The value of knowledge

Self-learning v. formal education

October 9, 2008

Articles, Nu Magazine - October 9, 2008

I am not the biggest fan of school, or formal education, for that matter. I just happen to be pretty good at it.

When I was in elementary school, I could not imagine disliking going to class everyday. What else was there to do?

But now, entering my junior year, high school has become more than tedious. Many people share this sentiment, but maybe not for the same reasons; I am largely a self-learner. I don’t need a textbook or teacher to teach me; I’m motivated to learn on my own.

This is because I know the true value of knowledge and where that value lies. When I happen upon something new, it is not just something to be filed away in my mental repertoire.

Instead, if the subject gripping enough, it will blow my brain apart (I’ve been using that expression quite a lot lately).

And then, with this new information seeping into the separate chapters of my mind, every previous idea, preconception, pre-knowledge must be altered to accommodate this incoming data.

As if we are really supermen and women, we must put our brains back together, much like puzzle pieces with constantly changing shapes.

Somehow, we are all accommodating to this change and expansion. Every time the psyche sheds a former layer, fresh thoughts are revealed. And along with these is a true imprint of our personal selves.

Through this information (that which changes us, or at least our minds, even slightly), our character is born and nursed and aged to perfection.

Really, learning may prove fruitless; how do we know the feeble purpose of a single human being?

But for the journey, it inspires growth.

And to say it frankly, it keeps things interesting.

Julia Wolkoff, 16, attends Columbia High School and is a member of Nu’s teen board.