http://howtosavetheworld.ca/2009/10/13/natural-learning/ In search of a better way to live and make a living, and a better understanding of how the world really works. Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:57:14 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 http://howtosavetheworld.ca/2009/10/13/natural-learning/comment-page-1/#comment-14930 T. Greer Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:58:40 +0000 http://howtosavetheworld.ca/2009/10/13/natural-learning/#comment-14930 <a></a>Hello! I just stumbled across this blog and am rather intrigued with the process you describe here. I also have a few questions - but first, let me give you a short synopsis of where I am coming from.I am currently a freshmen of a small but prestigious university. I have an intense interest in foreign affairs and history, and (on average) know more about these subjects than do most Americans. Indeed, I created a blog to to discuss international affairs two years ago (while still in high school) that has seen limited success, and I am an active participant in a historian's reading circle. In addition, I am currently working as a maintenance-man for the University as I desire to learn how to rewire a socket, put together an AC unit, fix a leaky pipe, ect.So in a sense, I buy into the self-education stuff quite a bit - I am a living example of what unstructured learning can do for you.On the flip side, there have been time where I have needed a teacher. An avid fan and practitioner of ball-room dance, I was unable to perform such until I took a formal class in the subject where my instructor drilled me constantly. My instructor was not a "mentor" or a "demonstrator"- and to be quite honest, I do not think I would have learned how to dance if he was. My other objection to unlearning is one of resources. To put it simply, sometimes there are certain resources one needs to understand a subject, and more often than not, these resources need to be used or read in a certain pattern or order to achieve effectiveness. I am reminded of the way in which I learned Hanzi* (the writing system of Chinese. By learning the characters in a systematic fashion I was able to memorize and use them with ease. If I did not use them in the order proscribed by my instructor, my grasp of the writing system would not be as solid as it is now. Learning line upon line has its merits.*This is still a work in progress, to be honest. My command of Chinese is nothing compared to my skill with English, nor shall it be for a long time. Hello! I just stumbled across this blog and am rather intrigued with the process you describe here. I also have a few questions – but first, let me give you a short synopsis of where I am coming from.I am currently a freshmen of a small but prestigious university. I have an intense interest in foreign affairs and history, and (on average) know more about these subjects than do most Americans. Indeed, I created a blog to to discuss international affairs two years ago (while still in high school) that has seen limited success, and I am an active participant in a historian’s reading circle. In addition, I am currently working as a maintenance-man for the University as I desire to learn how to rewire a socket, put together an AC unit, fix a leaky pipe, ect.So in a sense, I buy into the self-education stuff quite a bit – I am a living example of what unstructured learning can do for you.On the flip side, there have been time where I have needed a teacher. An avid fan and practitioner of ball-room dance, I was unable to perform such until I took a formal class in the subject where my instructor drilled me constantly. My instructor was not a “mentor” or a “demonstrator”- and to be quite honest, I do not think I would have learned how to dance if he was. My other objection to unlearning is one of resources. To put it simply, sometimes there are certain resources one needs to understand a subject, and more often than not, these resources need to be used or read in a certain pattern or order to achieve effectiveness. I am reminded of the way in which I learned Hanzi* (the writing system of Chinese. By learning the characters in a systematic fashion I was able to memorize and use them with ease. If I did not use them in the order proscribed by my instructor, my grasp of the writing system would not be as solid as it is now. Learning line upon line has its merits.*This is still a work in progress, to be honest. My command of Chinese is nothing compared to my skill with English, nor shall it be for a long time.

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