What are the motifs in The Tracker by Tom Brown?

Self-education as powerful is a recurring idea. Brown wryly refers to school as compared to the self-education that the boys undertake in the wilderness. They do go to school, but their thoughts are outside, rehearsing the many things they've learned together. They can tell when a creature has passed, what the condition of the creature is, how the weather is affecting the creature and its tracks, and many other things. It is true that the boys cannot spell well enough to even communicate their fierce anger at construction companies who destroy habitat in the wilderness, but of course, it is assumed that later they do get a good academic education, because Brown's vocabulary is eloquent and varied. Rick later goes into the military, where it is assumed that his formal education takes him far.