Full-Length Videos from PBS.org: History, Economics, NOVA, Travel, More. PBS Video recently began publishing free, full-length shows to their website.
They already have dozens to choose from and continue adding more each week. A few of their more interesting video series include: NOVA – Videos from this high-quality show examine the secrets of science. The Economy – Episodes examining the current economic crisis and how its affecting the country. The Presidents – Profiles on the lives of American presidents including Roosevelt, Carter, Nixon, and Truman. America at War – An examination of modern-day conflicts with other countries and the issues war raises. Julia Child – The quintessential French-style chef shares her cooking secrets. Online Exhibitions from the British National Archives. Want to explore primary source material, watch public films, and browse through a collection of historic treasures? Check out the online exhibitions from the British National Archives.
You’ll find hundreds of pages of photographs, government documents, and other resources. It’s like browsing through a museum without leaving your house. Some of the most interesting collections I’ve found include: The Art of War – British propaganda creations from World War II, including many public information films. Self Made Scholar - Free Self Education Classes Online.
How to Learn on Your Own: Creating an Independent Scholar Resource Plan. One of the most challenging and gratifying parts of learning alone is the opportunity to search for and select your own learning material. Students in traditional classrooms usually don’t get to decide how they are going to master course content. Introduction to Self-Education. Welcome to SelfMadeScholar.com. This blog is all about self-education – people learning what they want to know without formal schools or classrooms. Deschooling Yourself – How to Recover from Traditional Schooling. Shred your textbooks! Burn your report cards! Project: Start a Commonplace Book.
Creating a commonplace book can help you keep track of your educational journey.
It’s a place to record favorite quotes from the books you read, ideas you have, and questions that arise from your studies. Over time, your commonplace book will turn into a record of who you’ve been and how you’ve changed. You can use it to track the progress you’ve made and reflect on the thoughts that have shaped your life. This article will show you how to get started. The Joy of Practical Learning…What Can You DO?
An unfortunate number of people graduate from high school or college with a lot of knowledge and no practical ability. I’m a firm believer that practical learning (i.e. the ability to do something) is just as important as academic learning (i.e. knowledge about something). Practical learning encompasses anything that helps someone master a skill or ability. It includes skills that are sometimes considered drudge work…cooking, painting, fixing a car. As well as talents that are more recreational…skiing, drawing, dancing. Why Practical Learning? While skill-based learning comes naturally to some, many people are more comfortable with academic learning.
When I graduated college, I loved reading and thinking. Over the next few years, I set aside time to escape from the written word and focus my energy developing skills. Ivy League Education at Home. The American Scholar: A Declaration of Intellectual Independence. “The scholar is that man who must take up into himself all the ability of the time, all the contributions of the past, all the hopes of the future.
He must be a university of knowledges. If there be one lesson more than another, which should pierce his ear, it is, The world is nothing, the man is all; in yourself is the law of all nature, and you know not yet how a globule of sap ascends; in yourself slumbers the whole of Reason; it is for you to know all, it is for you to dare all.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson Just 61 years after the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, Ralph Waldo Emerson offered a declaration of his own urging Americans to stop being “parrot[s] of other men’s thinking.”
The groundbreaking speech, later titled The American Scholar, is a treasure trove of autodidactic insight. In his speech, Emerson draws attention to three ways that people can become independent thinkers and free themselves from over-reliance upon the ideas of others. Study the Past. The World as Your Campus: Designing a General Ed Curriculum for Life. One of the biggest hurdles people face when embarking on a journey of self-education is deciding what to learn.
There are so many possibilities that it’s difficult to narrow down the options. If you still don’t know what you want to focus your self-studies on, may I suggest you take a bit of time for “general education.” In college, we think of general education as the series of courses one must take to get a broad understanding of academics. Classes like English, math, and history, help students of all disciplines share a common base of knowledge. In the “world campus,” a general education is anything that helps you explore your own interests and share a common understanding with humanity. An inspiring essay from William Upski Wimsatt, published in Utne Reader, explores one self-educator’s personal curriculum: “I…enrolled as a student at the University of Planet Earth, the world’s oldest and largest educational institution. Self-Education Resource List.