Where Do I Start?

Many paths lead up the mountain of self-directed education. Thus, you can begin your journey in many different places. This post describes some of these, but far from all.

The memoirs of independent learners offer both models to follow and a steady supply of inspiration. Thus, you may want to begin your adventure with the top dog of that particular pack, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. (Internet Archive)

If you wish to start your journey on Calliope’s path, that is, the highway of language and literature, you will enjoy the chapter in the memoirs of Thomas Cooper that tells of the reading program he followed and his (all too short lived) ‘mutual improvement society’. (Internet Archive). If, however, you delight in flora and fauna, you may want to explore the early life of Thomas Henry Huxley, the self-taught naturalist who would gain much fame (or, if you prefer, notoriety) as ‘Darwin’s bulldog’. (Internet Archive)

While not an autobiography, ‘The Education of the Enlightened Soldier’ tells the tale of a program of self-directed education enhanced by encounters with a handful of remarkable teachers. (That article will be of particular interest to readers interested in the role that games, puzzles, and problems can play in a program of self-improvement). (The Tactical Notebook)

If you would like to begin by taking stock of what you already know, consider commencing your studies with Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. Written by Eric Donald Hirsch, Jr., in the 1980s, this will provide you with, among many other things, a useful checklist. Moreover, once you have worked your way through Cultural Literacy, you will find it much easier to read (and thus enjoy) just about everything written in the centuries that preceded its publication. (Internet Archive)

For Further Reading