If you want to learn the craft of photography you really should start with some good tools, which oddly enough in this time of digital photography and auto exposure, auto focus, auto flash, should be pretty cheap these days. Start with a camera that at least offers you a manual mode, both shutter speed and lens apeture, not a "shutter priority" or "apeture priority" automatic. If you like sports or fast moving photography, go with a single lens reflex body. For less speed demanding work, you can go with a rangefinder type camera. But for great portrait or landscape work, bigger film is better, a 6x6 Yashica, Rollei, Mamiya twin lens, or the more costly Bronicas and Hasseblads. Beyond 6x6 you're in the realm of tripod mounted cameras.

Shoot lots of film, but only show the good ones
Learn to shoot in available light, don't be a slave to flash
Learn the Zone System
Remember that "eye level" is rarely the best level