I was one of those kids who actually enjoyed school. I’m certainly not talking about the sport and activities aspect – I was total crap at that stuff. I’m certainly not talking about the social scene – I’ll be honest, I was crap at that too. I really am talking about the school part. Books and information and learning and writing. I loved it.
After the years of schooling that we are all required to attend and the few that are optional I entered the work force – which I hated. I hated that someone had a notion, based on my skills, about where they wanted me to fit in. They had a very detailed and finite place in their world that they wanted me to end up. My brain, the one that loves getting an idea or learning a new thing and having that lead in a very natural way to the next thing and the next, just got really angry about being shoved into a very specific little box. Any deviation from the assigned course was looked upon as wasting valuable time and resources (money). I resisted it at every turn. Why did I stay? Well, the pay was a lot better than it was as a perpetual student.
So for years I used my day job as a means to pay for my love of learning. I would take classes after work. For the most part it was a good system. The things that would get in the way were of the obvious sort: wrong day, wrong time, wrong teacher.
One of the biggest things to happen since then and now, while I was working from home and being a mom, is this wonderfully amazing world we like to call the internet. One of my favourite things about the internet (there are too many to list so I’ll just keep it to this one thing) is the dawn of the e-course. The teachers of these courses are completely enamoured with their subject matter. They have designed a course that they believe in 100% and are excited to share with you. These courses don’t fall into a curriculum, they aren’t overseen by a commitee, there are no grades and it’s easy to let your mind take you in different directions without penalty or humiliation. They are well designed and entertaining in a way that makes all of the hard work worthwhile. And you can show up to class at the time that is most convenient for you.
Here are a few that I loved or would love to take.
Susannah is hosting three e-courses. Unravelling – I finished this course and loved every minute of it. It made me fall in love with camera all over again. Unravelling Further – What could be more interesting than travelling through your senses and expressing them in pictures. And Unravelling Photography – My camera and I have been flying by the seat of our pants and a course that adds some technical stability to my willy-nilly ways is probably a good thing.
Mini-Mermaid Warriors – Hosted by the Dancing Mermaid herself. This was a course that I did with my girls and we all loved it. I’ll be doing a post on this one pretty soon. If you have daughters or girls in your life who range in age from about 8 - 13, I would highly recommend this one. It would make a great present.
Mondo-Beyondo – Hosted by Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen. There are dreams lurking in the backs of everyone’s lives but it’s hard to set aside time or get over bumps you didn’t see coming. I haven’t done this course (yet) but I did make a mondo-beyondo list and I love looking at it. I’m really going to love living it.
Bones of a Poet and the Wonder of Seeing – This course is hosted by the lovely Madelyn Mulvaney. I was completely captivated by the thought of seeing the world in a different way. Exploring ideas, breaking rules and getting out of my comfort zone. She says it best here in her own words.
And lastly, Squam Art Workshops. Okay, I’m cheating on this one. It’s not an e-course but I would really love to go. I was always to afraid to go to camp as a kid and it’s something I’m a little bit sad about now. If I was going this fall, Through the Viewfinder with Andrea Jenkins would be the course I would want to take the most.
Thursday, September 10, 2009 
