[p2p-research] Fwd: family education commons

[Michel Bauwens]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Maria Droujkova <droujkova at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 12:52 AM
Subject: Re: family education commons
To: Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>
Cc: james burke <lifesized at gmail.com>


James,

The post is up live:
http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/family-educator-commons/2010/08/09


The picture still isn't working though.

Cheers,
MariaD




On Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 1:28 AM, Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>wrote:

> thanks Maria, excellent, James should be able to help you with the picture,
>
> Michel
>
>   On Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 12:44 AM, Maria Droujkova <droujkova at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> I put the post into the blog and scheduled it to appear on Monday, because
>> I like Mondays. I don't see a way to add my picture to the profile, so it
>> just has an empty placeholder instead of my userpic.
>>
>> I would very much for someone to read it once more in case we missed
>> something with editing.
>>
>>
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Maria Droujkova
>>
>> Make math your own, to make your own math.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>   On Fri, Jul 16, 2010 at 10:44 AM, Michel Bauwens <
>> michelsub2004 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear Maria,
>>>
>>> I write a lot, but apologies, my technical skills are quite limited,
>>>
>>> I simply don't know how to copy from a google doc so that the links and
>>> images can be simply copy-pasted in wordpress,
>>>
>>> I asked <g>, but nobody came forward ...
>>>
>>> as for images, all i know is how to link to nan existing image,
>>>
>>> Michel
>>>
>>>   On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 6:38 PM, Maria Droujkova <droujkova at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> Michel,
>>>>
>>>> Thank you for your kind words. Sorry I missed your email - I started a
>>>> big task (teaching a new course online) and it has occupied most of my
>>>> attention for the last few weeks.
>>>>
>>>> What format would be easier for you instead? You can export into a
>>>> variety of formats from that document, including html. Please let me know if
>>>> you'd like me to send it to you in any format, as an attachment.
>>>>
>>>> I am attaching the picture from the essay to this email.
>>>>
>>>> I am CCing Carol Cross, the second author.
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Maria Droujkova
>>>>
>>>> Make math your own, to make your own math.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 1:31 AM, Michel Bauwens <
>>>> michelsub2004 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Dear Maria,
>>>>>
>>>>> sorry for the delay, but nobody responded to my query on how to copy
>>>>> google docs in wordpress and I also have difficulty with the image,
>>>>>
>>>>> so I'm publishing it without links an image on the 18th, but it still
>>>>> looks quite okay,
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm sure you can publish your full version with robin good or daniel
>>>>> pinchbeck ..
>>>>>
>>>>> it's a good, clear and inspiring mini-essay,
>>>>>
>>>>> on the 18th, here at
>>>>> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/family-education-or-homeschooling-as-a-commons-based-economy/2010/07/18
>>>>>
>>>>> Michel
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Groundbreaking books, such as The World is Flat<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Is_Flat>and A
>>>>> Whole New Mind <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Whole_New_Mind>, have
>>>>> suggested that a whole new kind of educational system is necessary to
>>>>> prepare today's students with the 22nd century skills necessary for the
>>>>> emerging global knowledge economy. However, even the most innovative
>>>>> experiments within the public school system, such as charter schools and
>>>>> virtual school networks, are trapped within the antiquated institutions
>>>>> designed for the 19th century industrial economy. Teachers are forced to
>>>>> work within the assembly line structure imposed upon them: classes based on
>>>>> identical ages rather than abilities or interests, and run on a specific
>>>>> timeframe that requires everyone to use the same curriculum to produce an
>>>>> identical outcome at the same time to pass high-stakes tests. As a result,
>>>>> nobody within these institutions can fully implement the radical educational
>>>>> programs developed by our leading futurists.
>>>>>
>>>>> However, there is a segment of education that does have the freedom,
>>>>> the ability, and the will to fully engage in a wide variety of educational
>>>>> experiments. That segment is generally called homeschooling, although we
>>>>> prefer the term "family education" because most of it is not schooling and
>>>>> does not happen at home. By now, the practice of family education has
>>>>> expanded and diversified so much that some of the most exciting and
>>>>> forward-thinking experiments in educational reform are happening as small
>>>>> scale models within individual families, small coops, regional support
>>>>> groups, and virtual networks of home educators around the globe.
>>>>>
>>>>> This essay is an introduction to family education from the perspective
>>>>> of the commons. We trace values that lead to particular patterns in making
>>>>> and sharing of resources in communities and networks of family educators. To
>>>>> guide their changes, many institutions and networks are starting to adapt
>>>>> these community-building and learning patterns: the know-how of family
>>>>> educators. I plead to look at the deeper level of values: the know-why.
>>>>>
>>>>> "I started homeschooling thirteen years ago, and it has evolved
>>>>> tremendously since then," said Julie Brennan in a recent interview. Julie is
>>>>> the family educator responsible for the learning of her four children,
>>>>> and the founder of Living Math <http://livingmath.net/>, a forum of
>>>>> some four thousand members where parents discuss mathematics they practice
>>>>> in families, coops, and clubs. In the last two years, more and more
>>>>> institution-based educators have been joining Julie's group, as there is a
>>>>> growing demand for alternatives that work. In the last few months, the
>>>>> conversations about public schools in particular changed qualitatively,
>>>>> toward "a reigning discourse of despair"<http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2010/05/12/roseravitchschoolreform.html?tkn=TVLFEQl4mJGbj0e66iUJf21cYOmgtHjLpmeG>.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> The goal of this essay is to share family educator know-how to help
>>>>> other communities who are now willing to listen. For decades, family
>>>>> educators have been developing powerful communities and networks, eventually
>>>>> making family learning sustainable and scalable beyond the super-dedicated
>>>>> circle of "early adopters." One way out of the current desperation about
>>>>> institutional learning is adopting blended models where multiple families,
>>>>> institutions, and communities comprise each student's personal
>>>>> learning network <http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/article01.htm>.
>>>>> Principles of family learning we describe can guide building blended
>>>>> learning models.
>>>>>
>>>>> These principles apply to family educator communities we know and love.
>>>>> Hopefully, others will speak about different types of communities.
>>>>> "Imagine..." prompts describe extremes of each idea to promote brainstorming
>>>>> and discussion. It's not the newness that makes the ideas exciting - most of
>>>>> them are very old - but the particular ways millions of our contemporaries
>>>>> reinterpret these ideas in the daily life. We expect a wide variety of
>>>>> different and even opposite implications imagined by different people from
>>>>> the same prompt. We are confident the incredibly diverse experiences of
>>>>> family educators will reflect all the imagined scenarios and more.
>>>>>
>>>>> All We Need Is...The main trait of family-based learning communities,
>>>>> and their main difference from institutions, is using love as the main
>>>>> organizing force. Success and well-being of each student is the matter
>>>>> of huge personal importance to the family. Thus parental love drives the
>>>>> natural selection in the ecology of family-centered learning materials and
>>>>> systems. Of course, it frequently happens that a particular program,
>>>>> approach, book, curriculum, class, learning partner, or mentor does not work
>>>>> out for a particular student. Having very few considerations beyond
>>>>> individual student success, family educators discard what does not work for
>>>>> their children, and move on until something works well enough.
>>>>>
>>>>> *Imagine educators helping students to quickly quit unfit learning
>>>>> systems, curricula, and classes, and move on. How would this shift of focus
>>>>> from student retention to student mobility change educational materials?
>>>>> *
>>>>>
>>>>> A part of the overall caring structure is the requirement of care in
>>>>> learning groups, communities, and networks. For example, learning group
>>>>> leaders are expected to pay personal attention to every student and to be
>>>>> reasonably passionate about all topics they offer - or, failing that, find
>>>>> someone else who is. The main consequence is depth and breadth of engagement
>>>>> of group leaders with the material, contagiously spreading among students.
>>>>>
>>>>> *Imagine teachers personally liking every topic they currently teach.
>>>>> What systemic changes will this cause over time?*
>>>>>
>>>>> Decision-making in family learning is a combination of wishes of
>>>>> children and parents, what their communities and networks deem important, resource
>>>>> constraints, and local schooling regulations. The last item is based
>>>>> on centralized, institutional structures, and as such frequently conflicts
>>>>> with philosophies and practices of individual family educators. They see it
>>>>> as a problem and take a variety of steps to minimize its impact, while the
>>>>> balance between child, parent, and community power in each family
>>>>> determines day-to-day learning. Some parents, notably unschoolers<http://www.unschooling.com/>,
>>>>> guarantee their children full "veto rights" on any learning materials or
>>>>> activities the child does not like, while others may force curricula
>>>>> on children. But one thing unites all homeschooling parents: they don't use
>>>>> materials or activities *they* don't like.
>>>>>
>>>>> *Imagine educators never participating in "curriculum wars" about what
>>>>> is best for everybody. Imagine curriculum planning so disintermediated<http://radar.oreilly.com/2010/05/disintermediation-risks-trends.html>that each educator simply chooses for her students what
>>>>> she likes the best out of everything available. What will it imply for
>>>>> policies?*
>>>>>
>>>>> Decentralized decision-making and individual choices support the rapid
>>>>> development of multiple niches in education. Each viable curriculum,
>>>>> teaching style, and community grows and develops based on direct wishes and
>>>>> contributions of its loving users. This widespread care means a strong push
>>>>> toward finding and building more and more custom-tailored ways of learning
>>>>> that increase individual meaning and significance: "Loving one another
>>>>> in the context <http://www.shirky.com/herecomeseverybody/>." To
>>>>> continue the biological analogy, the ecological pressures produce a wide
>>>>> variety of species. No system of education or set of curricular materials
>>>>> can hope for more than a tiny fraction of this varied and mobile target
>>>>> audience.
>>>>> *
>>>>> Imagine describing the overall curricular philosophy in terms like "Curriculum
>>>>> of Love <http://www.skylarksings.com/>" or "Delight Directed Learning<http://www.design-your-homeschool.com/Delightdirected.html>."
>>>>> How does it shape daily learning experiences and long-term curricular
>>>>> decisions?*
>>>>>
>>>>> Inclusion and Exclusion
>>>>> Connections among family educators working together are close and
>>>>> personal. There may be no divisions between times and locations for
>>>>> family, playing with friends, academics, and work. Many people invite
>>>>> to group activities only those they would invite home. Collaborations spark
>>>>> friendships or at least tighter personal relationships, as families plan and
>>>>> work together. Because children must be welcome to every meeting place, only
>>>>> such environments are considered for conducting any sort of group business.
>>>>>
>>>>> *Imagine workplaces and academic spaces always welcoming children. How
>>>>> does it change the organization of space and people dynamics? How does it
>>>>> change the ways children are socialized?*
>>>>>
>>>>> To address a frequently asked question, family-educated children do go
>>>>> to local open events, take online classes, and otherwise engage with people
>>>>> who are initially complete strangers. However, the planning and sharing of
>>>>> these events happens in the context of family and friends, and new people
>>>>> are seen through the lens of family-and-friend networks. After a book
>>>>> discussion about "Signing Their Lives Away," the authors<http://www.joedenise.com/Home.html>commented that they always get lively and deep questions from homeschool
>>>>> groups. A kid replied, "It is easier to ask questions when I know I can
>>>>> discuss them later with my friends who were there, too."
>>>>>
>>>>> *Imagine children in every class being sons and daughters of teachers,
>>>>> teachers' friends, or friends of friends. What does it imply for conduct,
>>>>> behavior, decision-making, management?*
>>>>>
>>>>> The word "homeschooling" applies most directly to very young kids, as
>>>>> their activities typically include parents and largely happen in small "
>>>>> Nakama <http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Nakama>" groups
>>>>> with tight friends-and-family relationships, meeting at homes. There are
>>>>> larger local networks of several dozen to several hundred families from
>>>>> which small groups are formed. These family learning networks are defined by
>>>>> compatible visions: some may require a particular religious affiliation,
>>>>> some follow a philosophy of learning, some grow on the basis of other decentralized
>>>>> networks of peers <http://www.starfishandspider.com/>, such as La
>>>>> Leche League <http://www.llli.org/> and Holistic Moms<http://www.holisticmoms.org/>.
>>>>> A typical network has an email group, a site to share documents and to
>>>>> schedule events, and regular meetings open to new people, usually by
>>>>> invitation from members. Families also form larger coops where members take
>>>>> turns organizing activities based on their interests. Coops hold regular
>>>>> meetings in member homes, libraries, churches, or community centers.
>>>>> For example, our families belong to the local network Cary
>>>>> Homeschoolers <http://www.caryhomeschoolers.org/>, and two coops, Career
>>>>> Explore <http://careerexplorationcoop.org/> and Learning Arbor<https://learningarbor.wikispaces.com/>.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> *Imagine parents having to find and organize other interested families
>>>>> for the majority of their children's group activities. What networking
>>>>> skills will they develop after a few years of participation? *
>>>>>
>>>>> The democratic ideal of the public school<http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2010/05/12/roseravitchschoolreform.html?%20tkn=TVLFEQl4mJGbj0e66iUJf21cYOmgtHjLpmeG&cmp=clp-edweek>as a place open to everybody seems to contradict the premises of family
>>>>> learning communities. What about democracy there? Some larger family
>>>>> learning communities and networks occasionally use democratic processes
>>>>> within, such as electing a board or voting on group rules. Others are
>>>>> autocratic, attracting people who agree to the leader's vision or a
>>>>> pre-determined doctrine. Smaller groups typically seek consensus of all
>>>>> members in their daily operations, or follow rules and directives from their
>>>>> founders. Groups and communities rarely try to accommodate, or welcome,
>>>>> absolutely everybody. Yet the democracy works at the inter-group level.
>>>>> Everybody can start a group, a community, or a network. Moreover, different
>>>>> groups participate together in large open events, and support one another
>>>>> this way. For example, a fundamentalist religious coop can require members
>>>>> to sign a statement of faith and to bring a recommendation from their priest
>>>>> to join. However, when this coop organizes a curriculum swap or a science
>>>>> fair, they may open it to all local family educator groups.
>>>>> *
>>>>> Imagine an abundance of diverse, autonomous learning groups, each
>>>>> supporting a strong and focused agenda. If the resource and administrative
>>>>> cost of starting a group is close to zero, what possibilities does it open
>>>>> for the democracy in education? What limitations does it place on
>>>>> demographics with limited group-building capabilities?*
>>>>>
>>>>> Online Communities
>>>>> Online and blended activities of family educators can serve as a more
>>>>> accessible gateway for institutional educators. After all, joining these
>>>>> activities requires relatively minor structural changes within school
>>>>> children's families and organizations, as The School of One<http://schools.nyc.gov/community/innovation/SchoolofOne/default.htm>shows. Very few face-to-face school classes open their doors to family
>>>>> educators, or are suitable for many of them, but lot of online classes do
>>>>> and are. At the giant Florida Virtual School, homeschoolers from outside of
>>>>> the state are directed to the same sign-up form<http://www.flvs.net/students/pages/homeschoolers.aspx>as other out-of-state students, with only one line to be entered differently,
>>>>> though in-state students have to do more paperwork. Likewise, the Virtual
>>>>> Homeschool Group <http://www.virtualhomeschoolgroup.com/> welcomes
>>>>> many students from schools. Open and widely-attended professional
>>>>> development and education policy webinars at Classroom 2.0<http://www.classroom20.com/>typically attract a mix of school teachers, administrators, and family
>>>>> educators.
>>>>>
>>>>> *Imagine global online courses open to anyone who can do the work.
>>>>> Which ones would you and your children take? Which would you offer?*
>>>>>
>>>>> Because family educators are engaged in higher-order tasks of creating
>>>>> or evaluating curricula and activities<http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+Digital+Taxonomy>,
>>>>> most participate in support networks devoted to these tasks in ways
>>>>> from authoring books and creating review databases, to recommending a site
>>>>> to a friend. The relatively small number of local recruits limits the
>>>>> development of too many niche communities. Global online networks can
>>>>> develop much stronger flavors in learning philosophies as tiny minorities
>>>>> find one another, exchange and aggregate ideas, build extended vocabularies
>>>>> and media to talk about their approaches, grow into large and strong groups,
>>>>> and then branch out more. The group's vocabulary usually starts with the
>>>>> identification label, often a charismatic person's name, such as Charlotte
>>>>> Mason <http://charlottemasoneducation.yuku.com/> or Thomas Jefferson<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MentoringOurOwn/>;
>>>>> the name of the books that catalyzed the gathering, such as Math on
>>>>> the Level <http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/mathonthelevel/>; or the
>>>>> name of the approach, such as radical unschooling<http://familyrun.ning.com/>.
>>>>> The rarer the shared interests, the stronger is the resulting feeling of
>>>>> connectedness. Members of these networks are passionate about their niche
>>>>> educational philosophies and loyal to other members. They also find group's
>>>>> whuffie <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whuffie> very rewarding for a
>>>>> strong intrinsic reason: any contribution of content already adapted to the
>>>>> group's philosophy saves everybody a lot of creating and evaluating effort.
>>>>> *
>>>>> Imagine a support network of hundreds of dedicated, active parents with
>>>>> a strong motive alignment<http://irevolution.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/towards-a-model-for-successful-crowdsourcing/>.
>>>>> What sharing, collaboration, and community actions<http://www.shirky.com/herecomeseverybody/>become possible?
>>>>> *
>>>>>
>>>>> Online family educators use a myriad of "tags" to index learning
>>>>> materials and activities. Analyzing these folksonomies of learning materials
>>>>> reveals curious patterns in family choices. The type of activity, such as
>>>>> project, game, or workbook, strongly defines preferences. Alignment with a
>>>>> learning style, such as hands-on, visual, or storytelling, is important as
>>>>> well. Some families want only activities developed by particular
>>>>> philosophical, curricular, or religious groups. Others focus on complex,
>>>>> connected, and intense work, for example, those identifying their children
>>>>> as highly gifted children. Families may tag materials by accommodations for
>>>>> a specific problem such as dyslexia; scripted vs. open materials;
>>>>> paper-based or computer-based; the amount of group work or mentor
>>>>> involvement; opportunities for service and volunteering; patriotic or global
>>>>> approaches; liberal arts or technical values; problem-solving; and many more
>>>>> features.
>>>>>
>>>>> Matching an activity to a student along these multiple dimensions is
>>>>> incredibly labor-intensive, especially for beginner family educators. To
>>>>> limit research and trial-and-error, family educators value, emphasize, and
>>>>> develop activities that can grow with the student, supporting multiple
>>>>> levels of learning. Once such an activity proves successful in the family,
>>>>> parents can return to it again and again with the same child, or invite
>>>>> several friend with matching learning styles. Likewise, local coops and
>>>>> clubs appreciate multi-level activities that can accommodate their diverse
>>>>> members.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> *Imagine communities of educators using ultra-customized ways of
>>>>> learning that may have narrow validity, but are beautifully relevant<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/magazine/02self-measurement-t.html>to each student. What materials and computer tools are needed to help these
>>>>> communities?*
>>>>> Agile Methods
>>>>> For the vast majority of parents, failure or suffering of their
>>>>> children is not acceptable. Only 100% rate of success of their children
>>>>> works for parents, whereas the current US average for public school
>>>>> graduation <http://diyubook.com/> is 70%, for public undergraduate
>>>>> institutions 50%, and for some community colleges as low as 10%. Definitions
>>>>> of "success" differ widely from family to family, but the fact that falling
>>>>> through the cracks is not an option is rather universal. In practice, this
>>>>> means making relatively rapid changes whenever things do not work. Families
>>>>> experiment on all the variables described in the previous sections -
>>>>> activity types, learning style approaches, involvement of others in the work
>>>>> and so on - until a satisfactory solution is found. They may also skip
>>>>> a sticky topic to go to more advanced ones<http://www.livingmath.net/MemorizingMathFacts/tabid/306/Default.aspx>,
>>>>> follow child's interests wherever they lead<http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201004/kids-learn-math-easily-when-they-control-their-own-learning>,
>>>>> or pause in a particular skill instruction for months or years<http://www.homeschool.com/articles/bookexcerpt/default.asp>
>>>>> .
>>>>>
>>>>> *Imagine educators who have the ability to change everything - subject
>>>>> areas, levels, curricula, activities - on the fly. What will it do for the
>>>>> students?*
>>>>>
>>>>> Agility <http://agilemanifesto.org/> of educational choices vary from
>>>>> family to family, depending on many factors from beliefs to available
>>>>> resources. Group, community, and network activities allow a peek at several
>>>>> agility metrics, as they emerge from the wisdom of multiple
>>>>> participating families<http://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Crowds-James-Surowiecki/product-reviews/0385721706/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_summary?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending>.
>>>>> For example, the length of group classes tends to be from four to twelve
>>>>> weeks. The same teacher may run a series of such classes, but students will
>>>>> join and leave after each shorter session, as their personal schedules,
>>>>> interests, and learning goals change this frequently. Formal gatekeeping
>>>>> measures for group entry, such as standardized tests, are hardly ever used,
>>>>> because students join groups for vastly different reasons. Some want the
>>>>> first light exposure to the topic, others in-depth work; some seek elements
>>>>> relevant to a personal project, or follow a friend or a beloved mentor.
>>>>> Learning centers and individuals offering homeschool classes quickly learn
>>>>> they need to invite students for sample lessons before anyone would commit.
>>>>> Jim Mueller, offering homeschool classes online and live as "Science
>>>>> Jim <http://sciencejim.com/>," describes low costs and low barriers of
>>>>> entry valued by his audience: "I never know until the second week of class
>>>>> who will be in the class. Some people (not many) come once and not again,
>>>>> and many appear on the second week."
>>>>>
>>>>> What about agility in age or grade levels? We may learn that a family
>>>>> likes and consistently uses a set of sequential writing books indexed
>>>>> by grades <http://www.sonlight.com/curriculum.html>. We can assume
>>>>> they will use Grade 7 after Grade 6, but what we can't assume is much more
>>>>> telling. We can't assume that any of the children in the family are close to
>>>>> the average age of sixth graders in their country, or that they will use
>>>>> materials labeled with Grade 6 for any of their other subjects. Classes,
>>>>> events, activities are unbundled <http://diyubook.com/> from one
>>>>> another. Family educators often exchange help in planning of learning
>>>>> activities. They usually start by sharing lists of samples from the last
>>>>> month or two of their children's work, or stories of several recent tasks.
>>>>> Planning advice won't be based on the age or the grade level of children,
>>>>> but on level of the work they have done so far. Ages and grade levels tag
>>>>> activities, but they don't tag people or groups. Parents, siblings and
>>>>> friends of all ages frequently join children's activities as fellow
>>>>> learners. Cases where a nine-year-old is working on calculus or a
>>>>> fourteen-year-old on multiplication become familiar, accepted, and
>>>>> appropriately supported.
>>>>> *
>>>>> Imagine removing all administrative barriers in educational
>>>>> decision-making, and reducing cognitive and emotional costs of agility by
>>>>> community support. What will it imply for management of group events?*
>>>>>
>>>>> People who teach at or design learning materials for institutions have
>>>>> to follow powerful, centrally-made decisions on content, timing, and
>>>>> classroom management. If you wonder what long-term role these constraints
>>>>> play, look at stories of family educators who don't have these constraints.
>>>>> A telling phenomenon is a transitional period after removing the
>>>>> constraints, called "deschooling<http://www.amazon.com/Deschooling-Society-Open-Forum-Illich/review/product/0714508799/ref=ntt_at_ep_cm>"
>>>>> after the book. The common rule of thumb is that deschooling takes a
>>>>> month for every year<http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=deschooling+%22for+every+year%22>the student's education was managed by institutions. Deschooling may feel
>>>>> very rough as children and parents establish their new autonomy, ascend the
>>>>> steep learning curves of educational decision-making, and find their places
>>>>> in family-centered communities of practice<http://www.ewenger.com/theory/>.
>>>>> Apprenticeship and autodidact learning models support newbies as they
>>>>> observe veteran family educators in action: at family events, group
>>>>> activities, "curriculum planning parties," scheduled local meet-ups, online
>>>>> forums, and myriad other close and personal network encounters. The advice
>>>>> on how to remix learning materials, find a mentor for a kid's research
>>>>> project, or juggle schedules of kids with widely different needs can come
>>>>> within hours from online think tanks with thousands of members, or within
>>>>> minutes from a phone call to a local contact. Moreover, there are no
>>>>> administrative barriers to implementing all the proposed changes that make
>>>>> sense, there and then.
>>>>>
>>>>> Are there official leaders of family educators? The short answer is
>>>>> "No" - the very nature of the endeavor is antithetical to
>>>>> professionalization and centralization<http://books.google.com/books?id=be_4LRyepS8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+starfish+and+the+spider>.
>>>>> Note the conspicuous absence of certifications for homeschool consultants or
>>>>> central governing bodies. Instead, to use the term coined by one homeschool
>>>>> dad, there are linchpins<http://www.amazon.com/Linchpin-Are-Indispensable-Seth-Godin/product-reviews/1591843162/>.
>>>>> Locals who like to organize a lot of events become network nodes in their
>>>>> towns. Parents who end up repeating their advice a lot because their methods
>>>>> are especially interesting, or because peer mentoring is their calling,
>>>>> often end up writing curricula <http://mathonthelevel.com/>, creating
>>>>> online communities<http://www.bravewriter.com/forums/?az=show_topics&forum=105>,
>>>>> or publishing "how-to" books <http://www.sandradodd.com/> and stories
>>>>> that "lift your spirits and warm your heart<http://www.skylarksings.com/>"
>>>>> or speaking at conventions. These and other active community roles and
>>>>> people filling them emerge from day-to-day life of family educator networks.
>>>>>
>>>>> *Imagine the unstoppable force of the leaderless network of family
>>>>> educators meeting the immovable object of the institutional education
>>>>> hierarchy. Will family educators professionalize, institutions deschool, or
>>>>> both?*
>>>>>
>>>>> The Commons
>>>>> When women predominate in a community, its economy frequently focuses
>>>>> on collaborative methods<http://www.amazon.com/Womens-Ways-Knowing-Development-Anniversary/product-reviews/0465090990/>.
>>>>> The majority of family educators have one parent who brings money home and
>>>>> another, usually mother, who engages in coops, barters, gifting, and other
>>>>> community ways of organizing work. Much like the global trouble with
>>>>> educational institutions brings examples of working alternatives to the
>>>>> limelight, the global trouble with currency-based economies calls attention
>>>>> to the blended methods<http://prezi.com/ijiokjbrolwo/metacurrency-introduction/>,
>>>>> including those developed by family educators. Let us trace how family
>>>>> education economy works through a day in the life of "Matt," a
>>>>> semi-hypothetical child educated in family learning communities.
>>>>>
>>>>> In the morning, Matt's mom carpools with three other kids to an art
>>>>> class. Another mother sends a freshly baked pie for the carpool members'
>>>>> breakfast, and an idea for the lively discussion during the ride. The car,
>>>>> the gas, clothes, the breakfast ingredients come from the monetary economy:
>>>>> two of the kids' fathers have full-time money-based jobs, one works out of
>>>>> the house on his business, and two mothers work as part-time consultants.
>>>>> The regular "carschooling <http://www.carschooling.com/>" discussion,
>>>>> an ongoing mini-seminar of sorts, is free. One of the parents co-teaches the
>>>>> art class without charging, while the art teacher is paid. One family
>>>>> barters their kids' art class attendance for the mother doing rosters and
>>>>> announcements, and another for the mother doing bookkeeping at the art
>>>>> teacher's studio.
>>>>>
>>>>> After the class, kids run around and decompress discussing the YouTube
>>>>> video the art teacher shared, and the writing club two of them attend, while
>>>>> mothers picking them up plan next week's meetings. The writing club is run
>>>>> weekly by Matt's friend at their house, and is free other than one "how-to"
>>>>> book. Matt and a friend whose mom works that afternoon ride to Matt's house,
>>>>> where they have a working lunch, sent over by the friend's mother. They
>>>>> discuss geometry homework with Matt's mom, using OERs, free Open Educational
>>>>> Resources such as Khan Academy videos or GeoGebra software. Then they attend
>>>>> their weekly online geometry class, provided free through an online
>>>>> homeschool coop. The virtual room for running the class, a commercial
>>>>> product called Elluminate, is given to the coop by the company. The only
>>>>> expense is a used paper textbook.
>>>>>
>>>>> The friend is picked up, her mom answering Matt's questions about the
>>>>> class she teaches at tomorrow's coop, and Matt starts on the homework. A
>>>>> couple of dozen mothers co-teach at the coop, offering classes and seminars
>>>>> based on their talents and interests. Before each season, students vote on
>>>>> the proposed schedule, using "happiness optimization" software designed by a
>>>>> member and provided to the coop for free. Matt is working on a report about
>>>>> education utopias for the "Current Events" class, and then reading about
>>>>> Ellis Island for the "Talking Walls" seminar. Both classes heavily use OERs.
>>>>> The coop involves a small fee that goes toward paying for the space at a
>>>>> church, and some class materials. Most materials are gifted or temporarily
>>>>> shared by coop members; one of the typical types of email going through
>>>>> local groups is a request to share materials, such as safety glasses, a
>>>>> whiteboard, a projector, or a microscope. The bulk of class preparation,
>>>>> setup, coordination and management work is organized and exchanged by
>>>>> participating families as a mutual service, with a fair schedule for major
>>>>> tasks organized by the coop leader.
>>>>>
>>>>> As Matt's mom is heading out the door to run a free math club for young
>>>>> kids whose parents she met at the coop, Matt is starting a chat with her
>>>>> grandpa, using free videoconferencing tool Skype. They take turns reading a
>>>>> book they found in an online library, in Grandpa's native language Matt also
>>>>> speaks, and discussing anything that comes up, from history to grammar.
>>>>> Needless to say, these hours of intensive personal tutoring are free.
>>>>>
>>>>> In the evening, dad takes Matt to a self-defense class, provided for a
>>>>> fee. Matt comes home excited: the big Anime festival gave free tickets to
>>>>> families of students participating in a Ninjutsu demonstration. The level of
>>>>> excitement only grows in the next hour, because it's time for a webinar at
>>>>> LearnCentral, where one of Matt's favorite authors talks about his new
>>>>> book <http://www.learncentral.org/event/71871>, and there's an
>>>>> opportunity to ask him questions or chat up a storm with other active,
>>>>> engaged attendees from all over the world. Matt is looking forward to
>>>>> attending the meet-up<http://www.meetup.com/Linchpins-are-everywhere-raise-the-flag/>,
>>>>> announced at the webinar, and continuing the discussion with other locals
>>>>> who find the book meaningful - sponsored, hosted and thus made free by
>>>>> several local companies. After the webinar, Matt is inspired to write a blog
>>>>> post, while discussing the day, continuing an ongoing literary roleplay, and
>>>>> planning the writer club in three separate text chat windows. Platforms for
>>>>> blogging (Wordpress) and chatting (Google) are free. The family winds down,
>>>>> reading aloud a few pages of "Faust" from an online library, before everyone
>>>>> heads to bed.
>>>>>
>>>>> *Imagine a community with the mature, working economy supporting
>>>>> co-production of highly personalized learning experiences. What economic
>>>>> behaviors and patterns will emerge?*
>>>>>
>>>>> You could see some of the patterns in the story above. All
>>>>> administrative work in coops is shared among family educators, and kept to
>>>>> the sustainable minimum people are willing to volunteer. A lot of hours go
>>>>> into activity planning and preparation, frequently done in pairs, small
>>>>> groups, or regular open discussions within local coops and communities, as
>>>>> well as online. Money do not enter these planning activities at all. During
>>>>> the ongoing preparation events, beginners receive much support: an
>>>>> undergraduate degree's worth of educator training, provided to them by the
>>>>> community. Helping nearby kids with homework or sharing a neat online tool
>>>>> with them comes from the same family care mindset as sharing food and
>>>>> carpooling. The community is willing to pay money to support the livelihood
>>>>> of someone highly specialized, who is working "longer than fair" hours, for
>>>>> example, leading multiple classes or publishing their homemade curriculum as
>>>>> a set of edited books. Money is paid for objects produced outside of the
>>>>> community, such as paper, lab equipment or software. Hand-me-downs,
>>>>> curriculum swaps, and informal exchanges of all physical materials are very
>>>>> common. Once an item is purchased, it is likely to become a community
>>>>> resource shared in many ways. Buying coops<http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/>give decentralized networks of families the purchasing power of large
>>>>> institutions. While family educators on the average are poorer, as measured
>>>>> in money income, than families with the same education level who educate
>>>>> kids in institutions, their communities frequently grow much wealth of many
>>>>> other kinds.
>>>>>
>>>>> unConclusion
>>>>> Just like the prefix i- is used to form mobile, and e- internet flavors
>>>>> of existing concepts, un- is attached to a wide range of words claimed
>>>>> by family educators<http://www.midnightbeach.com/hs/UnschoolingUndefined.html>.
>>>>> This un-approach precedes edupunk<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edupunk>,
>>>>> but shares some of its spirit of DIY <http://diyubook.com/> and
>>>>> constant reinvention. In the same spirit, we trust that communities can
>>>>> figure out the "how" of implementing particular ideas, as they go along: "All
>>>>> you need to know is that it’s possible<http://www.aldha.org/ltweight.htm>."
>>>>> As a way of un-conclusion, we want to invite readers to comment, share their
>>>>> "Imagine..." scenarios, and otherwise take this story to the next level in
>>>>> reinventing education.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  -
>>> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net
>>>
>>> Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss:
>>> http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/p2presearch_listcultures.org
>>>
>>> Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens;
>>> http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens
>>>
>>> Think tank: http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>
> --
> P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net
>
> Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss:
> http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/p2presearch_listcultures.org
>
> Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens;
> http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens
>
> Think tank: http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI
>
>
>
>
>



-- 
P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net

Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss:
http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/p2presearch_listcultures.org

Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens;
http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

Think tank: http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI
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