It has taken me a while to get around to writing this particular blog. Not because I was not excited about it. On the contrary! But rather, I wanted to do an adequate job of introducing such an exciting topic.
Self Education
Now lest you roll your eyes and think I am crazy, think again. Here are several things to consider when thinking about self-education.
1) "Education" at universities costs a ton of money. Half of that money will go toward supporting things that you may never take advantage of.
2) Secondly, while paying for said education you will have to take classes that you do not want to take or could care less about with professors who know how you feel so they themselves really don't want to be there either. What an awful situation for both parties and what a waste of time!
3) Traditional college kind of takes over your schedule and might not always provide "real world" experiences or require a tremendous amount of self discipline or hard work.
Now obviously not all of these things are cut-and-dried truths. I find incredible value in my college experience, but I see many people who don't. I feel that my college education will work as a spring board for my self education and that is when I come to this conclusion: If I do not desire to become a university professor than I do not need to consider grad school as seriously as I thought. I can rather begin to learn about the things I wish to learn about on my own time and dedication. It will pay off.
I typed "Self-Education" in the Google search box and I got some incredible hits, including colleges like Harvard, University of Washington and Yale, that provide free online classes. Yes, free classes from Ivy league schools. There are also classes available from organizations like BBC. Free online classic books and lectures as well as resources.
However, there is no such thing as a free lunch so there are a few stipulations. Some colleges provide only 5 free classes other provide far more. Some are just written lectures, others have video lectures, still others include assignments and reading material. There is no set structure, no grades, no "classrooms" and no diploma.
But, if you love to learn for the sake of learning than taking on a self-education project is not about degrees and grades. It is about learning new things and educating others. I see these classes as a way of supplementing my education and broadening my horizons. I plan to make a list of them and take them over time, likely this summer.
There are some areas that I would love to study but I have been unable to in college. Areas like Gender studies, journalism, classic literature, and humanities are things that I want to become more immersed in. But obviously the list of available classes trumps this puny one so I would encourage anyone with any kind of interests what so ever to check out the links I will post below.
One last thing to consider. Record all of the classes you take, all of them. Someday you might want to show it to an employer. They may ask about your education. "I have a bachelor's", you can say, "and I also have this" and then you can hand them a list of self education courses. Not only does it look like you are dedicated and hard working but you also look like a bad-ass....or a know-it-all, or both.
Here are the links:
100 Best Self Education Sites
Self Education Resource List
A really sweet video series on American Cinema that I cannot wait to take.
The original Popular Science article that I read in 2009 which was intriguing and has not left my mind.
Cheers!
-CCosner
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