Autodidact - Back to School!

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned I had something in the works. Well, I've been working on it!

Honestly, I've been trying to think how to tell everybody about it. I've tested it out on a few girlfriends, who gave me blank stares or tried to think of something polite to say. I've told my husband and most of my kids, and my sister (who said she understood perfectly). I haven't told my mom yet, who will be tickled over the moon.

Reading Julia Child's 'My Life in France', I ran across a passage that summed it up for me (please pardon / indulge my current love for all things Julia lately.) She said,

"But I was bothered by my lack of emotional and intellectual development. I was not as quick and confident and verbally adept as I aspired to be. This was obvious the night we had dinner with our American friends... When we got into a discussion about the global economy, I got my foot in my backside and ended up feeling confused and defensive. Under pressure, my "positions" on important questions .... were revealed to be emotions masquerading as ideas. This would not do!

Upon reflection, I decided I had three main weaknesses: I was confused (evidenced by a lack of facts, an inability to coordinate my thoughts, and an inability to verbalize my ideas); I had a lack of confidence, which caused me to back down from forcefully stated positions; and I was overly emotional at the expense of careful, "scientific" thought. I was thirty-seven years old and still discovering who I was."

Thank you, dear Julia, for summing up for me what I've been feeling, and wanting to do since I was about that same age.

The past thirty years or so I've learned. Picked up this and that. Read widely. But it has always been piecemeal, a bit of this and a bit of that. Having a daughter who homeschools, I learned there was something called "Classical Education" and also the Charlotte Mason method. I began to delve into both. If somebody can educate their children, somebody can educate themselves too. Especially in this day of the internet with so many resources available online.

God's timing is always right, perfect actually. We're here in a tiny condo, with no house chores to speak of, I've cut back on commitments, and fall is just around the corner. So I'm jumping into this process I've wanted to do for years and years. The time is finally right.

Julia's quote summed it up for me. I want to finish becoming who I am, or was supposed to be. I want to learn, soak it up, take it in, and build on it. When I read in the paper what is going on in Israel I'd like to be able to find it on a map, know something of its history, and how it affects politics today. I'd like to be an informed voter with a good understanding of our government and the issues at hand, I'd like to be able to figure out how much wallpaper or carpet or window treatment fabric to buy. I'd like to write better, understand the changing of the seasons and why leaves lose their color. I'd also like to speak to my sprinkler guy in Texas with the big sombrero, and have a stronger back. Better stomach muscles would be an added benefit. So - it begins! Here's what I'm studying, beginning this fall:

Ancient History (Egypt, Greece and Rome) (TruthQuest material)
Geography (of that area) (Library books and computer programs)
Science (Basic and Astronomy) (Library books and computer programs)
Language Arts (focusing on vocab and reading classic literature)
(Very) basic math (computer programs)
Pilates (at home or in class near my home)
Knitting (my first sweater)
Esther (Beth Moore study at my church)
Computer (classes at the Mac store and self-taught at home)

Next year when we're finally at the lake, I plan to begin piano lessons and Spanish with Rosetta Stone, and continue the other studies, building on them in a chronological way. I'll be working with a four year plan, covering the entire gamut at a pretty elementary level (some will be pre-middle school), then covering it all again from a middle schooler's perspective, then eventually I'll get to the high school level! Subjects I'm more interested in will be studied at a deeper level. I love history, would like to be able to look through a telescope and identify stars, have a basic vocabulary of Spanish, whip Algebra and become a fabulous knitter. The first two 'four year plans' will likely only take a year or so, then I can slow down a bit.

I know some won't understand why on earth I'd bother with this. But some will. Maybe some will join me? I've put a few links on my sidebar for those interested. There's a desire deep inside me to learn. I think it's God-given, and God-honoring to do something with it. There's a term for it, I found: Autodidact. Or Self-education. Maybe fully-certified N.E.R.D. Or finishing discovering myself, which sounds a little "When Stella Got Her Groove Back".

So brace yourself, you're bound to hear all about Egypt and mummies and pyramids and King Tut, and why Ancient Rome is so important to all of us, and stars and planets and constellations and why leaves turn in the fall. I've invested about $250 so far into my notebooks, guides, computer programs and books. Most of the rest of it will be found on the shelves of our local library, just waiting for me to haul them home. I can't wait to begin!