The Art of Self-Directed Learning

The book in 3 sentences: Embrace curiosity as a natural learning drive.

Set personal goals and work consistently towards them.

Seek mentors and learn from their expertise. Favorite quotes: “The school started as an institution that saved young people from humiliating labor. Now schools are the sustainers of humiliating work.” “The most practical function of modern education is to provide children with a safe place where they can exist while their parents work. Less flatteringly, we could say that schools are free childcare.” “Only the person who has learned how to learn and change is truly educated.”

Key points:

Summary + notes: Down the Rabbit Hole

My quiet dissatisfaction with school didn’t find its way out until halfway through college when a friend accidentally brought me John Taylor Gatto’s book on New York’s public education system.

Gatto taught for 30 years in both the best and worst schools of Manhattan. He received numerous awards for his "guerrilla curriculum," which included practical, community-based activities. Ten years ago, he quit teaching because he no longer wanted to "hurt children for a living," and he began writing and giving lectures worldwide about alternatives to traditional schooling.

Such as: Significant community service Practical exercises Parental involvement (during school hours) Group projects (gardening, cross-age tutoring, talent scouts, etc.) Independent research Work/learning (including starting a business) Mentoring Solitude (such as fishing, hiking, self-reflection, silence, etc.) Discoveries/adventures (exploration, discovery, meandering, challenges, etc.) Field-based curriculum (setting up an apartment, observing a subsite worker, etc.) Unsupervised improvisational playgroups