Apr
7th
Wed
7th
Find people that want to learn and teach the things you're interested in.
anything you want.
share those passions.
Mar
2nd
Tue
2nd
Let’s get that Seed On: Start Veggies from Seed w/ Vickie Tuite
With spring in the air, Bay Area gardeners are getting to work on their first plantings.
This past Saturday morning, Vicki Tuite hosted an unclass on starting plants from seed. Vicki is a Master Gardener trained in Oregon; she began gardening ‘recreational crops’ 30 years ago. ;)
We met Vicki at a park in Redwood City. She arrived with an arsenal of gardening materials: potting soil, a seed box with upwards of 300 seed varieties, and milk cartons and newspaper, both of which would soon be home to our seeds.
Vicki illustrated a truth that is at the heart of unclasses – the sharing of deep knowledge from a passionate person is the best way to learn. Wisdom poured out of her habits - from reusing milk cartons and newspaper to create planters to the way she opened a seed packet (just at one corner!). And even our most inane questions became fodder for a deeper lesson about gardening.
We left the unclass with cartons containing the starts of heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, padron peppers, bell peppers, mustard greens, broccoli, and enough sugar snap peas to throw a party - more than enough plantings to jumpstart our own gardens and the inspiration and knowledge to forge ahead.
Look out for follow up classes in the City soon!
Jan
22nd
Fri
22nd
Conflict: In a society which emphasises teaching, children and students- and adults- become passive and unable to think or act for themselves. Creative, active individuals can only grow up in a society which emphasizes learning instead of teaching.
Resolution: Instead of the lock-step of compulsory schooling in a fixed place, work in piecemeal ways to decentralise the process of learning and enrich it through contact with many places and people all over the city: workshops, teachers at home, professionals will to take on the young as helpers, older children, museums, youth groups, scholarly seminars, industrial workshops, old people, and so on. Conceive of all these situation as forming the backbone of the learning process; survey all these situations that comprise their “school” paying as they go with standard vouchers, raised by community tax. Build new educational facilities in a way which extends and enriches this network.
Jan
12th
Tue
12th
Informal learning can at its best transform people’s lives. Whether it’s personal fulfilment, keeping active and independent into old age, gaining increased confidence or opening a door to further opportunities, informal learning contributes hugely to the health and well-being of individuals and wider society.
Jan
4th
Mon
4th
Instead, continued brain development and a richer form of learning may require that you “bump up against people and ideas” that are different. In a history class, that might mean reading multiple viewpoints, and then prying open brain networks by reflecting on how what was learned has changed your view of the world.
Aug
26th
Wed
26th
People are good and trustworthy and generally just concerned with getting through the day,” Newmark says. If most people are good and their needs are simple, all you have to do to serve them well is build a minimal infrastructure allowing them to get together and work things out for themselves. Any additional features are almost certainly superfluous and could even be damaging.
Apr
29th
Wed
29th
Unschooling, by contrast, starts with the realization that you ‘own’ your time, and have the opportunity and responsibility to use it in ways that are meaningful and stimulating for you. When you have this opportunity, you just naturally learn a great deal, about things you care about, things that will inevitably be useful to you in making a life and a living. Your learning environment is the whole world, and you learn what and when you want, undirected by curricula, textbooks, alarm clocks and school bells. You develop deep peer relationships around areas of common interest, once you’re allowed to explore and discover what those areas of interest are.
Apr
7th
Tue
7th
Cooking with @steveray and unclasses
Hats off to Steve Raymond for teaching the first unclass in Los Angeles this weekend - ‘Cook More Often, Eat Better.’ The reviews have been off the hook and it looks like everyone had a fun afternoon learning about ways to bring great cooking into their lives while meeting a group of like-minded folks. On his blog, Steve shares his syllabi (reposted below) and experience as the teacher and organizer of the class. Also, check out Stephen Henault’s fantastic photos of the event.
Steve went out of his way to make this class happen and has the everlasting respect from all of us at unclasses. Awesome to have such committed, passionate, giving people involved in the community.
Rock on.
Mar
15th
Sun
15th
Jellyfish FTW!!! - an (un)classes teacher featured in the NYTimes
Alex Andon’s Jellyfish Art Aquariums were featured in a NYTimes article recently. This talented, passionate dude is also the teacher of the popular upcoming “Sailing 101” (un)class.
(un)classes is all about giving people like Alex a way to share with others. Very excited to have him as an early member of our community and looking forward to the class!
Alex’s pitch:
I’ve got a lifetime of [sailing] experience. My first boat was a 7 ft. dinghy called Bru Ha Ha and I crewed on a 67 ft. luxury sailboat for a summer. If you want to travel the world by crewing, I’ll tell you who to talk to, where to sign up, and what seasickness drugs to get (all the good stuff is banned in the U.S.)
NYTimes: Tired of Looking for Work, Some Create Their Own
Mar
11th
Wed
11th
(un)class of the Day #3 - ‘Host Events on the Cheap for Fun and Profit!’
Class Name: Host Events on the Cheap for Fun and Profit!
About the Class: How to go about creating and hosting social events for friends or business contacts in an affordable manner. Learn how to negotiate locations, talk to sponsors, and bring interesting people together for an unforgettable event.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Teacher: Tyler Willis
About the Teacher: My name is Tyler Willis, I’m 22; tylerwillis.net is an accurate representation of my life. I always write 3 sentence bios and like to include a random fact in everyone. I desperately wish Lykke Li and Radiohead would record an album together.
