Why I Don't Learn Like School Taught Me

June 24, 2024

School teaches you to follow. Memorize, regurgitate, move on. You do the work, pass the test, forget it next week.

That's not learning. That's surviving.

If I actually tried to learn the way school told me to, I'd still be stuck waiting for permission to start.

I don't learn by chapters. I don't learn for grades. I learn to build. I learn to move. I learn to get somewhere.

1. I Don't Start With Concepts. I Start With Goals.

In class: "Let's learn arrays, then conditionals, then loops..."

In real life: "I want to build this. What do I need to figure out first?"

That shift saved me. I don't sit around waiting to be "ready."" I dive in, get stuck, and then I learn what actually matters.

2. AI and Google Are Tools. Not Cheats.

In school, asking for help is "cheating." In the real world, it's how you grow 10x faster.

I use ChatGPT to build study sets in seconds. I dig through old forums. I copy code, break it, glue it. If I don't know something, I find out.

No shame in that. Pretending you know everything is way slower than just asking.

3. I Don't Memorize. I Rep.

Studying for a test is just prepping for forgetfulness. Instead, I do reps.

I retype things. I break code and fix it. I rebuild projects from scratch. I don't flashcard theory; I loop reality. Over and over.

Muscle memory > mental notes.

4. I Learn in Public. Even If It's Messy.

I post the process. Even if it's not perfect. Even if it's cringe.

Because that pressure? It makes you sharper. You build different when people are watching. Even if they don't say a word.

5. I Follow Curiosity. Not Curriculum.

I didn't fall in love with machine learning because someone assigned it. I got obsessed because I saw what it could do.

School tries to make you care after the fact. I follow the spark and figure it out on the way.

Final Word

Look; I'm not anti-school. But if I relied on school to teach me everything I care about? I'd be average.

Real learning starts when you decide to stop waiting. You build. You fail. You dig. You climb. And you don't stop when the bell rings.

That's how I learn. That's how I grow. And that's how I'm going to win.