Is self education on the rise? Is it necessary for young people to educate themselves outside of the school system?
My Son’s Fiance, just sent me a link to an article her Sister wrote in collaboration with a couple of her journalism classmates. Their story, MakerCulture: Edupunks of the world unite!, is all about the growing trend to self education.
“The word is EduPunk and it sums up the need for educational reform — reform that, to some extent, has already begun.” “What does that mean? It means people are coming up with their own ways of educating themselves. Ways that don’t include conventional tools, but rather new devices”
Self learning, and what I perceive as a failure of the educational system, has been close to my heart since high school. I can honestly say that I largely educated myself. I took the onus upon myself because the school system as it was in my day, could not address my particular areas of interest and aptitude, early enough in the process.
High school for me then, was a boring and unnecessarily long-winded preamble. I got so fed up with it that I quit 3 months prior to graduation.
The trouble with my self education though, was that I was a troubled young man. I was troubled because I didn’t feel welcomed or nourished in the school system. That feeling of alienation seriously hampered my efforts. As I look back I see that I could have, and should have, done things differently, but at the time, it was what it was.
Gifted but flawed
I was seriously at odds with the educational system, and especially with the principal and vice-principal of my high school. In their eyes I was a perhaps-gifted, but-definitely-flawed student. They suspected that I might have some intelligence, albeit of an unusual sort, but since my aptitudes seemed to be outside of, beyond, or at odds with the curriculum, they neatly brushed me aside. Despite repeated attempts to articulate how I felt and how they could improve the situation for students like myself, I was completely ignored–until the school administered IQ tests.
Suddenly everyone seemed to have an interest in me as if that number magically changed me somehow. The test results were supposed to be kept private, and I preferred that. I had zero interest in knowing my score. The academically elite students though were quick to let me know that I had achieved, not just a decent score, but high enough to inspire them to intervene in my seemingly dysfunctional life.
Several of the brightest students stopped me in the hallways or on the street just to let me know that I had no idea of how smart I was; that I was wasting my life; that I could be doing so much more. I recall one student who was so upset that he stopped me on the way to school and shouted at me for misusing what he called a valuable resource of mind and talent. I angrily replied that I did not need an number from an IQ test to tell me how smart I am, or a school system geared to mediocrity to tell me how to express that intelligence.
Of course, they were right: I WAS wasting my time, and I was angry about it.
I was angry that it took an IQ score to be noticed and valued. I was angry that this new-found recognition came so late in the game. And I was angry that there was no system in place to probe a student’s individual and creative potential.
If that student wasn’t on the group-think page, they were psychologically and academically banished. Perhaps it has changed now; I am speaking of my experience in the 60′s. I don’t know, but I suspect that the drive to maintain a comfortable and exclusive middle road of mediocrity is alive and well in the human psyche, and in the school system.
Students who can offer deep value to society are too often excluded from the usual categories of commercially accepted aptitudes, simply because they are somewhat different. They are bright stars with nowhere to shine. What can be sadder than that?
Is it the school’s fault? Is the student to blame? I’d say it is a bit of each. Ultimately, life is our own responsibility, but it would be much easier for students to excel if the school system was geared to recognize and encourage a student’s individual directions and aptitudes–especially when they appear to be uninterested.
Educational reform is calling
So I am totally in favor of self-education, and it isn’t just about saving the cost of tuition, or convenience. It is simply because, sometimes, the only way to advance is to take matters into your own hands.
Educating yourself though can easily become unstructured and unproductive. It might work well for a university-level student, but what happens to the grade-school or junior-high student who finds himself in an educational vacuum?
There are countless children and older students who, as I experienced, do not fit into the categories served by the educational system. They may be few in numbers relative to the whole. They may be different; a bit odd and not easily understood. But they offer a potential value to society that is leveraged up by their difference, and they can only make good on their promise if they are recognized, inspired, and challenged.
If a school system cannot meet the needs of its students; if students are so hungry for learning that they seek it elsewhere the moment they are old enough to do so, and if this desire for self education is becoming a growing trend as the article states–then perhaps the whole system should be rebuilt from the ground up.
An educational system that sets its sights on average and fails to encourage the exceptional, is unacceptable. Perhaps the EduPunk movement will catalyze some needed change.
What do you think?
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19 comments ↓
I wonder if the growth of self-education is not so much a result of the failure of our “education system” as much as a result of us finally realizing how education should work.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
bondChristian´s last blog ..How to become a (bond)slave for others
Hello Marshall,
Thanks for your thoughts. I would agree with you that in an ideal world, we, meaning all of us, could potentially educate ourselves. But I feel that only a few will manage to self educate. For most people, self education will not happen. The movement is primarily a supplementation to standard education, and in my opinion it is a signal that the system begs change for the masses.
Are there better ways to educate people? What would it take to bring the benefits found in self education into the school system?
Cheers,
John
Interesting article John. I think when you are trying to accomplish something on a mass scale that is individual by nature there will always be collateral damage. We are all so different that only those in the mid-line will benefit beyond the basics.
It’s ironic that the teachers received there knowledge through the same channels. So, they only know what they were taught, and they must have fit the profile if they succeeded in the system. That being the case, how could they possibly understand or relate to the needs of anyone outside of their narrow parameters.
Personally, I think you are better off John. Less garbage to unlearn.
Jonathan – Advanced Life Skills´s last blog ..In the Pursuit of Happiness
Hi Jonathan,
Thank you. You make a great point about teachers being successful products of the system, and as such they may not be able to understand the needs of those that mentally move outside of the middle ground. I think that is largely true. The same thinking occurs in corporations, and it is a worthwhile comparison.
Many corporations have maintained that middle road, not by sensible design or a lack of understanding and ability, but by laziness. By hiring down, a few mediocre leaders can perpetuate a low average for a company because they want to secure a comfortable and predictable position. Of course the company loses market share as a result, but because the middle path has been the exclusive focus of the company and it has been seriously weakened by all the inbreeding of lazy, fear-based management, the loss in market share is blamed on the economy or unfair competition, or some such excuse. They figure that that’s as good as they can do. It’s not their fault.
By contrast, truly successful and innovative companies find ways to avoid the lazy, “let’s make this easy” attitude in their management hierarchy. Google is a good example. They employ masses of people, and yet they are able to focus on the exceptional. They achieve that by challenging what that average person is capable of or interested in, whether they are employees or the masses that are their market. They are proactive. They understand that everyone has a unique offering and they create corporate systems that bring the exceptional out of their employees–and their products reflect that zero tolerance for lazy ‘let’s not rock this comfortable boat” thinking. As a result the masses in their market are inspired to become more creative and productive.
The educational system should be no different than a corporation with a vision. It is possible to encourage and develop the exceptional while running a system for and by the masses. All it takes is the right leadership that is perpetuated down by design, which of course requires effective systems. It can be done and it should be done.
This is a much more dynamic world than our ancestors inhabited. Our world–the one you and I live in–requires the exceptional talents and creativity of those few that move outside of the comfortable middle ground to provide the added thrust to propel us to excellence. And it is their leadership that can then be propagated down to create even more individual genius from the so-called average. That middle road can offer much more. It is time to seek out a higher average.
There are methods of education that are proven to be far more effective in discovering and developing the personal genius in the average student. We need to get our head out of the sand and have the courage to make the changes.
Cheers,
John
Dear John,
Wow!! This is an REALLY exciting and wonderful article. YES!! Great news to hear.
I also related much to your story. I could feel it in my body. It took me back to my days in school. Reading this made me realize something; I was in a RAGE all during school (never acted it out, but it was a deep body rage), especially in high school. I saw TOO much, saw through the whole patheticness of the school system and all that time spent sitting still, quiet, indoors, not in the “real” world. Well, most people thought and still think that school IS the “real” world, but for me I saw the “real” world as something SO much larger, it lay beyond the walls of my prison, something I could only touch on weekends of rare moments after school. I innately KNEW the world was larger and that made being confined to the narrow minded world of school horrendously painful and nightmarish for me. Yes, that’s a good word, “nightmarish”, surreal, almost like one of those sci-fi horror movies where people are being brainwashed, all in tanks hooked up to the main-frame. I know that sounds extreme, BUT it’s how I saw and experienced school back them. I had to try and shut that horror out just to get through school I counted off the years.
Oddly it was in high school that I finally worked out how to “act” cool so I would no longer be horrifically tormented. It ended most of the torment from both teachers and kids, but I lost my soul when I conformed. It was later in the rainforest, in my mid to late 20′s that I took BACK my soul.
I am SO thrilled to hear about this new trend. Very very exciting stuff. The world is changing, slowly, but changing.
Please forgive my rant here, but you know I strongly relate to this post. I am so glad you sent it to me.
Sending you a huge hug back!!
Robin
Robin Easton´s last blog ..Down to the Bone
I agree to an extent that self learning can become part of a school curriculum. But I think the process will be riddled with practical obstacles. Just because self education, by nature, is so personal. We are all so different, that each of us can have different needs and requirements at personal level – incorporating these into an academic curriculum to suit and benefit the majority could be quite a challenge. But the thought is certainly interesting, and can be given consideration.
Prashant | Stop Panic Attacks´s last blog ..Memory Supplement – Can It Help? Memory Supplements, Memory Vitamins Article
Hi Robin,
I can really relate to the contained rage that you felt in school, and also to the feeling that you were in a prison. Right from early grade school I could never shake the feeling that I should be, could be elsewhere, if only. And in hindsight, if only I could have just accepted where I was and the purpose for being there, I would have had a better time of it perhaps. But it is what it is now right?
All these experiences we go through add to who we are and how we perceive the world now as adults. Who knows, maybe if we just accepted and went along with the crowd, we might not have sought out some of the deep joys that we have. Perhaps your rain forest experience would never have materialized. Cause and effect is a mysterious process even though it seems so clear at times.
John
Hello Prashant,
You are right it would be quite difficult to work the aspects of self learning into the present school curriculum. I see it kind of like the quest to build a better automobile. We make changes by adding to what we have already produced. If instead, we could somehow forget that we know how to build an automobile, and just figure out the best way from the ground up, we might surprise ourselves. It’s difficult to disengage from what we know and have done in the past, but sometimes it is the best way to go.
Best,
John
John, thank you for your post on a very important topic – important because it reaches deep into the actual foundation of modern industrialized society.
Why were schools set up to function as they are? What is the true purpose of what passes for education within the walls of schools? Does our school education awaken us to our authentic self? Does it open us to a sense of wonder in the natural world that sustains us and supports us? Does it encourage creativity, passion, inspiration? Of course not. That is not the purpose at all. And awakening to an understanding of the real purpose of the educational system is the first crucial step in beginning to remake it.
Most of our current educational systems are so crippling to the flowering of spirit that it takes some people half a lifetime to emerge from under this affront to our natural senses and sense of natural connections. Others will never emerge. In Japan, don’t even mention educational reform – here, not even home schooling is allowed.
The wonder is that we can surprise ourselves – that out of our self-prisons and pain we can materialize a different purpose. We can transform our numbed senses and our stunted growth in a renewal of acceptance and understanding that illumines a new path. There is hope, John. We are that hope, and it flickers within us ever more brightly. As we begin once again to hear the voice of the natural world calling out to our spirit, we rise in revitalized purpose to respond in ways that allow us a better way of moving through our lives. Education will be transformed as that revitalization takes root.
From the mountains of Japan, greetings to you – Catrien Ross.
Catrien Ross´s last blog ..Catrien Ross on Stretching Your Potential Through the Real Power of Intention to Direct Your Energy Flow
Hi Catrien,
You are so right. Education has not just an opportunity, but a duty, to stimulate and develop the ability to live well; to know yourself; to interrelate with others and the natural world. In short, education should be balanced and holistic. It is important that students learn skills they can use in careers, but we must remember that human beings with emotional responses are behind those skills. We should be teaching how to empower those skills with balanced emotions and a sense of the natural order.
If we want to continue to change the world for the better there are two places we must focus on: the workplace and the educational system. It is there that most people spend the greatest amount of their life energy and power of intent. If we can change the workplace and the educational system to become more holistic and effective, then we will change the world by extension. The world responds most strongly to the power of business and education. We should be using that power, not wasting it or being used BY it.
Thank you Catrien,
John
Hi John,
Yes, I agree with you completely in your response to my previous comment. Even in an ideal world, education is social.
I think more than anything I’d like to see a switch in mindset. If more of us can look at education as self-education then the system will work better to cultivate our education. In the past, though, it seems like most of us have relied too much on the system and forgotten to take responsibility for our own growth.
That’s more what I was getting at with my first comment. Great post – it’s got me thinking.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
bondChristian´s last blog ..Keeping a bite-sized list to help you refocus and WANT to serve others
Hello Marshall,
What you say about the need for a switch in mindset is right on. Our education methods and basic curriculum are carry-overs from history. We have changed and learned quite a bit since the early 1900′s.
Let’s rethink education from the ground up in a manner that emphasizes how we have changed and what we have learned about being human. Subjects such as emotional intelligence, healthy living, mind-body integration, relationship and family skills, understanding acceptance and tolerance of self and others, our relationship to the natural world, should be emphasized. In business and in life–you cannot separate the two–the lack of understanding and skill in these and similar areas will destroy us from within. We know this now, but we are not acting on what we know.
Our workplace world, which education seems to solely focus on, is becoming so demanding that it is outstripping our ability to handle it in ways that allow us to also have an emotionally mature, balanced, secure, and happy family life at the same time. If a person is emotionally balanced, understanding, and happy, they will steer business in a fabulous direction, which in turn will positively feed back into society. That’s a win-win situation that we can create by a switch in mindset.
Cheers,
John
John,
I especially liked this:
“We know this now, but we are not acting on what we know.” Right on target. We know but don’t remember.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
bondChristian´s last blog ..Keeping a bite-sized list to help you refocus and WANT to serve others
John,
I am so with you. I also had a (differently) horrendous experience in the public school system, and while I was a good student and academically talented, and learned many facts, I was socially stunted. It was in college that I found a way to relearn how to learn for myself. Self-educate as you say (by the way, is EduPunk your term or from somewhere else?).
I’ve since decided that if I had kids I would homeschool them. As it turns out, I don’t have my own kids, but I do have stepkids and we’re sending one of them to an alternative, self-directed school where the kids are completely free to determine and pursue their own education. I have my reservations about this extreme method as well, but it’s certainly better for the child in question than public school, which was well on its way to doing to her what it did to me.
I’ve done some reading on our public education system and it seems to stem from the industrial revolution – a way to train children to become good workers – read, write, ‘rithmetic – but certainly not to explore individuality. Great book called Dumbing Us Down by a NY public school teacher tells us what he really taught children, and it had nothing to do with social studies. It was blind obedience, don’t get too attached to any subject or interest, etc. The meta messages.
Anyway, I agree that there is a need for alternative educational methods, but to fix the current system, we need a shift in societal values. If we really value individual growth and self-determination, we need a lot more diversity and variety in public education, and that may not be efficient or feasible.
Linda
Hey Linda,
Thanks for your great comment. There are so many stories from people who have bad memories of their school years. They have either been damaged in some way or they have not stimulated their personal genius because of the mundane industrial revolution era approach to education. I absolutely agree with you that we need to change the archaic, as you say, “read, write, ‘rithmetic” method of education.
Students are people first. That sounds a bit silly to say I guess, but it seems that the school systems have forgotten that. Students are people. They are not computers or robotic production machines. Students are emotional creatures, and those emotions either empower or subdue their personal genius and creativity. We need to educate with a respect for those emotions, and to teach self-understanding to students. If we can do that we can then get a better handle on how to structure a curriculum to serve and develop the whole student.
This can come together a step at a time, but we need to actually take those steps starting with step one. And step one might be to include a mandatory “emotional awareness and self-understanding” class throughout the entire grade school and high school years.
If we did that, children would grow up with a gradually improved understanding of themselves and their unique aptitudes and interests. It would go a long way to enabling them to take a fuller advantage of the curriculum, and it would help to defuse much of the emotional blocks–both social and academic–that students encounter in their educational journey.
Just this one change–if it is done right–would have a substantial positive effect on the percentage of students graduating, the quality of their offering to society, and the personal balance they experience in their lives and relationships. Can you imagine how that can affect the quality of a society, and of a country?
We need to change the educational system for our children. They deserve to be fully developed, and the future they will create should reflect their creative potential rather than their regret and disgust.
Best,
John
John,
I just learned today about the program “Rachel’s Challenge,” inspired by Rachel Scott, the first student to die at Colombine High School, who had written about and demonstrated the power of kindness toward others – sort of a pay it forward, do something nice for someone, they do something nice for someone, etc. Her father has spearheaded the creation of a program that goes into schools and inspires kids to take Rachel’s challenge of proactively reaching out to others with kindness and compassion. I like this idea because it offers something really positive as opposed to anti-bullying programs. I think anti-bullying is valuable, but teaching the opposite, something positive, actually begins to change the mindset and the system – similarly to what you’re calling for. Appealing to kids’ softer sides, encouraging vulnerability rather than aggression. Anyway, thought you might be interested.
Linda
Linda Wolf (Insanely Serene)´s last blog ..Authenticity: My Guest Post on Naked in Eden
Linda,
Thank you for bringing that to everyone’s attention. I agree with you that positive alternatives and living examples are far more powerful than “corrections” to the negative. We can live with gentleness, awareness, and kindness, in ways that are also strong.
Rachel’s Challenge is a quest we should all take up in our own way. Perhaps this link will inspire a few people to learn more about this, and to pass it on.
Thanks again,
John
I would include the parents in the list of responsible parties. I was one of those with potential that wasn’t being used to the full. I did pretty well in school but the teachers new I could do more if I tried. It was my parents who really encouraged-by encourage I mean demanded-my educational growth.
I speak to high school students a few times a year. I spoke to one group of students that were so sharp that I wanted to sit and listen to them. Then, I go across town to another school and I’m distressed after speaking because I know that so many of them are going to struggle. There is a flaw in the system but the parents must be a part of the solution.
Thanks for the post
Hello Ralph,
Thank you for adding this to the mix. You are right; parents should be included in the problem and the solution–big time. I suppose I didn’t talk about that because if I began I would never stop. Being a parent is a tough job. You want to encourage and support the best that is in your children, but you are not certain where the line is between effective motivation, and smothering your child’s self discovery.
My parents hoped for the best in me, but they didn’t actively motivate me in ways that helped my development. I was probably a bit of a mystery and a source of irritation to my parents, so I understand how difficult it may have been for them to get a handle on how to effectively engage me. Children are all so different, and they arrive without instruction manuals
.
Perhaps parenting should be taught in school so that the next generation of parents will be able to play their part more effectively.
Again, thanks,
John