Actually, all education is self-education. A teacher is only a guide, to point out the way, and no school, no matter how excellent, can give you education. What you receive is like the outlines in a child’s coloring book. You must fill in the colors yourself.

L’Amour frames learning as an active, personal undertaking rather than something delivered ready-made by institutions. Teachers and schools can provide direction, structure, and access to knowledge, but they cannot supply the inner work—curiosity, practice, reflection, and the integration of ideas into one’s own life. The coloring-book metaphor emphasizes that formal education often provides outlines: basic facts, methods, and models. Meaning, mastery, and originality come from the learner’s effort to “fill in” those outlines through sustained attention and self-driven exploration. The quote also implies a democratic view of education: anyone can continue learning beyond classrooms if they take responsibility for their own intellectual growth.