Alternative Academy
We all know that the current University system is broken. This is not unique for academic institutions, many of our modern social institutions are fundamentally broken. However, if “Uni” is the place where learning goes to die, where will we learn how to live again?
Learning how to live well involves at least two components: knowing where we came from, and knowing how to navigate the future. Specifically:
(a) a solid grounding in the philosophical and spiritual classics of our culture and
(b) the practical skills for wayfinding in an uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.
Ora Et Labora: Read Plato and build a wooden chair. Discuss the Gospel of St. John and co-create a permaculture food forest garden. Write letters and help a neighbour. Etcetera.
Governance and finance are key problems in the current system. This is how they could be handled differently. Imagine the university destitute and let us say: “We desire no power, there is no money, we will all be forgotten.”
In the meantime we need to get our work done, so let’s do it without paperwork and without money. An ‘alternative’ academy can be found anywhere, because anyone can start one. What if we started a network of ‘hubs’. You can start a hub if you can:
- Start a reading group around a classic text
- Teach a skill
- Record a podcast about current something you care deeply about
- Share your knowledge
- Connect people and resources
- Review a hub
This can be done online and offline. You can do it because anyone who can learn something can also teach something (with a bit of help, perhaps?)
Question: how do we know where to find the resources, how do we identify the ‘hubs’ in the system? And how do we know whether they are any good?
I propose we set up a simple (a) review and (b) identification system.
Self-Identification: anyone who creates any kind of teaching session or material and who agrees with the honour code (to be defined) can link to the badge, a small logo stored online (in a git repository, technically speaking.) This identifies the activity as part of the network. This is similar to how people licence material under a Creative Commons license by including the logo. However by asking people to link to the logo a ‘reverse image search’ can be used to find all, or at least most of, the resources which are identified as contributions to the network through any search engine. In addition participants can be asked to provide a simple description and links to any other resources. This will be put on the website.
Peer-Review: anyone who participates in a learning event (either live (online or offline) or in self study mode (if provided)) can leave a simple review on the network website. A standard framework for reviews will be provided so that all reviews will cover similar issues. Over time the website will turn into a user curated, peer reviewed course catalogue which can be downloaded from the repository, cloned, upgraded, and deployed in offline situations.
Is this going to work? No idea! Should we try? Yes. Let me know if you are interested. Seriously.
(Photo by Mikael Kristenson on https://unsplash.com/photos/3aVlWP-7bg8 )
