Hot off the press!
all of the details in a cute little zine.
Making the Meraki family handbook had me thinking about what Self-Directed education is all about. As a self-directed learner, I often take on projects that I have no idea how to do before I set upon the task of doing it. I had not made a printable zine before, and that’s what I wanted the handbook to be. A bright colorful booklet that everyone would be excited to see and a real thing that families can take home and hold in their hands. So I set out to design it.
The first steps of learning something are just getting the material in my hands. Some words on a page, an idea, some software, and I’m off. The line between doing and learning blurs. Both are happening at the same time. Because I don’t know what I am doing I will reach a point where I don’t know what to do next and will have to look up the answers. Sometimes I will fail a lot more than I would have if I had followed explicit instructions but there is a trade off, the struggle is deeper learning than the easier way. In the process I learn from multiple sources and learn even more from my failures. When I complete something I know how hard it was and it feels good to accomplish it on my own. So after 15 printings and a bit of frustration I had learned how to make the handbook. Now I can make booklets forever, I know what to do and what not to do. I’m excited to share it with families and get feedback for the next one.
Come to think of it, most of this journey to start Meraki has followed this path. We just figured it out and when we had questions we reached out to our network. When things got hard we kept going. Its helpful that both Bria and I grew up this way, following our interests and dreams without permission, so we are pretty comfortable riding this ride.
In some ways, Self- Directed education is harder than other educational paths. You have to figure out what you want to do. You have to have the confidence to try to do it, and the bravery to fail and keep going, or give up. Rinse and Repeat. SDE positions learning as an unfolding process in which you are the main character in the life of your mind and time. It’s a path of a lot more depth and responsibility, and a lot more gratification.
The handbook is all about how Meraki plans to support Self-Directed learning for youth at all the stages of the process. A place where youth can feel respected and build a community that supports their emotional, social and intellectual wellbeing. Where youth can explore and grow, fail and succeed and most of all practice being together and supporting each other while doing it. One of my favorite part of facilitating in SDE is we are free to do all these things and it’s so much of fun to do it together. It’s fun to make a booklet, its a lot more fun to share with others. You can’t put on a play or start a band by yourself. That’s what the school is there for, community.
We have a Open House coming up next Thursday at the space, and I am really excited to share the handbook with families and be there together for the first time. We are beginning a really special journey toward liberation. Thanks for joining, reading, and supporting us in everyway you have so far.
We are deeply grateful and…. see you Thursday!
-Brooklyn