Jessica Dally had always wanted to teach. When she learned of the Olympia Free School, she was inspired.The idea sprung up last November when Dally and Dani Scar, each independently contacted the Free School. Coincidentally, the two strangers had e-mailed the school on the same day, and the school suggested they collaborate on starting the school in Seattle. Dally, who works for the nonprofit Community Voice Mail, and Scar joined forces with "Slow is Beautiful" author Cecile Andrews to form Seattle Free School.NOT A TRADITIONAL SCHOOLThe Seattle Free School is not the traditional educational institute where there are classrooms and professionally trained teachers. It is a place where anybody from any background can join together to share their knowledge and interests with the community. One of its fliers reads: "A truly free education is a right, not a privilege. The Free School is an opportunity to learn and teach in an inclusive, non-hierarchical, anti-oppressive forum that is based on collaboration, reciprocity, empowerment and openness.""It's the idea of sharing knowledge of what you have and giving back by doing the same for others," Dally said.Scar was impressed by the Olympia Free School's philosophy and diversity of classes, which ranged from learning to cook to how to play the banjo. In Seattle, she hopes to start a book club, teach a class on poetry and perhaps even offer a class specifically for children when the school becomes more established."I'm really excited about attending classes. It's really about getting the word out there to people and finding people who want to teach and learn," Scar said.She hopes the school will eventually grow to a place where they can distribute calendars and newsletters to build a community skill-share list where people who want to learn can share with other people. "The school is for people to see what the community can offer and to demonstrate the effectiveness of this non-hierarchical type of learning and to show people that it works," Scar said. A SAFE PLACE FOR EXCHANGEBoth Dally and Scar agreed that the school was about being a safe space of exchange where resources and skills can be shared. The importance of fulfilling community involvement is very important to their philosophy of the free school. "The Free School idea is an organic process, entirely a grass-roots movement, where the information and knowledge is already there and is just waiting to be shared," Scar said. "It's a matter of making that information and skills accessible to people as a mutual aid-reciprocity process, allowing people to see what is possible and how easy it can be to engage in our community." Scar is a member of Team Victory in Seattle, an anarchist environmentalist collective.Andrews, one of the founders of Phinney Ecovillage, stressed that people should get to know their neighbors, and that, essentially, the free school is about people who share interests exchanging ideas with one another.Dally said that the school would not accept donations because they would like to see what they can do for free with the given resources they have for as long as possible. The classes will most likely take place in public areas such as libraries and other free spaces."The Free School idea was something that started in the '60s, and it is a really important method of social change, especially due to the economy's current situation," Andrews said.MYRIAD CLASS TOPICSAll of the classes are open to the general public, and everyone is welcome to teach a class, as well. The teachers determine the structure of the classes.Dally said that she would teach the first few classes because she wants people to get a taste of what the classes will be like. She is familiar with the topics because she has taught them before and her experience in the service industry has helped, too. For instance, she has taught a class on cheese making.Andrews wants to include her "citizen training group," The Democracy Conversations, where people come together to talk about American values and visions. "I would love to see these kinds of discussion groups go on and revitalize political lives," she said.For more people to be aware of Seattle Free School, Dally hopes to encourage people to spread the word about the school to others and get in touch with her. "Most people have knowledge about a subject and enough knowledge to let other people get started. It's nice to have somebody lead you through the first steps over that first hurdle," Dally said."I want everyone to feel comfortable at the Free School, with no set curriculum. The only thing we really want is shared appreciation, a lot of craft, and we're open to everything and everyone from any political walk of life," Dally said.FIRST CLASSThe Seattle Free School's first class, Keeping Chickens in the City, is scheduled for March 15 at 10:30 a.m. at the University Library, 5009 Roosevelt Way N.E.Other classes in the works are soap making, cheese making, basic auto repair and beer making.For more information, visit the website at seattlefreeschool.googlepages.com. Or to be added to the mailing list, e-mail seattlefreeschool@gmail.com.[[In-content Ad]]
