Education Part 4

Then come the autodidacts.

Autodidact, I like the sound of it.

I have favored some words simply because of the way they look, the way the sound or the very nature of them. For instance, I like the word apple because of the way it looks when written. I occasionally eat apples too, but it's the word I like. I like the nature of a few words too. For instance, I love the German word aufheben which means both to preserve and to annul at the same time. And as far as the way a word sounds, I like autodidact.

Education Part 3

What happens once we finish school, leave the compulsory education or graduate from any formal institution? Where do we go from there?

I think for most people it really does end there. I think for most people the workaday life begins. With that life comes the bills, the television, the routine. I don't have any real judgments one way or the other with this. It's true that most people just go through their days to collect a paycheck only to dole it back out to all the goods and services we are led to believe that we need. And on the weekends there is football on television.

I wish it wasn't like this for so many people. With all of the data given to us on a daily basis, there is so much of it that we can easily transform into worthwhile experiences and points of learning. The Internet for all of its pitfalls has more educational opportunities available at a few keystrokes than the world has ever known before. There is everything from short video tutorials to very elaborate and formally recognized courses of study. You can learn anything very quickly from the shorter how-to articles and the video tutorials. What's even greater about that is that these articles and videos are made by normal people for normal people and provided for free. With it, I feel like there is the capability to accomplish a task or create something quickly with the help of people who you will never know, never meet, never see in the flesh. What a way to share knowledge.

Education Part 2

I never had any intention of going to university. After all, I had been a student who did poorly from a very young age on. I was granted a high school diploma, but I didn't earn it nor did I deserve it. So, why go to college at all?

For me, there was a very unique set of circumstances that led me to enroll in college classes. These circumstances were both historically and personally motivated. First, when I enrolled in college, there were not a great many opportunities allowed me. In fact, there weren't many opportunities for most people my age. At the time when we were either entering college or the workforce, we were few and the older generation, the baby boomers, were many. At this time, the vast baby boomer generation was still in full swing, they were at the peak of their working careers. There were also major labor cuts and an explosion in automation that made jobs even fewer. Fortunately, college was still affordable at this time. I feel like a great many of my generation went off to college or to other countries or to alternative lifestyles because we could.

Education

I feel very fortunate to live in a country where education is both free and compulsory. I have never been offended when the schools want more money. Anyone who would begrudge a school district tax money is myopic and cruel. After all, the better the education system, the better the workers of tomorrow will be. At this point in my life I believe, we should provide the best goods and services to those who voted to support schools and leave those who voted against school budget increases out in the cold. Out in the cold where they belong.

Admittedly, I did not spend my time wisely while in that free and compulsory education. I was not a very good student and I was a very ardent truant. It wasn't that I was dumb kid. I was also not a very intelligent kid either. I was oftentimes bored, a drifting sort of student. Sure, I lacked direction, but mostly I lacked motivation and inspiration. I know that now.