Dedication, and perseverance, and hard work, you can learn anything you want to, I am learning chemistry, without schools, what I have found is if I learn something, then go to school after I have the questions and a fairly good understanding of a subject I can learn from the school a few details that fill in gaps, If I had went to school to learn without a general knowledge, I would just be able to pass tests and really not learn much, just trying to keep up with all of the new stuff at once, I was an electrician, HVAC tech, and boiler operator, for 30 years before going to school to get licensed in these, and of course I had studied these and other trade for years, when I did go to get the licenses the teachers told me I could teach the next class, and I was offered pay to teach after getting licensed.
I have been studying the chemistry of refining just a little while before joining the forum, I have learned a lot, but as with any study I have much to learn, I use the forum, some second hand chemistry books the computer, and as far as I am concerned it is the best university in the world, as I learn by following my interest in a subject at my own pace, and my study is lead by what I want to know or by finding answers to questions I have, I do not ask someone to answer my question, I search for every possible source of information I can find on the subject study them all and answer the question, which will usually lead me to more questions to look for the answer, I do not give up, like a hound on the coons trail, just keep sniffing till you find it, do not give up, work hard at it.
One of these days when I feel like it I may take a chemistry course in a school, but for now I am too busy learning, and do not have enough general knowledge, that paying money for school I would feel I got my moneys worth.
A two year old child can learn to walk and talk, without going to some school, after all of these years of experience you have, don’t you think you can learn something without a school master giving you homework.
Need homework here is one to start with:
Find several sources of information on these subjects, you can use the forum, or any source available to you.
Reactivity series of metals
Redox reactions
Conversion of weights and measures
Getting acquainted experiments, and testing solutions for values Hokes book
This will get you started finding your own questions.
Learn how to do a formula, the math part heck; once you understand the formula, all you got to do is plug the numbers into a calculator.
In school all they ever taught me is how to do math problems, without understanding what it was I was doing, I done hundreds of these figuring of dead numbers, that later in life I learned they did not teach me anything in all them math classes, they did not teach me what I needed, what was the problem that all of those numbers was trying to figure out? and how to use these things, that these numbers were supposed to be figuring out (the formulas. and reason for them), I done many math problems with Pi (3.1416), it was not till years later at work I understood what Pi meant and how to use the formula, for me that was what they should have taught me in school is the formula and how to use it to do a job, not just dead number calculating to pass some test. I am terrible at math, but give me a calculator, and as long as I know and understand the formula for what I need, I can get the answer to build anything I need to.
just my opinion.
