It's More Important to be a Good Student than Go to a Good School
Some of the most educated and accomplished people in American history have become so without a college degree. Their biographies show that almost anyone, regardless of social background, can become highly educated. Education is for everyone, not just the wealthy.
This lens will help those who are commited to self-directing and self-regulating their own education. I will also show, in this lens and others, how those motivated to self-educate can get college credit for their efforts when a degree path makes sense.
The Mental Discipline
I publish my findings in the mental discipline category on my blog. The ongoing theme of my writings, derived from studying non-degreed achievers, is that students should take personal responsibility for their own education, and be weary of becoming dependent on any educational system.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byNon-Degreed Achievers in the 1700s
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
Benjamin Franklin is the quintessential self-educated learner as his formal education ended when he was 10. This is a good book to read first if you want to develop an understanding of how to become self-educated. Also pick up "The Benjamin Franklin Reader" for a selection of his own writings.
Amazon Price: $19.80 (as of 07/26/2008)
Common Sense, The Rights of Man and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine (Signet Classics)
Amazon Price: $5.95 (as of 07/26/2008)
His Excellency: George Washington
Although an aristocrat himself, Washington had to forego the educational opportunities his birth allowed him due to the untimely death of his father.
Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 07/26/2008)
Non-Degreed Achievers in the 1800s
Lincoln
Lincoln, arguably the best president the United States ever had, was also the least formally educated. He had about a year and a half of formal schooling--yet he developed the ability to write the Gettysburg Address and save the nation.
Amazon Price: $13.60 (as of 07/26/2008)
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (Barnes & Noble Classics Series): An American Slave (Barnes & Noble Classics)
Amazon Price: $4.95 (as of 07/26/2008)
Mark Twain: A Life
Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 07/26/2008)
Edison: A Biography
Not only did Thomas Edison not go to college, he was home-schooled. In spite of this lack of formal education (or maybe because of it) he holds the most U.S. patents (1,093) and founded General Electric.
Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)
Non-Degreed Achievers in the Early to mid 1900s
The Wright Brothers: A Biography
The Wright brothers are an amazing example of the kind of scientific thinking and writing ability that can be developed without college.
Amazon Price: $9.31 (as of 07/26/2008)
Inside the Dream
While this book is light on details about Walt's childhood, it very well documents his almost inexplicable determination that earned him more Academy Awards than anyone in history.
Amazon Price: $37.80 (as of 07/26/2008)
Non-Degreed Achievers in the Present
iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business
I'm not completely happy with this book, but since Steve Jobs hasn't authorized a biography, pickings are slim. It does document his amazing accomplishments but gives only a few insight into how he did it.
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 07/26/2008)
The Road Ahead: Completely Revised and Up-to-Date
Bill Gates has the most formal education of anyone on the list. Although he attended Harvard for three years, it is my opinion that those three years pale in comparison to his collaboration with Paul Allen, with whom he co-founded Microsoft.
Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)
Direct from Dell: Strategies that Revolutionized an Industry
Michael Dell had the opportunity to go to college, but dropped out pretty early into it to pursue Dell. When his parents incredulously asked him what he was doing he said, "I want to compete with IBM!"
Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)
The Learning Formula
The Psychology of Learning
Cognitive Psychology and Instruction (4th Edition)
This book will give you the proper vocabulary and understanding of what psychologists know about learning processes.
Amazon Price: $74.40 (as of 07/26/2008)
SQUIDOO: A Platform for Open Source Education
- Be unselfish: The things we've spent a lifetime of blood, sweat, and tears struggling to master are exactly what we need to share. If we have expertise, we can't hold it back.
- Ask the experts we know to build lenses.
- Expand society's definition of "educated" beyond the term "college educated." After all, where would we be without Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Paine, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, The Wright Brothers, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Michael Dell?
ARE YOU LENSING TO ME??!!
Let's SQUIDOO some learning lenses
- Learn to be an Illustrator
- Here is my example of a learning lens.
- The Personal MBA
- Business schools don't have a monopoly on worldly wisdom. If you care more about increasing your effectiveness at work than a diploma and a few lines on your resume, the Personal MBA is for you
- How to Mentor through Lenses
- This lens exists as a repository of the best practices about creating learning lenses.
- Self-Educate. Get Credit.
- This learning lens exists to provide guidance for those who would like to study U.S. History on their own yet gain college credit for their efforts. The History of the United States I exam covers early colonization of America up to 1877.
Other Lenses to Check Out
- Metacognition: Thinking About Your Own Thinking
- Crystal King's lens on metacognition.
- The Power of Self-Learning:Constructivism
- Crystal King's lens (Go Crystal!) on constructivism.
- Finding Inspiration
- Rajesh Setty's lens on reading.
