As a child in various school systems, both public and private, I have always learned at my own pace, mostly at a pace much quicker than what the school could ever offer. I would read ahead many chapters at a time and study the subjects that the teachers eventually never really covered. This was all to my detriment because once the class caught up to where I was, my interest had subsided and the teachers thought I was bored or not giving enough effort.

In my adult life, I learn whatever I want to learn - pretty much the same as when I was a child. Except now, I don't have a swarm of incompetents telling me that I'm not doing it right or otherwise treating me as an outcast or a malcontent. It's funny that those who actually want to learn beyond what the curriculum limits us to are treated as disruptions in the system and often held in contempt by the actual "educators."

I have said for many years that there is no longer a purpose for "going to school," especially with the advent of the internet and the plethora of open course-ware. Unless you're studying in fields such as medicine or engineering, there's really no purpose for "formal" education and traveling to an "institution of higher learning" anymore. I've always found that real-world experiences and training trump pretty much all academic studies anyway, if your pursuit is actual understanding of the world around you.

Anyway - great article, as always. You're doing a great service for this movement. Keep it up.