Comments on: Open-Source Teaching Clubs

By: School of Everything - [tmbchr]â„¢

School of Everything - [tmbchr]â„¢ — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:53:43 +0000

[...] We were calling this idea “open source teaching clubs” back in the day, but School of Everything is a wonderful name for it as well. More info via TechCrunch. Articles With Similar Themes: [...]

By: Creating A Skills Bank - Pop Occulture

Creating A Skills Bank - Pop Occulture — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:30:53 +0000

[...] [[Continued from here. Ties in threads begun here.]] [...]

By: Do It Together! - Pop Occulture Blog

Do It Together! - Pop Occulture Blog — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 23:25:46 +0000

[...] Really, you should be able to apply this web of social and cultural connections for any activity you might like to learn, try out or get good at. Most activities, on some level, are social activities. And if they are not, maybe they sould be. That seems to be the point of the DIT “movement,” if you could call it that. And it is also the driving force behind the idea of “open-source” teaching clubs that we’re also currently exploring. [...]

By: Tim Boucher

Tim Boucher — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 00:00:19 +0000

Yeah I can’t believe we invented this idea. It seems so natural that I just must not be calling it the right thing to find the others who are doing it. Thanks for the book recommendation!

By: Siderea

Siderea — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 23:23:55 +0000

This idea was really big in the 1960s, actually. John Holt described such learning collaboratives in, IIRC, Instead of Education, which you might want to check out.

By: Tim Boucher

Tim Boucher — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 17:38:51 +0000

Why must it be in Seattle?

Well, part of the point would be to connect people locally with similar interests and to transmit knowledge outside of technological channels

By: Gina Bass

Gina Bass — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 12:59:09 +0000

Why must it be in Seattle? I mean, isnt that what the internet was designed for? I know there are many collaborative sites where instruction are given for different interests, there are entire communities, of course you might need a Chilton’s manual to learn about your particular vehicle, and you sound as you are already willing to get your hands dirty.

My husband has had 4 strokes, is not a mechanic but managed to do repairs on my Ford ranger everything from replacing water pumps to installing a new AC compressor. I am currently re-tiling a shower enclosure, although I am not a tilesetter.

There’s a real sense of DIY on the net, its just a matter of getting out of one’s comfort zone. This looks like a pretty good site to get started with
http://www.jonko.com/.

By: Kylark

Kylark — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 05:13:19 +0000

In other words, it would sort of be like blogging in real-life, except without the blogs. People would just talk to each other face to face instead. It seems like an idea and an aesthetic whose time is ripe to be expanded and perhaps formalized into a simple system that can be replicated anywhere.

I bow to your subtle sense of irony.

Does anybody know of similar organizational structures that we could apply, models or examples for this type of thing?

Subversive organizations throughout history.

By: Drew

Drew — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 04:30:53 +0000

i don’t know, i don’t think it works that way. it seems like it was most rewarding and interesting because it just happened. you didn’t have to go on craigslist or some lame community college class. the info just kind of appears when you need it. it seems like trying to formally in-formalize it would just kill the vibe.

By: TheBizofKnowledge

TheBizofKnowledge — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 21:41:19 +0000

That sounds like a very cool idea. I have to agree with JP in regards to both setting up the date of the meetings and publicizing the group. Craigslist gets pretty good results. You might also want to start a Yahoo group to help everyone stay in touch once you get enough members. Definitely don’t leave the meeting times up to the group to decide, as nothing ever gets decided that way. Good luck!

By: McCoy

McCoy — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 18:10:37 +0000

Houston has Leisure Learning (Unlimited, Inc.)

http://www.llu.com

Car repair to past life regression, it has just about everything. Iâ€™m surprised Seattle doesnâ€™t have something similar.

By: Aditi Tahiti

Aditi Tahiti — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 17:41:21 +0000

Your best bet for Seattle would be creating a post on this forum:

http://www.seattlediy.com/forum/

and putting forth your idea. It’s sometimes a bit slow, but there should be people interested. There should at least be people involved in the DIY Academy, which is more geared towards knitting & pretty generic workshops, but they have the foundation of what you want to get set up down it sounds like…

The DIY scene is exploding in so many ways that I’m sure someone will help you develop your plans better…

By: jp

jp — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 17:40:23 +0000

Starting it wouldn’t be difficult at all. Find someone willing to teach, a couple of people willing to learn, a place for the first lesson, and simply start it. Start small, with one or two basic classes offered, then, depending on their popularity, start offering larger classes. Advertise on Craigslist, or via flyers in coffeeshops, bookstores and libraries, and by word-of-mouth. “Looking for teachers,” or something like that. Voila!

Thing is, you’d need, at least at first, someone to take the initiative and plan the whole thing out, pick a date/time/subject/location and say “here it is, this is when it happens, be there or don’t.” I’ve found that depending on the whole group to help decide this kind of stuff doesn’t work. It’s better to just start it yourself.

If you want to start something like this in Seattle, I’d totally be game helping out/learning/teaching.

By: Allison

Allison — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 17:30:25 +0000

I love this idea. I too am drawing a blank so far, as to how to go about it, but I think it’s worth pursuing.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 15:35:45 +0000

This was supposedly how the Japanese martial arts were taught during the ’sengoku jidai’ (fuedal period) — when people had to kill eachother at times, and the general structure of society was often chaotically shifting. It seems like schools of kung fu are taught in a similar way even now. That way being more akin to casual get-togethers, in which a more experienced person would teach a, usually small, group of eager students his skills. I think the general idea is that when you live in a world where you’re actually gonna have to use this stuff, it won’t do to have excessive formalities, or strict hierarchy, or an insane learning plan that requires months of prep-learning before you get any practical working knowledge.

In an anarchist world, where there is no sense of a higher organizational structure, I imagine you’d get a more generalist approach to learning, in which, through your life experience, you meet many interesting people who are willing to teach you many interesting things, that you can actually do stuff with — free of any formal strictures.

By: Agnes, the Kari person

Agnes, the Kari person — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 15:30:49 +0000

A couple of things come to mind: book clubs and community programs. I don’t know how folks go about creating book clubs, but I think you might find your local library a good resource. Ours has various kinds of groups that get together there on a regular basis–writing, business, music, etc.. Many communities also offer summer and winter programs with all kinds of activities at various locations. Here, they send out a catalog a couple times a year. I’ve seen it offer all kinds of sports, swimming, dance, travel, self-defense, art, foreign languages, crafts, dog training, computer programs, cooking, music, yoga, aerobics, finance, etc.. Some programs are free. Some have class/material fees. Perhaps your community does something similar.

Agnes