"My Alma Mater Was Books"

This quote is from the famous Malcolm X on how he educated himself. In his autobiography, he devotes a good part of a chapter to his education while in prison. One of the most interesting points that he brought up was that a college education tells a person what they have to learn, while books can teach whatever the reader wants. This idea struck a chord in my head and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense, to an extent.

 It is true that when a student is taking courses toward a college degree, he/she has to read and learn whatever the teachers instruct them, and usually there isn't much freedom in choosing where to learn from. While on the other hand, a person who can read and has a library card can learn about whatever they may choose for as long or short as they prefer. I see that there are advantages to both sides of this fight. Hopefully, the books and courses a student uses in college are presenting them with the best education in that particular field and the student wants to study this, since it is their choice to take these classes. But there can be times when a professor doesn't teach much useful and practical information, and the texts don't help the student learn which is a fault on the professor.

Reading books on one's own time opens more doors than the mind can imagine. There are texts regarding every subject known to man and a person can learn about whatever they may want. Also in the digital age that we as the human population now live in, online videos and tutorials provide a wealth of information and can be a quick way to learn something new. I have used videos to teach myself card tricks, some slight of hand, how to juggle, and some dance moves. I've had professors use YouTube clips to supplement their lesson points effectively. This information age gives us nearly everything we need to know at our fingertips.

The most important thing left up to us is the desire and will to learn. All the resources we have are useless if they go unused and left alone. A book is only as useful as the person who reads it, and if it goes unread, then it is useless to all those left ignorant of its information. Something can be learned from everything. We should take advantage of what we have and learn all we can.