permaculture

[rick valley <bamboogrove@cmug.com>]

>i learnt permacultue in a class situation and it was only my personal
>enthusiasm that
>kept me there.  There was no time to absorb the lessons and little time to
>ask questions.

>there is a lot
>of material to cover in a short time.
don't for one minute think that you couldn't spend two weeks on any one
topic! the material is not the important part at all.

At the risk of sounding my own trumpet- 
there are ways to teach in a classroom besides lecture. 
It's great to have specialists, but Pc is not about the @#$%&* details,
clear? it's about the CONNECTIONS. 
I have taught a weekend course- I can send my distilled evaluation write-up
to anyone interested. I prefer the 2 week residential format, which has many
strengths. The class-time is the least important aspect of the entire deal,
clear?
So- in a 2 week course we generally have- 
short lectures
short slide presentations
discussions- both whole group and breakout groups
role-playing
design games
brainstorms
hands-on projects
walks and tours
songs
videos
guest speakers
panel discussions
reports
and on and on-
I can't emphasize enough the importance of group meals.
if the facilitators and participants are tired, sick, late- something is very
wrong.
excitement, exclamations, ease, comfort, cooperation, care of each other,
those are good signs.
-Rick

Rick Valley Northern Groves 
PO Box 1236, Philomath, OR 97370 
Mobile-(541)602-1315, hm.& msg. (541)456-4364  Bamboo catalog $3 or at 
<http://www.teleport.com/~dbrooks/bamboo.html>
"Useful Bamboos and other plants‹ Permaculture education‹ Ecological design &
consultation centering on water,landform and horticultural systems"