School yo’ Self!

Tell me and I’ll forget
Show me and I may remember
But involve me and I’ll understand
– Chinese Proverb

“I just quit college in the middle of my junior year and enrolled as a student at the university of Planet Earth, the world’s oldest and largest educational institution. It has millions of professors, tens of millions of books, and unlimited course offerings. Tuition is free. There are no degrees and no one ever graduates.”
William Upski Wimsatt

“Head on 2007–08″ is a 10 foot tall white neon sculpture of a brain by Algerian artist Adel Abdessemed.Ever heard of self schooling? If you have never thought of education as something you can take into your own hands, it’s probably because you’ve been led to believe that education is something we ‘receive’ from others in authority positions. Learning is institutionalised, which means that a specific system of education has been developed that were all required to participate in.

So what’s wrong with that, you ask?

This system is problematic because it supports only very specific types of academic style learning. Think of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned throughout your life…did you learn them in the classroom? Out of a text book? Or, did you learn it from direct experience? Did you LIVE it?

What we experience in our lives is the most valuable education we can get and while the required education system has benefits and value in society, we must never forget that not only do we have the ability to school ourselves in whatever we want to but that life itself is the most dynamic, useful and challenging school we will ever attend.

For those interested in some free online education check out these sites for courses on everything from everyday life topics including food, music, media and health – even some courses on drugs! There are also a tonne of courses on more traditional subjects in the humanities, arts, sciences & business: