“Wisdom begins in wonder.”—Socrates
Something magical happens when a child becomes curious about something and begins to explore. Some topics she may lose interest in quickly, some will capture her imagination for a while, and a few will intrigue her soul to such an extent it will seem as if she’s being called deep into the recesses of her being, journeying to no end, willing to learn whatever skills may be needed to continue the exploration forever.
Any parent who has witnessed such a spark in their own child has been shown just how powerful natural curiosity can be and how capable people are if given the conditions to explore and learn.
I’ve seen this in my own children. My daughter can turn any recycled material into beautiful dollhouse furniture. Her love for crafting has led to other pursuits, including the creation of videos to teach others to make what she makes. My son can crochet and knows an astonishing amount about birds. His passion for birds has led to his learning about biology, geography, website design, drawing, writing, photography, videography, and more. They are seven and nine, respectively, and all of this learning has been self-directed.
When I posed the question to my Facebook friends, I found that their children have taught themselves about an amazing array of subjects including: bike riding, skateboarding, snowboarding, rainbow looming, swimming, carpentry, wood chopping, piano, guitar, drawing, makeup application, singing, shoe tying, dinosaurs, duct tape crafting, hair braiding, app development, writing in cursive, doll hair care, foreign flags, ripstick riding, tissue paper flower creation, and balloon twisting! Their parents didn’t teach them. Their teachers didn’t teach them. They taught themselves.
“It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” —Albert Einstein
Over the years, and with study after study showing its benefits, both traditional educational systems and the ever growing community of schooling alternatives have come to sing the praises of self-directed learning.
According to ERIC Digest, this approach tends to breed learners who are self-confident, self-disciplined, persistent, curious, willing to try new things, and enjoy learning.
Despite the obvious benefits, this type of free learning environment can be hard to come by within the confines of traditional school systems.
