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Barter-Based School Catching On Globally
sethopia writes "In 2010, three people had the crazy idea to start a school where the teachers teach whatever they want and the students pay for classes with whatever teachers need — cutlery, art, advice — but never with money. Trade Schools have been popping up around the world and are now active in 15 cities and 10 countries, with almost no prodding from its founders. Caroline Woolard, one of the founders, discusses the challenges and opportunities of adapting their idea to an international audience and making the Trade School software — based on Python and Django — great."
Blowjobs?
Because I just happen to have $87,000 worth of Bitcoin.
Maybe not. This may be nothing more than an advancement of an Apprenticeship. This is how I learned commercial refrigeration. When I worked in a classified space, we rarely shut down to allow outside trades in, so much of the HVAC was done in house. As such I learned much of the trade including hard silver soldering, hydraulic unloaders, adjustment and proper use of thermostatic expansion valves, etc as OJT with the textbook Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning which is pretty much the bible on the subject. http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Refrigeration-Conditioning-Andrew-Althouse/dp/1590702808
It took me the longest to grasp the theory of how continious cycle absorption cycle worked, but I finally understood it too.
With my training, I am now trained to charge, maintain, service, and repair systems for chilled water up to 500 Ton.
The truth shall set you free!
...the students pay for classes with whatever teachers need â" cutlery, art, advice â" but never with money.
What the hell do they have against cash? Cash is the most useful thing I own.
Look where all this talking got us, baby.
Holy white on yellow batman! Their site (http://tradeschool.coop/) has successfully burrowed inside my eyes and is setting up a permanent tent city. They could use some help designing the site, or at least getting a readable color scheme. Mayo on yellow mustard surrounded by ketchup is not working.
Looking at the kinds of classes they do, most of it seems like the kind of thing where if I wanted to take that kind of course, I'd probably go to my local school of continuing education. Cooking, drawing, photography, crafts, ... Here in California, at least, these courses are extremely cheap.
It seems like it's more of a political mission than an educational one.
Find free books.
Let's face it, edjimication isn't getting any cheaper... and my understanding (based on a not-very rigorous survey of people I personally know, some of whom are tenured professors at the college level in the US) is that more and more young folk are going the way of trade schools (in the traditional sense).
Why get crazy in debt for a liberal arts degree when you can get real world skills for less of a financial outlay?
Pros: -Get a job in an actual career (someone mentioned refrigerator repair earlier-- doesn't sound sexy, but fixing things and working with your hands appeals to a lot of people)
-Don't spend the rest of your life in debt
-Learn in an environment where people are there to learn (a lot of college pukes I see are there to party on their parent's dime)
Cons:
-Accredation?
-Unsure about the qualifications of a teacher who doesn't/can't get a regular teaching gig
-Facilities? I don't want to learn welding at a college where safety gear is "donated"!
There's been some important precedents set-- Black Mountain College had a similar model.
I don't get why people think barter is more moral than money. I can see being against government endorsed fiat currency. But money allows complicated development to occur. You can use barter to build anything of substance. Money allows for figuring out the most efficient way to accomplish your goals.
I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
Those gen ed classes don't go nearly far enough. Many programmers have terrible grammar, limiting their ability to work on anything public facing without supervision.
Originally, all transactions were based are barter, before human beings discovered that the use of money was a much more efficient means of matching up supply and demand. With barter, you need to match up with somebody else whose needs and supply are the reciprocal of your own. With money, your supply and demand get translated by "the market" into monetary values, and you can exchange goods with people halfway across the world. Explain to me again how barter is a superior system...
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
You need to file form 1099-B to report bartering income.. Enjoy paying tax to the government for that old cutlery you don't even want...
You get 13 years of Gen ed classes before entering college. If you haven't been able to get educated in 13 years, a few more years are not going to change things. The only reasonable rational for colleges is for specialization.