN0VU9dpQ
Endscreen music by Luna Haro: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA2iabtg-LT5bhhjxvh7Gqw
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@Nunta9539
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
In my experience, college was a time in which I learned about subjects I had no prior experience in and general skills on how to go about doing basic things professionally like research, writing, and organization. I originally started college as a biochemistry major, but after two years of memorization and pointless information I changed over to a double major in sociology and marketing. I then experience that "click" moment where my course material wasn't a struggle or a chore for me anymore but actually something that was interesting and exciting to learn about. It's hard to say if the whole process was "worth it" but I think college is a valuable span of time to allow people to shed their childish habits and take on a more adult perspective on the world and life in general.
@Fluoxetinequeen
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
the transition from high school to college was really hard for me. i had all of my mandatory schooling in the same area, so i went to school with all of the same people. my first 2 years @ community college were miserable because i felt worthless because i didnt have any friends in the area. this is my 3rd and hopefully final year of my degree, i have transferred to a new school in a different state, still dont have friends, but my focus is more on investing in myself. I come from a dirt poor family ( grew up in a trailer park) and currently work a job that pays me 10.75 per hour and only have 2 years experience at it. a college education really is worth it, because i work with someone who has 15+ years experience doing the same job with out a high school diploma/ged and they make 10.30 per hour. its not only the chance at a higher salary that college is good for. college can teach you critical thinking and problem solving skills that high schools wont because they are too focused on test scores. college also exposes you to many different types of people and better prepares you for the rest of your life than high school does. i was able to get good grades in high school without doing much work, so college is a bit of a challenge because it definitely requires more work and study time, but it will all be worth it when i am better able to contribute to my community and my bank account. college is all about delay of gratification.
@markllamas8194
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
rrrrrrokayy. so when it comes to school, I call bullshit. especially college and most of high school. I can't stand people telling me what is fact and fiction and being graded on it. fuck that. If I need information, I want to work hard to figure it out by myself. anyone else in the same boat?
@Abbeynormal555
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
College was easier. In every respect. People were friendlier and you didn't have to get a special pass to use the damn bathroom.
@Raddland
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
For highschool and elementary, they need to remove the grading system, entirely. Before you can teach a child anything, you need to be able to communicate with them, and unless you know how they interpret information, you can't hope to teach them all. This current system basically says, if you can memorize information, or if you can sit still and listen, you will do well. If you can visualize exactly like the teacher is detailing a lesson, you will do well. For everyone else, you will struggle and have the overbearing sense that you are wasting your time. School should never feel like a waste of time, and it wouldn't as long as you could communicate your wisdom, but on the child's terms.
@Pseudonym77
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
I can't wait for high school 🙂
@MLang-e6n
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
I'm too old for this shit. Literally.
@AzjatyckiCukier
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
I am from Europe and entered the education system at age of 6, and left it at 24 with two Master Degrees, but if I could do it all over again, I'd do it differently. The education system that I was in, placed a huge emphasis on being a student, over being a young adult being prepared for a life in a typical world. We were discouraged from getting part-time jobs, as it was seen as lack of commitment to academia.
After graduating I had no life skills, but I became excellent at skills related to being a student: writing essays, research, communicating with professors and other students. But no practical skills and no idea how to fit myself into a corporate life. I believe that is what happens in many education system – they end up teaching you how to be good at "student-ing", and little else…
At age 30 I returned to the education system, but with far greater understanding of what I want from it. Having a stable job that funds it makes it so much better. If I could turn back time, I would not stay in school for so long, cut it short, and then return when I am older, more experienced and more financially stable. Because that allows me to pick courses that actually enrich my life, rather than be thrown into someone else's concept of what my education and career should be.
@Mondoboneable
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
I think my story is somewhat similar to yours, especially if you're actually a janitor. The reverse is true in terms of high school, however. I did not give even half a shit about school at that point in time because none of it seemed even remotely relevant (which has thus far held true 10 years later), so I dropped out and got my GED. I did later go back to college, where I went from my 0.7 GPA in high school to a 4.0 GPA, earning myself a couple rewards. Ultimately, though, I was only going in order to get what would hopefully amount to a free job ticket.
Except the ticket wasn't free, it cost tens of thousands of dollars. So I picked up a custodial job while I was still in school to help pay for housing and such. What happened, though, is I was focusing far more on my job than my schoolwork and my grades began to slip, so I had to decide between one or the other. So I dropped out of high school and devoted myself to my job which has kept me going since in one way or another.
If I were to give advice on college, it would be not tot go to college unless there is a specific dream you wish to fulfill that
absolutelyrequires a college degree. If you're going to college just to get a job, then you are throwing away huge sums of money for something you could've done on your own. If you don't know what to do with your life yet, that's normal, but don't spend all that money trying to figure it out, either. Find a nice basic job somewhere and just work for a while. Maybe you'll enjoy it, maybe you won't, but it'll give you plenty of time to think about what you want to do, all while earning you money instead of costing you money.@Albinojackrussel
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
One of the things I think the American college system does really well is the flexibility, which you don't really get in the UK.
I'm about to start a Zoology degree, and I will get some choices, I'll even be able to do some modules that are about other parts of biology, but there's no way I could do something about geology, or english lit, or physics or history, or anything other than my chosen field.
Which sucks for 2 reasons. 1) I like all these other things and would love to learn more about them and
2) I've never had a chance to actually study Zoology before. I don't know if I will end up liking it, or if maybe I'll get there and hate it, and this system doesn't leave me with much maneuverability. I might be able to switch to a straight biology course, but unless I'm willing to retake the first year (and take the cost the entails) I can't change to anything different. And even if i did change there's still no guarantee I'd like the new course any better
@FrancescaPessarelli
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
I just started my second year in college and in the short time I've been here, I have already begun amassing experiences and knowledge that I know I will value for years to come. I am an art history and French student at a big public school. I started out as a biology major and soon learned enough about myself to realize what I actually love doing. I will say that some of my lectures in both my major related classes and others (such as a philosophy class I took) have made up some of the most fascinating and mind opening hours of my life so far. Not only am I learning what the professor is saying but I am learning to take criticism, to think critically, and to understand authority while still respecting myself as an independent agent. There is so much you can learn from school that goes way beyond the textbook and I am thankful every day that I get this opportunity.
@HexerPsy
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
Serious question: what do you get out of College in the USA?
You said you go from philosophy major to english major… So what does a college degree in English allow you to do?
Can you teach English with that degree? Will you work in at a book publisher?
In my country of Europe, general education stops at age 15. In those 3 years prior you get introduced to all subjects for 1, 2 or 3 years depending on the subject.
At age 15 you choose 1 out of 4 subject packs (nature&bio, nature&tech, economy&society, economy&languages). Students generally choose what they do best or like best. You graduate high school with a diploma which will get you into 60% of all college or university courses.
A 'course' directly prepares you for the job you want to do, and requires you to have a certain subject pack from high school. Sometimes multiple packs are allowed.
They dont teach extra subjects that dont add anything to your job, they dont teach you languages, math or literature unless its required for your job. All those subjects have been taken care of in high school.
By the end of college/uni you will have a bachelor degree in a certain field, which you can use to directly apply to that type of job in the work field. College/uni requires or offers internships, sometimes paid, which means most people start off with work experience.
So after getting hired after school, they get a brief training period, and become full employees.
I get the sense that a university or high school degree with a major in bla and a minor in blabla doesnt work that way… (We have minors too btw, with specialization in subjects within the work field – and are required to write an individual thesis in the last year.)
What do you actually get out of it in high school?
@BytesOfInfinity
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
Dan sent me and now a follower after watching a few videos. Hopefully will get my response in.
@TheArKabZol
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
School never really cooperated with my autistic brain even though I had the diagnosis for the majority of the time in school. It's been overall a frustrating experience to be praised by teachers, peers and family for overall smarts but never doing better than okay-ish. And steadily declining to the point that I didn't graduate high school with a complete score. But I'm Swedish, so factor that into my viewpoint.
@brookek5922
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
I have a love-hate relationship with going back to school.I love the organization of school. I love always having something to do and a purpose for my day. what I don't so much enjoy is the countless hours of homework I get as an advanced placement student. I have about 6 out of my 9 classes I'm enrolled in that give homework regularly. each class assigns about an hour to an hour and a half of homework. after I get done with clubs and sports, I more often than not get home at around 6:30. Sometimes I literally do not eat any food because I know I have an essay due the following morning. Its literally to the point where I just do homework so that I wont be embarrassed or looked down upon by my peers for not doing it, and so the teacher doesn't treat me like a child.
@TheReflexWonderful
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
I breezed through the vast majority of high school and my GPA suffered a lot when I assumed that college classes would be just as easy. Not having accountability stare you in the face every day sucked, since most professors didn't care much about how you did.
Definitely agree with the idea that college was more about memorizing and making the grade than anything else. I had a few classes where the only grades were exams that we got already-answered study guides for; I goofed off in class the whole time and just memorized the study guides a couple of hours before each exam and got easy As.
@Krysten1785
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
I ended up with too many old professors in college. Their teaching style is too rigid for me and I felt alien in their classrooms.
Thats a part of the reason why I changed my major so many times.
You cant let a teacher/teaching style hold you back from your dreams. My advice: dont give up when you dont mesh well with your professors. Its good practice for life anyway. You're gonna encounter lots of people in the working world who just dont understand you. Keep charging through. You'll make it.
Also! If you want to get something done, just start and keep going and do it. Hank Green has a great video about this called "How to Do All the Things".
@1TribalChiefFan
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
I'm still in High School. It feels like you're learning how to learn, instead of actually learning, if that makes sense.
@angusfraser7381
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
I'm an Australian working as an accountant. My major regret looking back on my school years is that I didn't study more – while I didn't always like the curriculum, looking back it's abundantly clear it was designed for a reason. One thing I want everyone to get into their head is that your education NEVER finishes. I just finished my chartered accounting qualification, and next I have an industry specialisation qualification. After that, I will probably look to get a government certification which will have to be maintained. All of these will be tested and then require ongoing education, which will most likely be a combination of lectures and workshops.
But advice for people entering university (or college) is – get as involved in campus life as you can. I've found the people who enjoyed tertiary education the most are the ones who used it. The people who hung out with high school friends or went to parties didn't have much fun in the end, while the people who joined clubs and formed study groups had a ball.
@kebuysse
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
hey! @the1janitor what was your major?
@LogicianJackal
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
Some advice from a private tutor: Do the homework! Homework = practice, and you can't learn without practice. Secondly, it's easier to maintain an A than to recover from a C, so don't let yourself fall behind. That means you need to keep up with the homework as it's assigned so that you'll know when you need help. Most schools have tutoring centers where you can get help for FREE, so take advantage of those! Also talk to your prof if you really don't get the material. A lot of subjects, especially in math and science, are cumulative by nature. That means if you don't get something at the beginning of the semester, that's going to keep hobbling you the entire way through. So get on it, stay on it, and if you don't get it, get help!
@jermotter
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
I'm a terrible student(procrastination, lack of motivation, rarely participate in class) but I managed to get through high school with a 3.96 GPA. Although I also took 4 real college courses in highschool, I just started my first semester as a full on community college student. I have no academic passions, and I honestly hate school and everything to do with it. I know I am capable of obtaining a degree(if I can commit to a major) and possibly going to grad school but I'm afraid I'm going to dread every moment of it. For someone like me, does college get any better?
@TheSuperMerc
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
If colleges could have the same amount of traditional classes as online classes, then maybe the students would actually learn the material instead of learning how to look up test questions on Google.
@muhilan8540
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
No Dislikes
@zaneleonard4131
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
"Except AP Calculus.." yeah, I felt the same in my calculus class >.<
@MikadoOkami
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
for those going in to college:
do what interests you. and for goodness sake do not think once you have chosen one particular major you must stick with it if you find out it does not interest you. it is never to late switch and might as well take the extra time to study a new major than to be stuck with a degree you don't know what to do with.
when i started college i was dead set on psychology as a major. it was interesting enough but as i learned more i was thinking "what am i going to do with it". i am not a real people person and i'm not good with advice so counseling and clinical was a no go. and research was my real interest but i was not so good with my statistics classes. after 3 years i had to transfer to a new school and since the count of transfer credits would be the same i switched majors to anthropology in the hope i could exploit my interest in culture, religion and history.
@DendyJungle
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
10% of people at parties are cool. You just gotta find them
@Jesses001
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
I dropped out of collage for the same reason. I mean I went to all my classes, but it was just memorize these things, regurgitate on test, forget all that and move to the next set of things to memorize for the next test. I did not feel like I was learning anything, and my debt too was pilling up fast.
@KathleenFAnderson
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
Kevin, this Dan Brown is NOT similar to you. Dan is noisy, you are sincere. Dan's editing is choppy; yours helps to move things along. I understand that you have committed to this collaboration but pay attention, there is more to you than you seem to realize. I'm only reflecting my experience of each of you.
@piratecheese13
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
if you are in high school and community college is an option TAKE IT FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD DUAL ENROLL. the teachers hate their lives less, the people there want to be there(you will never hear "why do we need to learn this, im just gunna work at mcdonalds my whole life"), the class scheduling allows for relaxation, studying with people is far easier due to not being hearded like sheep
my high school had a library. nobody ever used it unless they had a history report and the teacher brought the whole class. my CC has a library and there is often an actual line formed for people checking out books they actually want to read. the computers(runing windows 7 instead of xp) aren't watched every second to make sure no kids are actually working because they know what they need to do. there are complementary blankets because the staff realized that the silence of a library was good for naps.
all these things are analogous to the highschool vs CC dynamic.
if your worried about friends then think of the friendships you'll make when you are actually allowed to talk to people(and try to convince them)
if your worried about sports I stayed on my football, swim and chorus teams and even had the lead roll in the play my senior year
this shouldn't affect(when it's a verb use affect) your decision but the food is better by zounds
@BadMouse101
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
How come Dan has been popular on youtube for upwards of 8 years now and yet his subscriber count has remained relatively stagnant for that duration?
@bertrandspuzzle
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
Glad Dan brought me to this channel. Cool.
@TamaraJayne85
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
I wish it was easier to go back to study after being 'out in the real world' for a few years. I went back and studied as an adult, and I was much more productive and accepting because I knew what it was I really wanted from the course and my care factor was much better than when I was 17/18.
@pogobat
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
Early comment on my video: "Holy shit he's giving us homework" hahahahahaha
But seriously, upload a video response…
@mrjaja1999
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
In washington I think we ranked like 48th in education last year, so me and my friends definitely faced a lot of struggles in high school. I think what's most important is to let somebody know if you're struggling, more often than not they'll help you get through it
@Sora2314
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
Ayy T1J
@natwarner8595
December 23, 2025 at 9:54 am
Great video man
Comments are closed.