Learning? Yes, of course. Education? No thanks.

It's is a wonderful feeling when someone echoes your own thoughts so articulately. The title of Aaron Falbel's essay does just this. It's a short essay. You should read it. But I'll go ahead and summarize his suggestions for creating an social environment of learning.

(1) Don't discriminate against the formally uneducated
(2) Resist teaching when not asked - let children decide what they want to learn
(3) Don't discriminate against the uncertified when hiring - assess competence directly
(4) Create an open learning society - don't lock up knowledge in institutions, offer to share it with anyone who's committed to learn
(5) Outlaw exploitative labor NOT child labor - children learn from the world by participating in it
(6) Support libraries, museums, theatres, and other voluntary, non-coercive community institutions with activities for old and young alike
(7) "Finally, think up more ideas of your own! As a society that has been addicted to education for several generations, we have lost the ability to imagine what it might be like to grow up and live in a world free of pedagogical manipulation."

The one that happened to strike me the most was (4). Falbel says "Take on an apprentice. Hang a shingle outside your home describing what you do. Let your friends and neighbors know that you are making such an offer [ to share our skills (not impose) with others] to any serious and committed person." I rather like this notion. I get the feeling that Falbel isn't the biggest fan of the Internet and Information Technology, but hanging a "digital shingle" offering skills and cooperative pursuits of learning seems a powerful way of connecting people. While the current connections facilitated by the Internet today seem rather shallow and self-centered, there is a great potential for facilitating meaningful connections amongst people in the context of learning. There may be no one is my city that's interested in the obscure shit I want to learn or do, but there is likely to be someone on this planet who shares my particular interest at this moment in time.

Also Read:

Edutainment? No Thanks. I Prefer Playful Learning by Mitch Resnick

Growing Without Education by Aaron Falbel

Hard Fun by Seymour Papert