Is learning a natural ability that schools, colleges, and universities gradually stifle in individuals, replacing it with a learning dependency? Charles A. Wedemeyer stressed that learning is a natural, idiosyncratic, and continually renewable human trait and survival resource. It is not dependent upon teaching, schooling, or special environments, although—properly used—these resources enhance learning. Learning at the Back Door examines this kind of learning and relates it to schooling, suggesting ways in which all learning—whether traditional or non-traditional—can be encouraged and improved through new kinds of educational institutions and processes.