A definition of study

Kika, I have been thinking a lot about this discussion also. It has unleashed a torrent of words in me, that haven't yet been published. These words and thoughts have been simmering at the surface for so long and as long as a stay focused next week and don't get distracted by brighht shiny objects (different writing ideas), I may actually get them published. I think you are so correct about cultural and familial influences on how we view and define schooling, education, learning, etc. We are now entrepreneurs and making our way in the world with a largely autodidactic approach. Both of what Damien and I do right now to earn a living has been self taught. Damien is an amazing technologist and computer programmer - all self taught (this is the work he's done for almost his whole adult life). He studied civil engineering and from the year he graduated he pursued a self-education (under the tutulage of mentors) in computer programming. This seems to be how we are wired. But it is also a choice we have made - to take charge of our own future, our education and our children's education. Now Damien is studying other things which he hopes to do in the next stage of his adult life, as am I. So that's just one thought, I have many. My other thought, as related to your comment is this: seeking accredited scholarship is a very valid form of self-directed learning. The learner knows what they want and they seek the means to achieve that goal. And in many cases the means are a formal course of study. I can totally relate to your son. I am applying myself to a much smaller scale learning enterprise by taking french lessons vs. self-teaching at home. Yes, I could use at-home resources but I need the accountability. I want the direct teaching. I want the group learning environment. These are helping me reach my goal of learning french. And I'm willing to pay for it even. It's not about one kind of learning environment or learning path being better than the other, it's about "does this form of instruction, this method of teaching, this exercise, etc" meet the learner's needs and goals. (Not the goals we think the learner has, the goals they really have). If yes, that is self-directed learning regardless of where the learning happens. I think it's important to note the learner's needs and goals are very different throughout one's lifetime. The learning needs of six year old are very different from a sixteen year old. My big problem with most mandatory and institutional education is that it is not meeting the learner's self-directed needs, it's meeting the needs of administrators, bureaucrats, and societal engineers (and the needs of parents for inexpensive child care). Most modern education is about maintaining the status quo (don't question why you have to learn a, b, c, just do it because someone decided that already for you. Don't like it? Too bad. Here's a gold star for doing well at something you didn't care about in the first place.) Most grade school and high school instruction is not about how to unleash the full potential of the individual, preparing that person for a unique and Creator-imprinted mission. Most schooling is about conformity with a conveyor belt, factory mindset. I don't have a problem with post-secondary education, or other forms of formal learning. We need those institutions. (And we also need public school since most parents are not up to the task, financially or emotionally, of providing an education for their kids.) My concern is that these institutions mostly serve the needs of society-at-large (and if you don't agree with the values of society-at-large this is a major disconnect) not the learner, unless the learner knows how to work the system to their benefit, which is what a lot of self-motivated young adults and adult students do. They take the schooling they need to take to reach their goal. Which is what is sounds like your son is doing. But I must stop now. Because I just wrote a post-length comment.

Thank you Deborah for commenting and thank you for sharing that quote.