A commons education
Written 17th July 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic has, like most things, completely disrupted education systems the world over; students, teachers, academics and school-leavers alike all face an uncertain future. Educators, with the help of technology and a great amount of trial, error and patience, have been forced to adapt rapidly and continue as best they can. Longer-term, however, is harder to imagine and there are many questions: How will we learn going forward? What will we need to learn to navigate this new reality?
With accessibility, flexibility and democratic principles already embedded in its core, could it be that the commons has possible answers for what education might look like in the future?
Illustration by Lauren BendingThis week we present you with a plethora of content to educate yourself (see what we did there?) on how we might (and how some people do already) approach education from a commons perspective. What might be possible if learning and access to education was seen through a more democratic, equitable lens? Could the commons give education systems more resilience to navigate crises like the pandemic? Let’s find out.
With love and solidarity,
Elsie
Commoning around the world
The future of education is a commons
This work by Alice Meniconi is an expression of the Near Future Education Lab experience in Florence, Italy, which came about when a group of students, faced with the crisis and closure of their institution (ISEA Firenze) re-designed their education as a commons.
Read it here.
It’s all about Italy with La Scuola Open Source
Threading elements of the great educational experiments of Bauhaus and Roycroft Community models together with Pierre Levy’s modern definition of “collective intelligence,” La Scuola Open Source (The Open Source School) embodies the principles of the sharing movement. Its success hinges on cooperative work, co-design, shared skills, and an open source culture. The school’s 13 co-founders believe in the power of people’s collaborative qualities. Their unusual constitution is testimony to this.
Read all about it here.
Open Education Week — it’s a thing
Open education encompasses resources, tools and practices that employ a framework of open sharing to improve educational access and effectiveness worldwide. Open Education Week was set up to promote that. It’s not for nearly another year, but worth knowing about, and they have some great resources on their website.
Find out more about it here.
Even libraries are at it
A Learning Commons is an allocated practice, at libraries, to spark collaborative learning.
Find out more about what it involves here.
Education and the concept of commons. A pedagogical reinterpretation
This paper explores the concepts of commons and commoning from an educational vantage point.
I’ll let Morten explain more. Read the paper here.
And then there’s this wonder
UK-based Melz Owusu has crowdfunded £60,000 to start a decolonised institution: The Free Black University, for “Imagining Transformative Worlds, Redistributing Knowledge, Engaging the Radical Black Imagination & Black Spirituality & Healing.
Read more about it here.
Follow on Twitter here.
Donate to the fund here.
