permaculture

[Kelly Simmons <kelly@bouldersustainability.org>]

I am late to the conversation but I am glad it is happening.  So thank  
you Toby and everyone.

I would also like to open up the conversation about becoming a  
permaculture teacher and the current process of taking a one week  
course and then supposedly being ready to go out and teach.   I was  
told by my teacher that after my PDC I was expected to practice for  
two years before being eligible to become a permaculture teacher.  But  
I watch senior permaculture teachers letting newbie PDC graduates into  
permaculture teaching courses regularly.  I have met graduates of PDCs  
who cannot tell me the ethics, or anything about design.  They know  
the tools.  They can cite swales, and water catchment and sheet  
mulching, but can't tell me the difference between a zone and a  
sector.  It's disturbing.

And I've met students who have been so angry and disappointed after a  
PDC, who, once the student gets out on their own, realize that they  
didn't learn what they should have about the fundamentals and  
designing.  It starts becoming "buyer beware" in PDCs and that doesn't  
sit well with me as a permaculture teacher.  It starts to feel like  
some students are getting taken for a ride to have warm bodies in  
classes, and they aren't learning the fundamentals that make  
permaculture more than organic backyard gardening with some self  
sufficiency  thrown in.

Without some knowledge of how people learn and how to reinforce  
learning, PDC's can become a mishmash of stuff that is difficult to  
sort through and prioritize for students.  The teachers really have to  
not only know permaculture but have to know HOW to teach it, and that  
isn't always self-explanatory.  Some of the concepts are quite complex.

I'm not in favor of a huge bureaucracy, but as permaculture gets more  
well known, those who are TEACHING it need to be top notch.  I am not  
in favor of letting newbie PDC graduates take permaculture teacher  
courses or even advanced design courses without at least some period  
of practice time and study beforehand, unless there are special  
circumstances, like prior advanced education in landscape design, or  
ecology, or education.

I don't have ideas for how to make this happen, but that is what I'd  
like to see.  Perhaps the teacher course needs to be two weeks with  
some  teaching ethics thrown in.

best,

Kelly







On Oct 23, 2010, at 3:54 PM, Jason Gerhardt wrote:

> I completely agree with Toby and others that the PDC was not  
> intended to
> qualify a person as a 'designer', but rather to certify individuals  
> as ‘in
> training’.  It is after all what Mollison himself has written.  As  
> far as
> I’m concerned we are all ‘in training’ perpetually.  My guess is  
> that Toby
> was simply trying to suggest we be careful with our wording, and  
> rightly
> so.
>
>
> To the further dialogue that has mushroomed from Toby's post, I have  
> this to
> contribute.  We could just get rid of the word ‘designer’ and call  
> everyone
> ‘practitioners’; we could use classifications like ‘freshman  
> practitioner’
> and ‘junior’ and ‘senior’ and on and on.  I’m sure that would not go  
> over
> too well with all the triggering of repressed high school emotions.   
> The
> fact is we all have associations with words, some negative, some  
> positive,
> but a duck is a duck so let’s call it such.  Words like 'trainee' and
> 'designer' inherently break apart reality into little unrealistic  
> pieces,
> but hopefully we can use our insufficient semantic system with  
> honestly,
> clarity, compassion, and humility.  After my first 2 PDC’s and an  
> advanced
> design course I finally realized the challenges with the certification
> wording.  6 years later, now that I co-teach such courses I see the  
> same
> thing over and over.  To my experience, it all depends on the  
> person, which
> leads me to be in full support of a mentorship program for  
> permaculture
> design in the US.  Such a program would be best if it functioned as a
> person-to-person relationship where trust and openness can be  
> built.  I know
> my relationship with my mentors has been and continues to be  
> instrumental to
> my development as a competent permaculturist.
>
>
> I also agree with others that it would be best to avoid a hierarchy  
> and
> bureaucracy within the permaculture community.  I think the question  
> is how
> do we create a system that supports trainees with follow up  
> education and
> mentorships, rather than a qualifying and disqualifying agency?  In so
> doing, we move from control to support. As much as I dislike people
> highjacking 'permaculture' and taking it in unintended directions,  
> I'm not
> sure that can be prevented.  Having attempted to control many things  
> in my
> life I think I have enough experience to know that we should give up
> permaculture policing right now, but support and competence building  
> is a
> completely different animal.  Our goal should be to create  
> opportunities for
> those interested in furthering their studies and building their  
> skills.  It
> is my hope that we can build relationships instead of putting up  
> walls.  I
> can’t wait to see it happen and am fully willing to contribute.
>
>
> Jason Gerhardt
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