Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools).
Generally, an autodidact is an individual who chooses the subject they will study, their studying material, and the studying rhythm and time.
An autodidact may or may not have formal education, and their study may be either a complement or an alternative to it.
-Wikipedia: Autodidactism
The purpose of this blog is not to diminish the value of formal education but to emphasize that schooling is just one tool in the arsenal of an autodidact and an autodidact takes control of and responsibility for his/her education.
How Anyone Can Become an Autodidact:
So I’m challenging you dear reader to start on the journey to self-directed learning and by doing this you can and will become the architect of your destiny.
You won’t feel like a leaf in a tornado being pushed around by industry trends, government regulation, corporate cultures, and economic shifts.
Your destiny will be directed by you and you will rest easy in the firm knowledge that should things go sideways.
Let me start by saying that the concept you want to learn, the certification you want to pursue, or even the degree that you want to graduate with is rather insignificant.
You must first take ownership by making sure what you learn is not only up to your professor, your teachers, your boss, or anyone else but to you.
The first thing I always do and I recommend you to do as well is to keep breaking down any kind of new concept that you wish to learn until it is so small and easy to understand that you can even explain it to a child if you wanted to.
There might be prerequisite knowledge that you don’t have.
Then don’t ever be too shy to admit that you don’t know something.
Don’t put up a shield trying to protect your ego as your ego is the greatest enemy in your learning.
You should hold yourself by taking charge because you are accountable for your learning.
I also encourage you to become a student of your mind and a student of the learning methods which appeal to you the most.
Find out and learn what methods of teaching give you the most value and pursue those methods.
This also means that if you find that you learn better in school, then don’t hesitate to go back to school.
Take control of your education and by extension your career and by extension your destiny.
Dear reader, that’s all for today.
So what is your favorite learning method?
Do you learn better in school or outside of it? What learning tools do you use? Let me know in the comments section.
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Writer
Kulsuma Bahar Bethi
Content Writing Intern
YSSE