Self-education is, I firmly believe the only kind of education there is – Isaac Asimov

 There are lot many pupils in this world who understood the meaning of his words earlier in their school career. They quit school and went out for self-education. Some people took some more time to understand the meaning; they became college drop outs. Those who didn’t get the meaning continued as a regular school-college going kids. Not every one of them became successful but there are some people who became successful and there are some people who became, even, more successful than the regular school going kids of their time.

 Charles Dickens, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Princess Diana, Harry Houdini…all these people are from different streams of life. The only thing which connects all these people is that they are drop outs. What they’ve acquired is not absorbed from any University. They obtained all these knowledge through self-education.  All those school and college dropouts out there, you don’t have to worry. Who knows, maybe you will be the next Steve Jobs or Princess Diana. Perhaps, a good mind is always a terrible thing to waste on – high school..

 For a special crop of talented go getters – entrepreneurs, artists, former US surgeons (yes you read it right!!!) – jumping right into the wide world without first bagging a high school diploma was the best thing that ever happened to their 

bank account.

  Many leaped out of necessity. Others had encouragement from a mentor or at least from a supporter looking to piggyback on their success. All however had a vision to fulfill it.

  Steve Jobs dropped out of Reed College to become the father of all things, Apple!! Also Mark Zuckerberg dropped Harvard to create the site you spend way too much time on, Yes, Facebook!!! And that same Harvard has honored him recently.

 Bill Gates the co-founder of Microsoft has dropped out of Harvard in his junior year after reading an article about the Altair Microcomputers in Popular Electronic magazine. He and his friend Paul Allen formed Microsoft to write software for the Altair. Look, where is he now. He has been ranked the richest person in the world for a number of years.

 Walt Disney, the person who received the most number of Oscars. Disney dropped out of high school at the age of sixteen to join the army. Disney proved that we can’t buy creativity from any market. And also, no school can teach us how to use our creativity. It’s an art.

 The self-made millionaire Sir Richard Branson quit school and moved to London. He founded Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Mobile and a space tourism company to provide suborbital trips into space for anyone who can 

afford them. No school could teach him the way to be successful. He himself found the way. Of course, if there is a will, there is a way.

  The Musical legend Elton John is a school dropout. Can you believe it? Elton quit school to become a weekend pianist at a local pub. And everybody knows where he reached finally. He has sold more than 250 million records, making him one of the most successful musicians of all the time.

 The name Houdini is synonymous with magic. Before becoming a world renowned magician and escape artist named Harry Houdini. Ethric Weiss dropped out of school at age twelve, and done several jobs, including a locksmith’s apprentice. What a magical life. Right?

 The name Houdini is synonymous with magic. Before becoming a world renowned magician and escape artist named Harry Houdini,  Ethric Weiss dropped out of school at age twelve, and done several jobs, including a locksmith’s apprentice. What a magical life. Right?

 The late Diana Spencer, princess of Wales attended Heath Girls’ School where she was regarded as an academically below average student having failed all of her O level examinations. At age of sixteen, she left the school and briefly attended a finishing school in Switzerland before dropping out from there as well. Look, a princess is a school dropout, then why people are staring at us?

 These people had taken the decision to quit school and do what they want to do in their life.

Charles  Dickens,  author  of  numerous classics including Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities and a Christmas Carol attended elementary school until his life took a twist of its own when his father was imprisoned for debt. At age 12, he left school and began working ten hour days in a boot blacking factory. And that boy who was forced to drop school has later emerged as one of world’s best writers. Of course, luck may lose but talent may not.

 Colonel Sanders overcame his lack of education to become the biggest drumstick in the fried chicken business. His father died when he was six years old and since his mother worked, he was forced to cook for his for his family. After dropping out elementary school, Sanders worked many jobs including fire fighter, insurance salesman etc. sanders’ cooking and business experience helped him make millions as the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). Today we are queuing up in front of this school dropout’s firms for hours.

 Finance, failures, health, family problem, home sicknesses are some of the common issues for dropping out cited by Psychologists. But there are some exceptions like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs who exactly know where they want to reach and who don’t want to waste a second of time.

 According to the UNESCO reports, there are high rates of students leaving school, especially pronounced in the developing world. Sub Saharan Africa sees 42% of its pupils leaving school  early, with one in six leaving before

Grade 2.

 In South and West Asia, Out of every 100 pupils who start primary school, 33 will leave before reaching the last grade. While in Latin America and the Caribbean,17% of pupils leave school before completing primary education.

 Forcefully teaching a child a subject which they don’t understand could only spoil their future. Our education systems are doing the same. It doesn’t let pupil to think, only force them to learn what is written on a text book or taught by a trained teacher. Creativity has no space in our academics. Remember, even the most genius person on earth till date is a school dropout, Yes, he is Albert Einstein. No school could teach him what he wanted. And the world’s best leader Abraham Lincoln is a school dropout. He learned from his own experiences.

 We cannot teach creativity and talent at school. Those who realized the fact has dropped their school and college career. We have a lot to learn from our nature and our experiences. That knowledge is not hidden on a text book. We cannot acquire the knowledge which we understand through our own experiences from any school or college. We have to learn it ourselves. And that is the biggest knowledge that we will acquire in our life time. At the end of the day No one will be aware of the number of degrees you have attained or the places you have worked, after all your happily life will be the only thing which matters.So, friends break the conventional rules, be ready to take risks, learn from your own experiences. Of course, experience is always the best teacher..!!                                                                                       Sarika