Jeff Pulver blogged about how everything he needed to know, he learned in spite of his schooling. He claims that just about significant thing that he knows now, he taught himself. Then he asked his readers about their own experiences with education, formal vs self-taught.
“I am certain there was not a college program for what I have learned over the years and anything I typically ‘want’ to learn about is so new that the only way TO learn it is self-study.”
“I learn some of the foundations of my life from school, but other than that I taught myself the rest.”
“I have a masters degree from the school of hard knocks … Growing up, I was easily bored, unless I was trying to figure out something new, but once I could see what the answer was going to be, I generally lost interest and moved on to something else.”
“I’ve always learned more by forging the path myself rather than travel the road already paved.”
“I am thankful for many of the things I learned in school, but I am mostly thankful for the things I was exposed to such as the Internet and the computer club (HACKS). I got a lot out of it to a point, but after that point, school interfered with my education.”
“Having said that, I see a lot of value in mentors - people with experience that I can talk with and listen to their perspective of life, based on their experience. This is something I find fascinating, and lacking in the education system today.”
Yikes. Makes you wonder what it’s all for, doesn’t it? Interestingly enough, after reflecting on things I don’t really find the feedback depressing. It’s feedback, from one small subsection of society. However, I do find it very telling that everybody who took the time to reply had a pretty similar message. In order to do what they’re doing today, people had to teach themselves the skills they need.
“We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems that we don’t even know are problems yet.” Karl Fisch’s Did you Know?
So if educators were really doing their jobs, then all of these people should have the skills and know-how to be able to teach themselves the skills that they need right? Maybe the problem isn’t that teachers aren’t preparing students for the digital world, it’s that we don’t know how to prove that we are.
Let’s face it, at the end of the day our current testing system tells us precious little about how ready students really are going to be for life beyond the school building. And there’s so much that students learn in schools that just doesn’t get tested. What grade did each of you get in “Ability to find new solutions to unexpected problems?” I don’t remember that being on my school’s report cards.
And yet, just about everybody that I now of has been a result of some school system and many of us have turned out rather well. While I can definitely recall some classes that were real snoozers, there were dozens of classes that really helped me learn how to think. And while most of the skills that I use now on a daily basis were self-taught, perhaps the skills I used to learn those skills should be attributed to the public school systems in Illinois.
It’s so easy to be down about all the things schools aren’t doing well, but perhaps they’re doing better than we think. And just aren’t standing up to take credit for it.
So let me pose a question to you. Regardless of what grade level you teach at, do you feel you’re students are better prepared for the world after they leave your school than before? If not, make your comment anonymous and tell us why! And if so, stand proud and loud!
I have mixed feelings about the question. I think if the question said “do you think your students are better prepared after they leave your classroom?” I would be more on the “yes” side of the fence. I feel right now like I work really hard to give kids a chance to think, create, collaborate, and be independent learners. But I also feel that they leave my classroom and go back into the big machine that is public education, and I wonder how much of what they did with me will stay with them. I try to think beyond the years of school they have ahead, and ask myself “what they will really need to be happy and successful in life?” But then I am also grounded by the fact that I have to give them the basic skills to survive school first! I agonize over silly things like cursive because I know they will eventually be forced to use it. I know that if I help them learn how to teach themselves, it will be a lasting lesson. So I guess I am split on my answer because I try to empower them, then I send them on, and I think most of that power gets sucked out of them again before they get out of the system…ok, now I a bit depressed.
5/16/2007
This sentence from you post stood out to me,
“While I can definitely recall some classes that were real snoozers, there were dozens of classes that really helped me learn how to think.”
I believe that part of creating lifelong learners is teaching how to think. That even goes into the higher order thinking skills and making connections from past learning experiences to new experiences and applying what we have learned.
My students are teachers and I have some that absolutely hate me. Why? I want them to think about what they are doing so they don’t need me the next time. I try to get them to see the connections so that they can begin linking and applying without me holding their hand.
If I just gave them the straight out answer of do this and do this and do this, they would always need a step by step to get through anything new. with so many new technologies streaming down the pike I really need or the teachers really need to be DIY learners.
Focusing back on your post, some of the best teachers can be said to be those that create DIY learners. What makes them good teachers is that DIY learners was planned and their goal all along.
Aside - Nicer theme! Maybe too many sidebar items? 
I’m not educator, I’m a student; I state this to clarify my credibility. As my junior year is coming to a close I look back at my highschool career and often ponder how much I’ve actually “learned.” In truth, almost nothing. It’s a sad realization after I take into the hours of time spent cramming to maintain near straight A’s in honors and advanced placement classes. The true skills, and abilities were learned far from the academic settings. I’m a man of passion– if I get inspired to learn something, I google it, and I do it. From the age of seven my father introduced me to the internet and thus truly “taught a man to fish.” In time I used the internet as a resource to further knowledge, thus finding content on my own and teaching myself from that content. What happens is similar to the ideals behind a vocational school setting: the student learns based on their interests. More importantly they learn inspired by necessity. When I find that I don’t know how to change the oil in my car I can go online and learn it myself. When I decide that I want to learn a new programming language, I go online. Personally I want to go into a technology and business field as a career. Though I’m in AP United States History, I feel that the time and effort needed to participate in these classes impede on time that could be spent learning content relevant to my career path. I see the importance of school environments as a place to learn how to learn. But continual reiteration to students who “get it” seems like its doing little. I’ve ranted a bit here. I’m going to put a post about this on my blog. Thanks for the article! Sparked some thinking.
[…] Taken from a comment I left on this blog: Teach42 […]
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