Are You A Autodidact?

I am still going to school, completing assignments, listening to professors and paying tuition at the ripe old age of 44.  I already have a great job and a masters degree and while I would like to get my certification in school administration, that’s not really why I’m still printing out my class schedule every semester.

I’m still a student because I love to learn.
I love taking notes, reading books and listening to experts.

Chris Guillebeau’s book, The Art of Non -Conformity recently rocked my world.  He argued that people may be better off organizing their own programs and teaching themselves than relying on colleges and universities.  If you pay tuition anywhere beside a state school you can appreciate his viewpoint. The average cost of attending college in the US has skyrocketed.  And young adults want more than a piece of paper when they graduate, they want real learning that will  help them achieve personal and professional success.  Are they getting what they paid for?

Autodidacticism is not a disease or political movement.  It’s just a fancy word for teaching yourself.  Chris Guillebeau is an autodidact, a person who believes in teaching themselves.  By necessity, August Wilson, Malcolm X and Andrew Carnegie were also autodidacts, teaching themselves everything they needed to know at the library.  The Autodidactic Press offers a great list of other famous self-taught citizens and an interesting explanation of why we should continue to learn throughout our lifetimes.

One of the problems with teaching yourself anything is knowing where to start.  The Internet can be overwhelming...there is just too much information, logging on unleashes a vast ocean of websites, blogs, podcasts, videos and experts.  Instead of learning about something, you can waste a lot of time learning about all the places you can learn about something.  Modern libraries can be equally overwhelming, who have time to read a section of books and how do you know which books are worth reading?

What do successful autodidact do?  

• Focuses on what they want to know.  Narrow your topic to a manageable size to prevent feeling overwhelmed.
• Makes a plan.  One of my favorite activities!  Make a syllabus for yourself, what do you want to learn?  How often will you learn it?  Where will you go to learn?  How will you teach yourself?
• Finds the experts.  Take a look at the authors who have published books on your subject, they are usually the experts. Use their name to search for articles online.
• Think quality, not easy access.  Wikipedia is a good place to start if you are a blank slate but remember that it’s just a starting point.  Branch out to the New York Times, TED talks, scholarly magazines and books to find in depth coverage and reliable research.
• Goes to the library and asks the librarian.  This is why librarians exist, to help you locate helpful information quickly. I’ve never been disappointed when I asked a librarian for help, usually I end up with more information than I know what to do with..

The biggest problem with teaching yourself is staying motivated.  Without a scheduled class, tuition payments and a grade, it can be difficult to discipline yourself to continue to study.  It helps to have a goal, measurable milestones along the way and a great passion for your subject...
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The best of my education has come from the public library... my tuition fee is a bus fare and once in a while, five cents a day for an overdue book.  You don't need to know very much to start with, if you know the way to the public library.  ~Lesley Conger