Auto didacticism (or not)

This word pops up every now and again but seldom enough that I always have to stop and remind myself that it means self-education.

But what does self-education mean? Is it Leonardo Da Vinci or Copernicus exploring beyond the known to find new paths in pursuit of truth? Is it Clara Barton redefining nursing practice by designing new protocols based simply on observation, imagination and a great deal of practicality?

Lincoln was said to be largely self-taught, at least in his youth.

I frequently wonder the extent to which I am an autodidact. I’ve received a lot of education through the good offices of some amazing (and a few less-than-amazing) folks who dedicated their professional lives to bringing to me and others new information, ways of knowing, ways of thinking. But in a very real sense, I defined my own winding, tortuous path to becoming ‘educated.’

Does this make me an autodidact? And does it matter if I am?

A few years ago, I might have said it didn’t matter much. But now, I’m not so sure.

The sheer weight and volume of information that comes our way, through myriad channels and from sources innumerable, makes the construction of a curricular approach to learning somewhat inadequate, don’t you think? How do we understand a pedagogical approach that is so seemingly random in terms of input.

Kahn and Brainerd and others are daily encouraging us to revisit our concepts of how we seek out knowledge and make it our own. But while Kahn et al can put topics uncountable at our fingertips, what we grasp is more than ever up to each of us to decide for ourselves.

I just led a two day learning experience in which I’m pretty sure I learned more than any of the other participants. Oh sure, the ‘students’ learned how to use the software and the managers learned how to make use of the information that will aggregate as they use this system moving forward. But I learned about learning and about not assuming that just because I’m the putative teacher, I’m not also one of the students.  

It seems to me that self-teaching is going to emerge as a critical undertaking for any thinking person. When a few strokes of a keyboard can bring almost any topic within reach, how do we decide when to reach out and grab and when to take a pass?

I’ve worked on a couple of international teams tasked with constructing bodies of knowledge around particular subject matter areas and I can tell you that while such a team must come to consensus, it will almost never reach unanimity. And I think that’s a good and necessary condition. Unanimity on most topics feels too squeamishly close to group think, which is of course the opposite of anything resembling what I would term learning.

On our kitchen counter is the diploma for a degree I recently completed. I’m a bona fide Magna Cum Laude, doncha know. But does that mean I’ve learning anything? I completed concentrations in three different disciplines, wrote and defended a ninety-three page capstone thesis. I did a lot of thinking and reflecting and considering.

But have I learned anything? Anything of real value?

I hope so. But still, I wonder.