permaculture

[Claudia Joseph <permie@earthlink.net>]

These are good points.  The material extends beyond what was  
originally presented in the Designer's Manual.

I think one important point is where people go with a certificate once  
they have it.  If they are not already well grounded in a field where  
it may be applied they need to go practice and keep learning.  I tell  
all students that the certificate is a beginning point, not an  end.   
One and two hour workshops are a great way to share and learn in  
community and that is one activity I support for course graduates who  
are super enthusiastic.

There was a big rush here in the NE to put up PDCs.  Many people  
presenting them have just learned the material themselves. Also, keep  
in mind that anyone attending a course gets a certificate (in my  
experience).  I am extremely strict about attendance but I would guess  
that not everyone is.

There is no test.
I taught permaculture in a college horticulture department and it was  
pretty fun making up tests and grading people on the material.  That  
isn't what we are doing in the certificate course. Defining what it  
means to hold a certificate is conceivably part of the curriculum  
equation.

Qualitatively, place matters.  We can dissect the pro's and con's of  
models, hands on time and lecture formats while we are at this.   I  
may add more field study requirements as a result. of Rafter's question

This is a large and important conversation and I am all for us having it
Claudia






On May 3, 2008, at 9:47 AM, Scott Pittman wrote:
> I think you do exactly what you did, alert the community that this
> particular course does not meet the standards for a certificate.  The
> Permaculture Institute does not recognize those certificates that  
> come from
> below standard courses as fulfilling the requirements for diploma
> application.
>
> After having taught hundreds of students around the world I still feel
> pressed to cover all the material in the requisite 72 hours class  
> time and
> innumerable hours doing projects and presentations at night.  I  
> don't think
> anyone can give the course justice in less time.  Some teachers are  
> going
> back to the three week format to insure sufficient time to cover the  
> ever
> increasing materials like global warming and gmo's.
>
> Thanks for caring enough to point this out.
>
> My thoughts,
>
> Scott Pittman
> Director
> Permaculture Institute
> www.permaculture.org
> -----Original Message-----
> From: permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of rafter  
> t. sass
> Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 6:30 PM
> To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: [permaculture] 9-day PDC???
>
> So...
>
> What do we do, as a community, when people are teaching a 9-day
> permaculture course, and billing it as Permaculture Design
> Certificate course?
>
> This is something we are facing in our region, the northeastern US,
> right now. Teachers are coming in from elsewhere in the US, which
> makes it trickier - no regional community pressure and accountability.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Best,
> rafter
>
>
>
>
> rafter t. sass
> The Liberation Ecology Project
> liberationecology.org
> 518-567-7407
> skype: raughter
>
>
>
>
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