Education as Availing Yourself of All Possible Resources

I was telling you the other day about my run-in with the American education system and the icky taste it left in my mouth. After giving my interest in a university education some more thought, I decided it wasn’t a worthwhile trade for me, and decided to drop that idea, as it didn’t align with my other goals for the next 4-5 years.

And while I didn’t think it was worth it to me to sit down, prep for the SAT, and then sit through 3 years of traditional school, that didn’t mean my interest in the theater world abated. It’s still something I love deeply and an area I would, in the future, like to work in in some way. So I decided I’d keep pursuing that interest in other ways.

There’s a tendency in our world to think you need someone to teach you. In some cases, I’m sure you do. But there’s also a great deal of education you can undertake yourself, which is something my experience as a homeschooler taught me.

If you’re interested in a subject, a degree shouldn’t be your only option, but one of multiple options. And education, I think, should start with you. One of the major downsides of the educational system is that it neutralizes in kids this wonderful resourcefulness by telling them “only I can teach you”.

It seems far more lucrative to me to teach children to identify things they might be interested in and, once identified, to gather materials to help them develop in that world. With theater, I asked myself, is a degree the only way in which I can broaden my knowledge?

Naturally, the answer was no. Pretty soon, I was up to the elbows in interviews and talks, frantically writing down the names of books (both on technique and psychology) I could use, as well as playwrights I’d never heard about. I realized, looking around at my small empire of sources to learn from that I could make this my main preoccupation for the next three years and still be no closed to being fully “educated” on the subject.

More importantly, it gave me a feeling of satisfaction and empowerment. By taking charge in this effort, I’d put myself in the driver seat of my own educational development. I’d put together a starter’s kit for growing in a subject that interested and excited me.

Yet how can I, one measly individual, be so conceited as to think I am capable of educating myself?

It’s interesting that when it comes to educating and bettering ourselves as adults, we continue to use reductive language. When a grown-up is passionate about something, as is my case with theater, the most recognition he can hope for is the qualifier “hobby”. It’s a pastime. A hobby. An interest. Like a curiosity, you know. Nothing more serious.

And yet, technically and leaving practical networking aspects aside, I can procure myself as good and thorough an education in the field as any school out there could offer me. All that’s needed - and should be at the basis of any educational effort - is interest.

Which, coming back to my previous post, beggars belief when considering traditional schooling. Is there any environment more sterile and destructive of children’s interest and fascination than the school?

In order for us to develop an interest, we need to be exposed to as broad a cultural palate as possible. Not a priority in most school systems. In order for us to develop in that area, we need the belief, encouragement and autonomy that belie resourcefulness. Again, not a priority.

At the end of the day, I realized I’ve been quite lucky in how I was educated. That falling back on a healthy mindset means I have a lot to learn (by myself) in this field before I’ll require external aid. It did, however, leave me wondering about the children (and subsequent grown-ups) who’ve never been exposed to that mindset, let alone encouraged to think they were capable of self-directed education.