after that you can stay on...

this came my way, thought I'd share.

All the time my ideal of teaching has been to argue with people on behalf of the idea that they are responsible for their own activities, that they are really, in a sense, the question, that ultimately they are what it is they have to contribute. The most critical part of that is for them to begin developing the ability to assign their own tasks and make their own criticism in direct relation to their own needs and not in light of some abstract criteria. Because once you learn how to make your own assignments instead of relying on someone else, then you have learned the only thing you really need to get out of school, that is, you’ve learned how to learn. You’ve become your own teacher. After that you can stay on — for the facilities, the context, the dialogue, the colleagueship, the structure, and so forth — but you’ll already be on your own.

from —
“Seeing Is Forgetting The Name Of The Thing One Sees: Conversations With Robert Irwin”

I am sympathetic to this view, even for design where work is frequently — but not always — for a client.
Sometimes, all one needs is a single idea or prompt, to get the thing going. And then you're off!

More here.