Autodidacticism -the process or practice of learning a subject without a teacher or formal education; self-education.

In this eight week journey, students will discover that learning is not dependent on schools, teachers or friends.  Learning is intrinsic to our nature as human beings. There are many examples throughout history of people who have self-educated and gone on to make great contributions to specific fields of study and to society in general. 
In this class, we will look at individuals who have self-educated wholly or in part. We will also discover the many ways we have today to become self-educators. Each class session will start with a look at one such person, their contributions, and how they achieved their educational goals.  The second part of the class will be discussion on a specific mode or technique of self education. Lastly, students will be invited to share their own success or failures with-self education. We will also discuss specific tools and techniques for guiding one's own learning process. 
Some potential historical figures to include: Abraham Lincoln, Abigail Adams, Konstintine Tsiolkovsky, Frederic Douglass, Jane Goodall, and more. 
Class Structure: 5 minutes- introductions. 15 minutes- learn about one of the autodidacts from history through a slide presentation and discussion. Students will know who the featured autodidact is before the class via a classroom announcement. This will give them the opportunity to do some research before class. 15 minutes to discuss a learning modality. 
15- minutes for reflection and to develop learning plans to try out the modality. 

The famous people discussed, to exemplify autodidacticism are: 

Week of September 2 - Benjamin Franklin
Week of September 9- Frederick Douglass
Week of September 16- Abigail Adams
Week of September 23- Konstintine Tsiolokovsky
Week of September 30-Howard Gardner
Week of October 8- Jane Goodall
Week of October 17- Abraham Lincoln
Week of October 24 -George Washington Carver