For the Love of Learning – Thriving Learning Communities – Epi#97

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Show Title:

For the Love of Learning Episode #97

Thriving Learning Communities

A possible future for collaborative communities / societies

Monday March 20, 2017, 9pm-11pm EDT
Tuesday March 20, 2017, 1am-3am GMT

Guests:

Paul Mulryne

Erin Daniels

Sonya Olthof

Special Guest Host:

George Kaponay

 

Description: 

Thriving Learning Communities -Possible futures for collaborative communities / societies

The development and maturity of independent learning communities created for homeschoolers heralds more than just a gathering place for groups of homeschoolers or alternative learners to come together in regional areas. Do these centres potentially hold the key to the small collaborative communities of the future?

While the world hurls towards a belief in the inevitability of Globalism and The World State, there are growing ranks amongst anthropologists and futurists who believe that it will be the micro-communities of the future that will present the most viable and effective ways to solve economic dependencies, which will only be exacerbated by the reduction in the need for a human workforce. We speak with key and leading proponents of independent learning communities throughout the UK, USA, Canada and Australia to get their first hand experiences of the potential of such groups, how such groups evolve and whether our guest feel and can see that the collaborative, independent learning going on in their communities, has the momentum to carry beyond the experience of the so called schooling years and extend to a fertile collaborative testing ground for the meaningful ventures of the future. Are these learning communities the ones that will create the seed for these new ventures, which will not only add to the quality of life of their children, but have a purposeful need and assist in the creation of societies that are built on happiness, health and well being as their profitable ventures? Are Collaborative Independent Learning Communities the litmus test and proving grounds of sorts to support the theory that collaboration and not competition are the most productive, creative and effective ways for humanity to move forward? This is what we will discuss and explore in tonight’s panel.

 

Guests:

Paul Mulryne

paul-mulryne-cropped

Paul Mulryne comes from a family of educationalists and has been involved in education in one form or another all of his life. After being a gap student in Australia, he attended Leicester University, studying Sociology.
He qualified as a teacher in 1999 and has taught in secondary schools in the maintained sector as well as private preparatory schools. He was a deputy head for two years, before returning to his preferred role, teaching English.
In 2006, he and his wife made the decision to home educate. Neither of his children have been to school and they are part of an ever-growing home education community in The United Kingdom, in York and the surrounding area.
In 2009, there was little in the way of a home ed community in York. A small group, including Tracey, began to organise things in a more collective way.
A couple of years ago, the group moved to Facebook and it is now a place where people can organise events and share events or ideas they find. People are able to be as involved as they wish and the group has expanded greatly to the point where there are over 300 members. Some of these members are from other areas, so that information can be shared beyond York. Harrogate, Selby, Pocklington and Malton have established their own satellite groups after meeting through York district.
The group’s activities are as varied as its membership: drama, music, science, English and maths are all offered as well as martial arts and parkour.
At the core of the group, are a number of families who have created a particularly nurturing community, which we would describe as a home ed family.

 

Erin Daniels

erin-daniels

Erin Daniels has become an active member in her New Jersey homeschool community since she jumped in 7 years ago and began homeschooling her 2 sons. She is a founding member of Village Homeschool, a parent run cooperative, Harmony Homeschoolers, a NJ NP corporation which offers part-time enrichment programs to elementary school age homeschoolers, and Education Elsewhere, a NJ NP corporation which offers part-time enrichment programs to middle- and high-school age children, promotes homeschool awareness, and offers homeschool community events such as National Geographic Bee, Scripp’s Spelling Bee. Five years ago, Erin was asked to lend a hand with 11th Annual NJ Spring Prom for Homeschoolers and Their Friends, as the then organizers and their children moved on to other endeavors. Though Erin’s eldest son was also moving on to college, she delightedly helped and has organized this event for the community for the last several years. Homeschooling has been the right choice for Erin’s children as they have been able to explore their own passions and work at their own paces, but she is most grateful to homeschooling for continually giving her the confidence to take a less traveled path and the awareness to enjoy the journey.

Sonya Olthofsonya-olthof

Sonya Olthof is the mother of two boys who are homeschooled.  She is also the founder and coordinator at Centre Communidée, a bi-lingual community centre for homeschooling families in Montreal Canada. Centre Communidée is also part of a hub of learning that is open to the families of homeschoolers, incorporating Atelier Communidée, which is a community workshop for families with children 7+ and individual artists looking to work in a collaborative space.  The environment is set up with basic woodworking tools, a pottery wheel and kiln, several sewing machines, a knitting machine, a small loom, and various supplies and treasures aimed to inspire building and fixing projects. The Group participates in a large variety of activities both indoor and in nature and engages in a multi-generational approach to community based learning and living.
http://communidee.ca/

 

Special Guest Host:

George Kaponay

george-kaponay

Bringing projects to life that touch people and create meaning in their lives is a passion for George!

George Kaponay, is a dedicated explorer, social entrepreneur and life learner who along with his wife Bobi and their twin children, daughter, Réka and son, Lalika, have been traveling the world since 2011 on a journey of learning and discovery, which has seen them visit 32 countries on six continents. Committed to experiencing life together, George and his wife Bobi made the decision to take their children out of the traditional schooling system over six years ago and have not looked back. The entire family is committed to a life of learning together, while traveling and embracing change as a constant inspiration for their growth and development.

In 2016 they are engaging on a tour of the UK and USA to promote their 15 year old daughter’s debut novel Dawn of the Guardian which was released earlier in the year. George and Bobi are also shortly launching their Labour of Love Incubation Program (www.labouroflove.us), designed to provide a face-to-face, live working forum, intended to assist people, families and groups to find, define. launch and bring to fruition their very own Labour of Love pursuit.

 www.dawnoftheguardian.com
www.labouroflove.us

This episode is produced by George Kaponay

Episode hosted by George Kaponay

 

Lainie Liberti

As always, you can find out more about your host, Lainie Liberti at her website  RaisingMiro.com and the alternative education & world schooling project she runs with her teen son at:  ProjectWorldSchool.com. You can also connect with her on twitter @ilainie & facebook.

For full archives of this show and programming schedule, please visit:

ForTheLoveofLearningShow.com 

Find us on facebook: For-the-Love-of-Learning-Voices-of-the-Alternative-Education-Movement

For comments, questions, suggestions or if you’d like to be guest on the show, please contact us here.

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