[iDC] Discussion: The Edupunks' Guide

Tue Aug 9 23:05:47 UTC 2011

Hello everyone,

I studied 2 years of Mechanical Engineering at the American University of
Beirut (AUB). And I dropped out.

After a year out of college, I was able to fully understand that University
is not for everyone. And it's not for everyone right after school either.

University is right for some people. For others, its not. And maybe not the
right time.

University is a market place with knowledge to sell. You pay to access the
knowledge, and that doesn't mean you will learn it.
Learning is something you have to put in the effort to reach.

For me personally, I greatly enjoyed Anya's initiative, and when I read her
book, I felt it was addressed to me. And I'm grateful for that... Someone
cares about the same thing I care about and experiencing.

And I believe that many people will follow in the examples described in the
EduPunk guide book.

Because now, getting a degree doesn't mean you get a job.

Many people feel that getting a degree is an investment they don't want to
make. And prefer to be the Entrepreneurs of their education.

That's why I think a better name for this would be "Edupreneurs". Because it
shares many similarities to Entrepreneurship like risk, decision making,
need for mentors... etc.

And like entrepreneurship, people who decide to take control of their
education might fail at reaching their objectives.

Edupreneurship is not for everyone either. It needs a lot of self-control,
self-motivation, strong habits, will power.... etc.

That's why recently, I published the following on my blog: "A University
Course That Can Teach You Everything" <http://www.whatishedoingnow.com>

"I dream of an education that develops you, as a person, as a whole person.
Because that's not always the case in the universities near you. You don't
want to go to university to learn how to solve differential equations. You
want to go university to learn valuable skills. So what if there was a
course, that teaches you how to learn any skill on your own?

I imagine a course that uses habit forming tasks, game dynamics, inspiring
material, passionate teachers... To educate in the best way possible, "how
to learn ANYTHING by your own". Because you can. Because we all can, be
whoever we want to be.

We have to put enough energy and time to attain the skills we want. Many of
us can't do it. Because we give up. I want a course that teaches us how to
acquire skills that we need as unique individuals. That's a university I
will go to. That's a school I will put my children in. Wouldn't you?"
I'm very happy to have read this discussion and the work done by Anya.

Hoping for more discussions,

Sherif

PS: As the famous Arthur C. Clark once said: "A teacher that can be replaced
by a machine.... should be."

PPS: Anya you might find this to be interesting
http://www.skillshare.com/about

<http://www.whatishedoingnow.com/a-university-course-that-teaches-you-everythi>

On Tue, Aug 9, 2011 at 5:44 PM, Simon Biggs <simon at littlepig.org.uk> wrote:

> Ask not what you can do for yourself, ask what you can do for others...
>
> best
>
> Simon
>
>
>
> On 9 Aug 2011, at 13:12, Florian Cramer wrote:
>
> > I'd like to chime in with Marco here. Anya wrote in her Edupunk
> > article http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/138/who-needs-harvard.html
> > :
> >
> > "The edupunks are on the march. From VC-funded startups to the ivied
> > walls of Harvard, new experiments and business models are springing up
> > from entrepreneurs, professors, and students alike. Want a class
> > that's structured like a role-playing game? An accredited bachelor's
> > degree for a few thousand dollars? A free, peer-to-peer Wiki
> > university? These all exist today, the overture to a complete
> > educational remix."
> >
> > This sounds more like the kind of punk culture that, in my original
> > home country Germany, is represented by the magazine "Business Punk"
> > <http://www.business-punk.com>, an Ayn-Randian variant of punk. This
> > seems to be consistent with Anya's statement here on the list:
> >
> >> What can I do RIGHT NOW to learn what I need to know, to accomplish the
> goals I set for myself, to take charge of my own destiny
> >> both educationally and personally?"
> >
> > Wasn't it a point of self-organized learning projects, from subculture
> > to Wikis, that they are about community?
> >
> > -F
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > blog: http://en.pleintekst.nl
> > _______________________________________________
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>
> Simon Biggs | simon at littlepig.org.uk | www.littlepig.org.uk
>
> s.biggs at ed.ac.uk | Edinburgh College of Art | University of Edinburgh
> www.eca.ac.uk/circle | www.elmcip.net | www.movingtargets.co.uk
>
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-- 

Mobile: +961-3-082338
Twitter: @SherifMango
Skype: shrekmak

Blog: whatishedoingnow.com
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