To ask how to educate myself?

[AvaJune]

I feel stupid at times. I feel like I don't know enough about the world and don't have enough knowledge. I'm 26 and has worked in childcare since I left school. I have A levels, language exams and IT certificatesbut didn't go to uni. Maybe I should have I don't know although I don't think I was ready to make a decision at the age of 18 of what I want to be ( different education systems, if you have not noticed from my English I'm a foreigner)
I want to know more. More languages, more about art and politics, history and wine and so it goes on. Every now and then I find myself googleing stuff but that's about it.
What would you do if you were me? Any advice?

Google stuff that interests you, read books and newspapers, watch documentaries Netflix is good for that as is BBC4, watch the news regularly.

What would you like to start with? Arty things, history things, literary things, science-y things?

Whatever your answer, maybe start with your local adult community college? Something will inspire you.

Ooh, yes, documentaries! BBC and Channel 4 are good for those.

I have been doing an interior design diploma. I love interiors! I also like anatomy. Knowing things about my body, the brain, the heart als sorts. Also want to be able to join conversations but I am scared that I say something that's not grammatically correct in English.

I'd suggest reading a newspaper 3 or 4 times a week, reading a book once a month and going to the theatre/museum/art gallery once a month
Or more if you can afford it, or evening classes or open university is fab.
Good luck.

Try this organisation www.wea.org.uk

They've been around for decades - my grandfather left school at 14 to support his family, and educated himself on a lifelong basis with them.

Subscribe to the Economist (cheap intro deals available).

It covers current affairs globally plus high brow culture and science/tech.

Quality documentaries, not weird YouTube ones. Stuff that is on the BBC.

Looks at Coursera and Edx for online courses (free) on lots of things.

Check out what adult education is on offer near you. Councils above cut funding but there may still be some things. If you are in London, City Lit courses are very good and cheap and do history/literature/arts/crafts/culture.
You could also see if there were any workers education groups near you - some survive in some areas.

Listen to radio 4 and join the library - read, read, read.

Also try npr podcasts, there's loads that are super interesting. 99PI, TED radio hour, this American Life are 3 of my favourites.

Can you enrol for a class in a subject that interests you? This is a good time to be thinking about it, because programmes for classes starting in September will be available now. Try your local university, or the WEA.

There may also be societies in your town that have programmes of talks through the winter. Look for ads in your local paper, if you have one, or ask in your local library.

Instead of Googling, go to your local library and get some books on subjects that interest you. When you've read around a subject a bit, you can focus in on what interests you most. Doesn't matter if you start with picture books, just dive in. Biographies are also good.

Visit an art gallery. Pick out a couple of pictures/artists you like, and read up on them when you get home. And repeat.

For current affairs, read the BBC website - it has a huge range of stories on world affairs, not just the daily news headlines.I

Good luck!

Subscribe to The Week

Read more - try fiction set in the historic periods that interest you, and more will sink in than you realise

Join your local library and get reading. The staff in the library will be more than happy to help you find books that will help you learn more about anything you're interested in.

Also as pp said newspapers, part time courses - local colleges are looking for September's students now - so many resources available.
Your local library is also somewhere that will have a whole list of local interest stuff and courses.

Make use of these resources, they might not be around for long, especially if no one uses them.

library!!!!!

if you have a non amazon e reader you can borrow e books. but real books are great.

Google coursera! Loads of free online courses from international universities...

In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg. It’s a Radio 4 show that’s been going on for years, he gets a handful of experts in to discuss a different topic each week. The range of topics covered is massive and they do go into some depth - have a look at the podcast library!

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl/episodes/downloads

We’re so lucky in this Information Age there’s so much out there, but it can be overwhelming at times. Assuming you’re in the U.K., I would try reading (broadsheet) newspapers, listening to radio 4 and watching documentaries (BBC 4 is my fav) but then follow up if something is of particular interest e.g. if you read an article on a designer you like, google around to read other articles/podcasts etc on them, the styles they use etc. Maybe pop to the library and check out relevant books. The thing that uni really taught me was about critically engaging with things, so not just passively consuming information but asking why, making connections, taking time to think beyond what you see (is this a reliable source? What do other people think about this and how does that compare to what I think etc). One of the most knowledgeable, intelligent people I know left school at 16 with rubbish qualifications, but is still driven by his quest for learning!

Don't worry about making grammatical errors. Educated people know better than to judge people who sisal English (very well might I add!) as a second language. I would reccomend buying books on subjects that interest you and look at the 'further reading' section which is usually either in the back or at the end of the introduction if it is a classical text.

Noblegiraffe thanks so much for that link! I've caught a few of the episodes randomly, but stupidly never thought to check their archive.

.Also want to be able to join conversations but I am scared that I say something that's not grammatically correct in English.

Your English is better than that of many English people! Mistakes are beautiful, and allowing ourselves to make mistakes is how we learn.

For me (im not cultured or anything), but getting back into learning for the joy of it has sparked my interest into wanting to know more about whatever seems fascinating. And being around people who are supportive of it, ie, dont make you feel like an idiot for asking questions.

Do not worry about the language!

Read. Read everything you can get your hands on. Read widely, read whatever catches your fancy.

For most subjects there are popular/layman’s introduction type books. Your local library can help here.

Anatomy/genetics. There's a wonder book called ‘mutants’ by Armand Marie LeRoi. That’s a good one - history, science, anatomy and beautifully written

Open University have lots (800?) of modules online that are completely free to access. There's a range of levels and it's good quality.

Assuming you are looking for interest rather than career have a look a FutureLearn. I always have at least one in the go, always stick to free as it's for my own interest. Often I'll follow up with a book on the subject of the course of it interests me. I go to museums, galleries, talks probably quite a lot. Documentaries, newspapers and watching the news when it's not Breakfast rubbish.

I pick a topic that interests me (currently astronomy - always been fascinated by the night sky and just wanted to know what I was looking at) and then I try googling, often the pages the links lead to include further reading and book recommendations. I also downloaded an app called SkySafari. The advice to read read read is also key, it doesn't have to be focused on any one topic, just go to the main news page on Google, pick an article that has a title that catches your interest follow the link.
Doing general knowledge quizzes and tests also can be helpful to consolidate what you've learned or help you learn new and interesting facts. Sporcle is a great site, doing quizzes on there has helped me improve my maths, learn the periodic table, capital cities of the world, pop culture, you can practice vocabulary and grammar there too - and it's fun.

Your English is excellent

The answer for any age.

Read books.

Go to a real book shop and pick something that takes your fancy.