Self education

[Weaver]

The philosopher Sarte talks about his idea of a self educated man:
This man goes into the library and starts with the books that begin with the letter A...
then reads all the way, every book, to the very last of the Zs. He figures when he's done he'll be ready for all kinds of adventures! Unfortunatly Sarte must have had a really small idea of a library in his head, though that character isn't meant to be serious I believe.

That, or he was very patient, and needed no sleep. Can I assume that by mentioning Sartre (I assume you mean Sartre), you dabble a bit in philosophy yourself besides school?
?

Ah yes yes, sorry. It's 6:19 AM here and I have yet to sleep!
Jean-Paul Sartre is whom I meant. The passage I'm referring to is from Nausea, a book he wrote.

I'm minoring in philosophy, and most of my philosophical readings come from school, but I enjoy it

My Major is in computer science if that matters at all lol.

 

[McClaud]

I just read somewhere that if you dedicate over 10k hours to learning something in 10 years, you become masterful at it.

So yeah, I've stayed current in my psychology and sociology studies even though I got out of college a long time ago. It pays to stay educated, even after you've self-educated yourself on something, as well.

I taught myself how to juggle. Clubs or balls, 3 to 6 items at once. I love it - it relaxes me so I can spend time writing more.

 

[P1p3s]

*snip*

It's not a common language and thats why I figured it'd be cool, being English, learning languages is never high on the scolastic agenda "everyone speaks english anyway" so we are the shame of europe.

I spent some time in Egypt recently, my hubby picked up a bit of Arabic, we both know some french and i did enough italian to get by on a few holidays but having done some research into the origins of languages Hebrew seemed really fascinating.

I have a bit of a love affair with language, I enjoy understanding history and seeking out the evolution of words & Hebrew has a really rich wealth of not only "scientific" history but myth and lore, its a bit magical really.

One example is the 'talmud' a collection of jewish writings which start at the end of the TENAC (the torah and prophetic writings) and some of it is poetry and 'mysticism' and there are references to the "personalities" of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Alef (a) being the first letter wasn't happy that it wasn't the first letter of the first word in the Torah Beit (b) is, so God made Alef the beginning of the commandments, I love stuff like that.

That's why Hebrew - also not to mention learning another language script is pretty cool, it's not in the roman alphabet like all european languages are.

Oh nice story there! I figured you'd like to read the Old Testament in it's original language, and seeing that is also a bit of myth and lore I'm not to far from the truth. And what an idea to give names and personalities to the letters! At least that makes the teaching of it a bit more interesting I suppose.

I'd be a bit daunted though by the different script. It's an entirely different way of thinking then I'm used to. Heroic of you, but I'll just stick to our Roman characters.

I reckon reading the old testament (or the Torah) in it's original is probably the reason why most people (western people) would learn Hebrew, other than politics maybe.

The whole 'letters with personalities" thing is right up my street, I posted on another thread here, http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.90391 - basically I said I remembered being little and anthropamorphising numbers, so I have a predeliction for their mindset I guess. Plus, in studying it I have learnt that Hebrew is not only a classic language but a sacred one and to me that makes it special.

 

[Kevvers]

I think every intelligent educated person is "self-taught" to some extent. I mean, basically all teachers can actually do is point you in the right direction, and try to explain some of the tougher stuff. When it comes down to it the actual study, reading, making the effort to understand something -- it really depends on the student.

 

[Blow_Pop]

French

 

[S.H.A.R.P.]

I think every intelligent educated person is "self-taught" to some extent. I mean, basically all teachers can actually do is point you in the right direction, and try to explain some of the tougher stuff. When it comes down to it the actual study, reading, making the effort to understand something -- it really depends on the student.

I certainly agree with you, but what I intend with this topic is if you learned something which didn't originate from school. Hence not studying at home and expanding on the subject started at school, but actually finding something you are interested in, and invest time and effort to master, or at least learn a bit about that subject to a certain degree.

 

[Matronadena]

in the US lately, education has changed majorly.... Right now they don't teach to actually teach anymore.. they teach to take tests... ( I talked to more than a few teachers pissed off about that)

that is to say its more about pounding exact knowledge into a student's mind that will be appearing on standardized tests

better the students do on said tests, more money the school districts get..


and they also no longer teach to the general level, they shifted to a " one size fits all" which means they teach to the lowest common denominator..meaning the dumbest kid in class is the curve


this is the reason I'm pulling my oldest out of public school and into a home/private setting where atleast he can graduate HS, with a diploma AND a Associates degree at the same time

I love loop holes that the system likes to hide from the public

Yeah I noticed that to at school. Some teachers actually coped quite good with that and made some detours, making it more interesting for students to learn. Most though, just stuck with that they were supposed to teach the kids, and didn't add any flavour of their own to the mix. I suppose that makes it much easier for the teachers, but far less interesting for the students.

Aren't there public schools with different levels of education in the US? Or was (is) your son already on the highest, and thus (is to be) sent out to private school to get more of a challenge?

He's 8, and in second grade.. right now they are ONLY ONLY focusing on reading, and math.. not covering science, or history or anything else...

as it is when he gets tested he's reading and vocabulary is at a mid-highschool level ( being 10-11th grade, about 15-16 years old on average)

his math is testing top in the school ( and his goes k-6) and the staff suggested if he got drilled on division and such alittle at home over the summer he could be ready for Pre-Algebra before school starts ( which is not taught in Elementary school)

With me as an anthropologist, and my own interests and discussions with him, he's also greatly ahead in other fields of study...

He comes home in TEARS he is so board in school...and does feel like the system is out to get him and punish him for something ( this is because his school this year adopted the " problem" kids who were booted out of the ghetto social structured schools..you know, parents are bangers, or users, so the kids are fucked up too) yeah well they see him as " the man, the enemy etc)

they go to class at 9am....they get a 5 min talk.. teacher has them doing worksheets......head down, no talking, no getting up....just like you would for a test...

they get lunch and a recess at 1.. that lasts a total of 45 min.. they get back, and do MORE worksheets until they are out for the day at 3.

and because it's one size fits all.. the whole grade level learns at the level of the lowest tested kid....which happens to be doing only simple addition, and reading at a post k-early 1st grade level...

and Atleast in this school district they removed the gifted program.




what he's going to do is sorta like home school in the way that at home he learns the basics like math, English, history etc ( note that parent MUST hold atleast a Assoc. to do so)
then around 1 he goes to a special campus to take additional classes like advanced maths, or biology with the active H.S style labs, astronomy, " shop" , creative writing, arts, musics, and even several martial art options...
basically it's like taking electives.

should he keep doing this through highschool, he will graduate with a diploma from any HS in the city, as well as an associates degree at the same time...meaning he will start university as a 16-17 year old junior.

and the kid is ecstatic about it wanting me to take him out now.


when I asked his teacher why this new style of teaching in public schools is the way it is, she simply said " no child left behind...and money..kids test better, states, and districts get more federal funding."

 

[S.H.A.R.P.]

*double snipp!*


He's 8, and in second grade.. right now they are ONLY ONLY focusing on reading, and math.. not covering science, or history or anything else...

as it is when he gets tested he's reading and vocabulary is at a mid-highschool level ( being 10-11th grade, about 15-16 years old on average)

his math is testing top in the school ( and his goes k-6) and the staff suggested if he got drilled on division and such alittle at home over the summer he could be ready for Pre-Algebra before school starts ( which is not taught in Elementary school)

With me as an anthropologist, and my own interests and discussions with him, he's also greatly ahead in other fields of study...

I have to say, I don't recall distinguishing myself much at the age of eight (or rather, being able to). The way you describe it, your son sounds like a prodigy. I can see your frustration of his disability to develop himself any further because of the school's inflexibility.

It's also rather easy of the school saying that he might use some home education. Surely that would be a good idea, but where would one get the time for it? And besides that, he's eight years old, where would he find the time to play around. It must be nice though, that you share some of your son's interests, and likewise it seems. I can imagine that being mightily different in some families.

He comes home in TEARS he is so board in school...and does feel like the system is out to get him and punish him for something ( this is because his school this year adopted the " problem" kids who were booted out of the ghetto social structured schools..you know, parents are bangers, or users, so the kids are fucked up too) yeah well they see him as " the man, the enemy etc)

they go to class at 9am....they get a 5 min talk.. teacher has them doing worksheets......head down, no talking, no getting up....just like you would for a test...

they get lunch and a recess at 1.. that lasts a total of 45 min.. they get back, and do MORE worksheets until they are out for the day at 3.

and because it's one size fits all.. the whole grade level learns at the level of the lowest tested kid....which happens to be doing only simple addition, and reading at a post k-early 1st grade level...

and Atleast in this school district they removed the gifted program.

Aww that is so sad . It's hard for me to imagine the pain he's feeling. But I do remember school being more dynamic then that. It makes me glad I grew up in a little village where the classes were small enough for some personal attention. The way you described it seems more like boot camp then school, especially for that age!

what he's going to do is sorta like home school in the way that at home he learns the basics like math, English, history etc ( note that parent MUST hold atleast a Assoc. to do so)
then around 1 he goes to a special campus to take additional classes like advanced maths, or biology with the active H.S style labs, astronomy, " shop" , creative writing, arts, musics, and even several martial art options...
basically it's like taking electives.

should he keep doing this through highschool, he will graduate with a diploma from any HS in the city, as well as an associates degree at the same time...meaning he will start university as a 16-17 year old junior.

and the kid is ecstatic about it wanting me to take him out now.

Firstly, care to explain me what an 'Assoc.' is? Some sort of degree perhaps?

But it does sound awesome this special education. Also really intensive, but judging the motivation of your son this doesn't seem like a problem. Sounds like really good building blocks for the future!

when I asked his teacher why this new style of teaching in public schools is the way it is, she simply said " no child left behind...and money..kids test better, states, and districts get more federal funding."

And that made me rather sick, they're just to lazy to make something that suits everyone. Silly policies which do not promote excellence.

 

[Cowabungaa]

When I was 8, 10, pre-high school in general, all my knowledge about science (especially biology, history of the earth and the universe, things like that) was self-taught, since it was (and still is) just damned interesting. Same with english, I already learned english before high-school and was fár ahead of my classmates in high-schools. It still needs work though, a lot. When I compare my english to high-school level, it's rock solid, but when I compare it to countries where english is the native language I suck balls.