Localized "Learning Web"

My name is Matthew Shapiro. I am a teacher, a doctoral student in education, and founder of a charter school here in the Boise area. My long-term interest has been in community-based redesign of public education systems. Lately, however, I have come more to question the value of institutionalized education at all because of the damage that it has caused. As with Ivan Illich, I still believe in "public education," but think we should be looking at a "deschooled" form of it. Illich proposed "learning webs" - convivial networks of people and resources who help each other learn.

To that end, and influenced by social learning theory as well, I have developed a concept that I am tentatively calling the "Boise Open School." In a nutshell:

• An open network of families, individuals, and organizations that create and provide learning opportunities and learning supports to one other.
• Serving the educational needs and interests of local children and their families, and any other one who wants to learn, in a manner that is non-institutionalized.
• Operates on the basis of reciprocity, supported by the use of a scrip called “BOS Hours” that is exchanged when an individual learner, a family, or a participating organization is served in some way by other individual learners, families, or organizations. Alternately, 1:1 reciprocity can be negotiated without the scrip.
• Among the roles parents could play are “host” (offering home for activities), “escort” (accompanying others for safety), “guide” (if part of the educational experience), “teacher” (offering or leading the educational experience), and “administrative support” for the network.
• Formally organized as a nonprofit association administered by a full-time educational coordinator, guided by a volunteer steering committee, and advised by a council open to all participants.
• Full-time educational coordinator role and other expenses paid for by annual participation fee for learners’ families and “opt-in” (consent-based) advertising from locally-owned businesses.
• Participation includes access to educational facilitation services in the form of:
o Personal Learning Plans
o Help with assessing, evaluating, documenting, and reporting progress in learning
o Coaching on effective “lay-educator” practices
o Coaching on effective peer-to-peer learning arrangements
o Help with navigating dual enrollment and high school diploma options
o Providing guidance on reciprocity arrangements
• Utilizes social networking technologies (Meetup.com, Wikispaces.com, blogs, Twitter, podcasting, etc.) to support both distant and face-to-face interaction among participants.
• A quarterly “Learning Fair” would showcase activities, collaborations, and proposals, and include multiple networking rounds to help participants find each other on the basis of learning preferences, subject area priorities, inquiry questions, special projects, and other criteria.
• Options for participants include:

o group / cooperative learning
o individual learning
o peer learning
o home or community settings
o project-based/problem-based learning
o service learning
o internships & apprenticeships
o computer-based curricula
o dual enrollment
o GED or high school diploma

• Offered to all in the Treasure Valley, whether schooled, homeschooled, or unschooled.
• Disabilities / special needs would be met either by partnering with families who have expertise in this area with their own children or through dual enrollment in district schools.
• Unlimited capacity for growth and diversification of resources and learning opportunities.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this and how we might employ social networking technologies to help make this happen!