[LSF] The Mycelium School - Education for the 21st Centruy

[mat...@myceliumschool.org]

The Mycelium School

I grew up in a pretty traditional fashion in New England, USA.  I attended public schools and immediately following high-school, I went to college.  From college, I moved to New York City and worked for 3 years as a talent agent.  I enjoyed my work, but believed there was something more, yet I wasn't sure what that was.  I wanted to find out. 

Over the next 6 years, I traveled to 40 countries living and working in diverse communities as a farmer, a fisherman, a print-maker, a carpenter and a photojournalist.  I found this experience put me in touch with who I was, how the world worked and what my calling was much more than I ever did in a classroom. 

About 4 years ago, I set out to create a school that would provide a similar experience for young leaders from both industrialized and non-industrialized countries.  The goal was to provide a meaningful foundation for which to build a life on.  The Mycelium School is the fruit of these integrated experiences.

The Mycelium School is a two-year international program for 18-30 year olds designed to help foster the development and execution of social enterprises worldwide.  Our participants will receive a holistic education designed to offer them foundational understandings of who they are and how they can apply themselves meaningfully to the world.   Eventually our graduates will create regenerative enterprises that add value to social and environmental systems while making a profit.

Regenerative change is beyond sustainability and "best practices." At the heart of regeneration, is the idea that a system needs to constantly improve the whole in order to be healthy. It is not about building houses or adding a library, but instead about revitalizing whole communities and creating an empowered thought structure that fosters this continual emergence.

Too often social activists, business and policy-makers try to change people's behavior, be it ending a war, buying a new "greener" product or recycling. However, this requires a lot of energy and does not have a high transformative yield. Some innovative companies and activists try to change what people think about, but we believe the most efficient way to change both how people act and what they think is to focus on how they think about something.

Levels of Social Change

1: Support the status quo

2: Teach people to do differently

3: Teach people to think differently

4: Teach people how to think (Our focus)

Module 1 & 2

In the first of two 18-week modules, students will develop a whole new understanding of potential for themselves and the world. In addition to the core classes, courses are also taught by visiting professors at the vanguard of various fields such as ecology, economics, design, innovation, academia, and social entrepreneurship. In the second 18-week module, students will intern at various social enterprises in order to gain hands-on experience and know-how. 

Module 3 & Beyond

The third, yearlong, module is called The Dream Lab.  Here, participants develop a business plan for their social enterprise and gather the required resources needed to launch it into the world. Each student will have a committee of professors composed of a core faculty member and two outside readers, one from the business community and the other from the community in which the enterprise will launch. At the years' end, the participant will have a fully articulated business plan, which they will pitch to potential seed investors.

After graduation, the student participates in a 3-year outcubation period where graduates will be paired with a mentor for continued support in achieving a sustainable and regenerative enterprise.

The ultimate goal of The Mycelium School is to empower young leaders from around the world with the tools and experience needed to create local change worldwide.  As our network grows, so will our capacity to foster a global transformation in our thinking from creating business that are trying to be different, to ones that make a difference.

 __________________________________________________________

One of the most valuable elements about our LSF forum has been the conversation and sharing of ideas.  While we are all involved in different work, we share a common goal of fostering meaningful and sustained work that is locally empowered.

I'm interested in how we can work together to raise our individual awareness and collective potential.  One thing I would like you to consider and possibly share with the group regards your organization's philosophy.  Best practices may be helpful at times, but since a practice is contextual, its value is not always transferable.  However, best principles are.  In some of the most successful, rewarding work you've engaged in, what guiding principles have enabled this success?

One thing that could be useful for not just us, but other NGO/NPO/Social Businesses is a collaborative document that highlights principles that have proven successful over the years in diverse fields of work. 

These principles should be challenged and refined.  Here's one to start us off:

The greater the community views themselves as an integral part of authoring and implementing the work, the greater the potential for deep and sustained social impact.

Of course I also welcome ideas, questions, and comments about The Mycelium School too.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

 In community, 

Matthew Abrams

The Mycelium School                                                      

Founder

646.709.6075

www.myceliumschool.org

www.vanishingfootprints.com

  

 

            The Mycelium School is a 501 (c) 3 social-profit organization

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [LSF] Re: LSF Discussion topic from The Niapele Project:
grassroots reporting?
From: How Matters <email.ho...@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, August 05, 2011 9:09 am
To: Local Solutions Forum <local-solu...@googlegroups.com>

Thanks Penelope for the kind invitation to this googlegroup on locally-
driven development - I'm excited to participate.

As for the reporting issue, let me just say that it's not an easy one
and I think every donor struggles with this, some more honestly than
others. A few years ago, I led the development of a training and
mentoring approach to monitoring and evaluation among local
organizations in Lesotho, Zambia and Malawi. The approach is based on
a premise that people at the grassroots level have the most expertise
in terms of defining and measuring success, based on internal
reflection processes of their own values and goals. One mantra at its
core--M&E should never detract from the work at hand, which is serving
people--kept it grounded in the practicalities of day-to-day work with
families and communities. The approach's success has also come from
its focus on making M&E accessible through the "de-technicalization"
of M&E concepts and practical exercises that utilized existing data
from the organizations themselves, further developing critical
reflection skills. (You can see an overview presentation of this
training approach here: http://www.slideshare.net/jlentfer/gwob-firelight-jun-08.)
Trained groups continue to demonstrate the effectiveness of the
approach through their program adaptation, enhanced advocacy, and
increased fundraising.

Essentially, our role as trainer or donor or supporter was essentially
about building people's confidence and ability to reflect on their
progress and compare data over time, in the form of numbers and of
stories. In most cases, local organizations are already doing some
form of monitoring (even if it's observation) before any donor
reporting requirements come into play. I believe, then, that the onus
should be more on the donor to jointly formulate reporting
requirements that are based on what's already being done, as well as
acknowledge that what the donor wants to "know" and what the
organization needs to know, may not be the same thing and may not
require the same kinds of data collection. To me, this is the mis-
match that development partners continue to run up against. I think
the kinds of questions that Niapele is asking are good ones but it's
also important for donors to reflect on which questions/requirements
aren't working and where you are not getting the responses you expect,
so that you can gather feedback and tweak where necessary.

I'm not sure of "tough love" in preparation for "tough donors" is the
right or wrong place to start. At the end of the day, we want to see
local organizations that are proud of their achievements and able to
enter into funding partnerships on more steady footing. We want to see
local organizations that know "who they are" and who value and can
stay true to their mission and their constituency. That is why I'm
confident funders and NGOs should focus on restructuring and revising
their accountability requirements (as well as educating their donors)
to focus on the minimum structure and financial controls necessary,
rather than asking CBOs to change. In effect, I believe we must lower
the “glass ceiling” for CBOs to participate in international aid
mechanisms.

Ultimately, we want to meet our partners right where they are. Over
time, some may grow to serve bigger geographic areas, add more
programs, have bigger budgets and professional staff. Others will stay
small, maintain volunteer leadership, but also keep learning to offer
higher quality services. We know that staying small allows for some
wonderful attributes, allowing for an intimacy with the community that
is hard to maintain as organizations formalize. Can we see both
"paths" of growth as acceptable?

Now the question is - when to exit the partnership? At Firelight
Foundation, we worked hard to articulate our exit strategy (a phrase
the partners thought was too harsh), including the criteria, length of
expected partnerships, grant amounts (which varied depending on the
organizational capacity level of the org when we started with them,
i.e. we stayed with smaller groups longer). Not only was this useful
for our planning and fundraising, but it helped the organizations know
what to expect from the start.

Good luck to you all on your M&E efforts. And keep in mind the old
adage - you do not fatten a calf by weighing it!

Jennifer Lentfer
www.how-matters.org - Aid effectiveness is not about what we do, but
how we do it.


On Jul 28, 9:40 am, <matt...@myceliumschool.org> wrote:
> Howdy y'all,
>
>
>
> M & E is a really interesting point which we devoted a lot of time to in both graduate school and in our business plan.  I think the Obsessive Measurement Disorder (OMD), that Natsios refers to in the article Penelope linked to, is a vestige of a bygone Industrial Age Era.  Western culture likes to break apart, manage, assess and tweak ever so slightly.  Because of this, we've lost the forest for the trees.  The article brings up a great point as to how it is much easier to manage and asses hard, non-transformational actions (more people recycling) than it is to manage soft, transformational behaviors (more people caring for the environment).  
>
>
>
> However, the funders want to see M & E.  I say here is our time, as true change agents doing visionary work, to educate.  Yes, sure, let's set up our metrics to asses development and impact (generally) on the non-transformational level, but let's also show that the real thick value in the work we're doing is complex, just as profound and trans formative social change is complex.  It takes time and wisdom, and more times than not, doesn't fit neatly into a pie chart.  
>
>
>
> We, however, must understand well the relationship between our work and the transformation it will inspire.  If it is a logical (yet, not measurable) deduction, foundations will get it... and maybe they'll lighten up a bit on their OMD's.
>
>
>
> Peace & Blessings,
>
>
>
> Matthew
>
>
>
> The Mycelium School                                                      
>
> Founder
>
> 646.709.6075
>
>
>
> www.myceliumschool.org
>
> www.vanishingfootprints.com
>
>
>
>   
>
>  
>
>             The Mycelium School is a 501 (c) 3 social-profit organization
>
>
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: [LSF] Re: LSF Discussion topic from The Niapele Project:
> grassroots reporting?
> From: "Penelope (The Niapele Project)" <penelop...@gmail.com>
> Date: Tue, July 26, 2011 5:37 am
> To: Local Solutions Forum <local-solu...@googlegroups.com>
> Hi everyone,
> I thought I'd share a link to an article I thought was useful in
> thinking about impact measurement (sorry for the development-ese
> Andy!)http://www.nextbillion.net/blog/2011/07/25/are-we-measuring-too-much
> "This measurement paradox can have problematic implications: Funders
> with a strong orientation on measurable outcome will channel funds to
> highly visible, highly measurable activities - with transformational
> activities being underfunded. And entrepreneurs that want
> 'measureable' impact will be drawn to 'measurable' activities, not to
> the ones that drive real social change. In practice, this can enforce
> that concern that Ashoka's Felix Oldenburg voiced about the funding of
> organisations rather the impact, as the effects of an investment are
> best measured at the organisational level."
> I recommend reading the whole article - while it talks about social
> entreprises specifically, I think a lot of it is relevant for small
> NGOs.
> Cheers,
> Penelope
> On Jul 24, 10:05 pm, "Penelope (The Niapele Project)"
> <penelopeches...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Thanks Neal, Matt and Sasha for your responses. If you come across
> > specific examples of grassroots M&E that you find successful, please
> > share!
> >
> > Matt - Journey Mapping seems interesting. I love how it tries to
> > capture the qualitative impact of initiatives. Would you share your
> > experience with this tool in the forum (or with me personally, if you
> > prefer) when you've had a chance to test it out? I'm longing for this
> > kind of data, and I find it very hard to tell "success stories"
> > outside of telling actual stories. I looked at the Journey Mapping
> > website a little bit, and it seems like it would be good for us to use
> > in the U.S. to assess our own programs - what I'm really interested in
> > is developing mechanisms and tools that can be used by grassroots
> > organizations themselves, keeping in mind the capacity constraints.
> >
> > Sasha - would you be interested in sharing some of these documents
> > that outline your grantees' strategies, particularly with reference to
> > their sustainability and M&E proposals? Niapele also has "partnership
> > agreements" where one of the requirements is for the partner
> > organization to develop short-term and long-term strategies - to be
> > honest, these strategies are not always forthcoming, and when they
> > are, it sometimes feels like the orgs are doing it for our benefit,
> > rather than their own.
> >
> > Maybe this is a much, much broader question - but what does
> > sustainability look like at the grassroots? For me - and for Niapele -
> > at least part of it means the ability to self-finance. This could mean
> > securing government support (through grants or general programming),
> > or other types of financial support. In my experience, obtaining
> > funding that's not "one off" is a HUGE challenge for micro
> > organizations at the grassroots, and that has to do with the
> > difficulty of producing adequate proposals, budgets, etc.
> >
> > I'm happy to share some of the documents that outline how our partners
> > are attempting to report back to us - the kinds of templates we're
> > using etc. If others have similar templates or examples to share,
> > please do! Let me know if there is further interest in exploring these
> > ideas - I , for one, will continue to think about these issues and
> > welcome any and all discussion/collaboration.
> >
> > Wishing you all a great week,
> >
> > Peace,
> > Penelope
> >
> > On Jul 22, 11:56 am, Sasha Fisher <sashadfis...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > Hi,
> >
> > > Thanks Penelope! What a great discussion. The degree and type of reporting
> > > we require from communities is something we are frequently in discussions
> > > about.
> >
> > > Matt thanks so much for these ideas and introducing Journey Mapping.
> >
> > > In Spark, we have a few versions of M&E, some that are more useful for the
> > > communities we support, some for us as an organization and some for donors.
> > > We mandate a full out proposal from each community before funding is
> > > dispersed. The proposal include a plan of action, detailed budget,
> > > sustainability plan and monitoring system. We provide a lot of hands on
> > > support to help them flesh out and organize these proposals as it's most
> > > often their first time writing one. We also require follow up reports and
> > > meetings periodically after the project is implemented. The reports contain
> > > a simple monitoring plan and assessment and the meetings engage the group in
> > > a verbal report and discussion on their project. Aside from this, each group
> > > keeps internal records of the running costs of the project, individuals
> > > participation from community members and we check in on those records during
> > > the meetings.
> >
> > > We struggle quite a bit with engaging communities to develop their own
> > > monitoring systems and they rarely get excited by M&E unless it is for an
> > > income generating project.  It's the place where Spark as an organization
> > > often comes in and helps create a strategy for monitoring, but we'd like to
> > > engage the community in designing the plan more.
> >
> > > Spark requires much less reporting and monitoring and evaluations than large
> > > grantors want, but it is usually their first project so we strive to do the
> > > amount that it is useful for the organization to have structure in their
> > > programs and for us to get some stats on what's working and what isn't. What
> > > was mentioned earlier about being flexible, patient
> > > and accommodating resonates strongly. While we'd like to see grassroots
> > > organizations get better at reporting and grant writing, we'd also like to
> > > see funders engage them more, acknowledging that they are a different type
> > > of development actor than large aid agencies.
> >
> > > Best,
> > > Sasha
> >
> > > On Wed, Jul 20, 2011 at 2:54 PM, <matt...@myceliumschool.org> wrote:
> > > > Hello everyone,
> >
> > > > A couple thoughts re Penelope & Neal's ideas/questions.  I think the
> > > > question of monitoring and assessment is one that all social profit
> > > > organizations play with.  I don't think there is an across the board answer
> > > > as each organization is different with different means and different
> > > > elements that need measuring.  With that said, I think it is critical to
> > > > think about what success means and how will an organization gauge whether
> > > > they are doing the work they've set out to.  That way, if they are, they can
> > > > know what they're doing is working and if not, they can research, explore
> > > > alternative methods and self-correct.  So often, I see NPOs & NGOs that lack
> > > > that internal accountability and invest so much human and financial capital
> > > > that isn't being invested toward fulfilling their mission.  More than
> > > > anything, M&E is a valuable *internal* tool that allows us to do our work
> > > > and see our results.
> >
> > > > The other major problem, which is what was voiced, is the excessive demand
> > > > of funding agencies for M&E that comes at the cost of the organization's
> > > > ability to do the work they intended.  Bottom line: figure out where the
> > > > line is that will optimize your organization's accountability and efficacy
> > > > and do that.
> >
> > > > One tool we will be using (but have no empirical data as of yet) is Journey
> > > > Mapping.
> >
> > > > Journey mapping is an online design platform and evaluation tool featuring
> > > > journaling that was specifically developed to capture both the spirit as
> > > > well as the data of programs and initiatives.  It's particularly valuable
> > > > for monitoring and evaluating development programs whose results and
> > > > achievements cannot be understood with quantitative indicators alone but
> > > > also require the deeper insights of a qualitative, contextualized story of
> > > > the development process.
> >
> > > > Journey mapping was designed specifically for complex programs that
> > > > encourage transformation (attitude change) rather than modification
> > > > (behavior change). It looks at how human beings relate to one another and
> > > > to their environment.  For example, if a community was to implement a
> > > > sustainability initiative and after a year, 50% more people were recycling,
> > > > the journey mapping process could determine whether the initiative caused
> > > > the change in the action (recycling) or in the attitude (honoring the
> > > > environment).
> > > > *
> > > > *
> > > > *WHAT IT DOES*: Provides on-line, customized applications for charting
> > > > progress. Translates staff and participant narratives into richly
> > > > illustrated program results.
> >
> > > > *HOW IT WORKS:* Journey Mapping users are assigned password-protected
> > > > sites where they log on and describe and rate their own performance or that
> > > > of program participants. These sites integrate narrative accounts with
> > > > journey plots, progress markers, and outcome measures. Summary reports are
> > > > automatically compiled for the results generated.
> >
> > > > *UNIQUE FEATURES:* Employs a user-friendly format that is quickly
> > > > mastered. Customized applications are set up for immediate use by unlimited
> > > > numbers of varied participants contributing subjective experiences of
> > > > outcomes.
> >
> > > > Hope this helps!
> >
> > > > In community,
> >
> > > > Matthew Abrams
> > > > The Mycelium School
> > > > Founder
> > > > 646.709.6075
> > > > **
> > > > *www.myceliumschool.org*
> > > > *www.vanishingfootprints.com*
> >
> > > > <http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Mycelium-School/114040335327730?ref...&gt;;
> > > >   <http://twitter.com/MyceliumSchool&gt;;
> >
> > > >             *The Mycelium School is a 501 (c) 3 social-profit organization
> > > > *
> >
> > > >  -------- Original Message --------
> > > > Subject: RE: [LSF] LSF Discussion topic from The Niapele Project:
> > > > grassroots reporting?
> > > > From: "neal lesh" <nl...@dimagi.com>
> > > > Date: Tue, July 19, 2011 2:55 pm
> > > > To: <local-solu...@googlegroups.com>
> >
> > > > Dear Penelope and the rest of the Niapele Project team.
> >
> > > > First let me say thanks for this thoughtful and inspiring account of the
> > > > work you all do! Both the HapFam center and the School Nutrition Initiative
> > > > sound like amazing local solution projects. And it's interesting to see the
> > > > carryover from efforts in Ghana to Liberia.
> >
> > > > And that's a great but really difficult question about how much effort
> > > > should be put into building capacity in local grassroots organizations to
> > > > meet the demanding reporting standards of international development work.
> > > > I wish I had more to offer--but can just generally say that it does seem an
> > > > important success factor for small organizations. I think there are many
> > > > grassroots organizations doing amazing work but fail to get funds due to
> > > > the
> > > > lack of skills in proposal writing or clear monitoring data. On the other
> > > > hand, it may be that a simple monitoring system is sufficient for
> > > > organizations that aren't competing for large funds to stand out. So I'll
> > > > throw out my guess that aiming for "a bit lower but still pretty good"
> > > > standards could be the right approach.
> >
> > > > And I'll echo your interest in hearing about reporting systems people have
> > > > tried out, and
> >
> > ...
> >
> > read more »
>
>  sigimg1
> 777KViewDownload
>
>  icon_sm_facebook.gif
> 2KViewDownload
>
>  icon_sm_twitter.gif
> 2KViewDownload

[Ecofinder]

Dear Mathew,
Great and innovative idea. It will be great to part of it. Read more about us here www.ecofinderkenya.org.
Yours Sincerely
Leonard Akwany

[neal lesh]

Hi Matthew,

 

Thanks for this rather beautiful description of your background and objectives.   I’ve already forwarded it to several friends.  

 

I really like the principle you included below, as well as the idea of articulating the shared principles of the LSF community. Perhaps we can devote some time to that on one of our discussion weeks or perhaps a few people on this list would volunteer to lead a process to come up with a draft.  I think the one you listed very much captures the spirit of Spark MicroGrants (the organization in LSF I’m working with).    And while it seems rather self-evidently true to many of us, it might be useful to pool our evidence that this holds to build a more convincing case for it. 

 

I love the idea of the Mycelium school and wish you the best with launching it.   I’m curious if you expect (and probably plan to address) a challenge between supporting an individual entrepreneur to champion their vision of change in the world and promoting community-driven work Or put another way, is there a tradeoff between having time in the Dream Lab to develop one’s own enterprise vs. evolving an approach within community-based efforts?   I think many of the groups on this list are both championing their vision and supporting locally driven work, so it’s clearly possible—and so am curious if you see this an issue you have to address –and if so, what your thoughts on how you’ll do that.

 

Thanks again!

-neal

> > > > <http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Mycelium-School/114040335327730?ref...>;;
> > > >   <http://twitter.com/MyceliumSchool>;;

[mat...@myceliumschool.org]

Hello Neal and the rest of the LSF community,

Great question Neal about the trade-off between championing the individual vs. the a community-led initiative.  Our participants will learn to create, what we're calling, a regenerative business.  That is, by opening the channels of communication/energy flow to all the stakeholders (community, co-creators, investors, customers & earth), the enterprise will continuously emerge by honoring these relationships as integral parts of the whole.  

Essentially, by opening these channels, the individual's work becomes community driven work since the best way the business can meet their needs is by having them in the conversation.  So we're looking at this questions not as an either/or, but a both/and.  

Thanks for asking!

Matthew

The Mycelium School                                                      

Founder

646.709.6075

[Solomon Kayiwa]

This is great!

--
Solomon Edwin Kayiwa. M
Alumni Program Coordinator
Sol...@ExperienceEducate.org / kayi...@yahoo.com
+256-782-555-252/ 772 728105

www.ExperienceEducate.org
Learn more about the social initiatives Educate! Scholars are starting across Uganda on our blog at www.ExperienceEducate.org/blog
 

[Vincent-Mark, Arlene (CDC/ONDIEH/NCIPC)]

Matthew:

 

I am interested in delivering community-based training programs at your school – I train staff and facilitators  (ToT) in Participatory Approaches including Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation as my role as Executive Director of the Institute for the Training and Practice of Participatory Approaches.  I’ve done this both internationally (Africa, Asia, Latin America & the Caribbean) and within the U.S.  I have facilitated a PM&E training for the American Evaluation Association and it was very well-received.

 

Let me know if that is something you’d be interested in, and we can discuss further.  (Someone who attended my training suggested I participate in the LSF).

 

arlene

Arlene Vincent-Mark, Ph.D., MBA, MA
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
Division of Injury Response
4770 Buford Highway, N.E., MS F-62
Atlanta, GA  30341

Phone: 770 488 4398
Fax:     770 488 3551
email:   ds...@cdc.gov

 

 

 

From: local-solu...@googlegroups.com [mailto:local-solu...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of mat...@myceliumschool.org
Sent: Friday, August 12, 2011 9:50 AM
To: local-solu...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [LSF] The Mycelium School - Education for the 21st Centruy

 

Hello Neal and the rest of the LSF community,

 

Great question Neal about the trade-off between championing the individual vs. the a community-led initiative.  Our participants will learn to create, what we're calling, a regenerative business.  That is, by opening the channels of communication/energy flow to all the stakeholders (community, co-creators, investors, customers & earth), the enterprise will continuously emerge by honoring these relationships as integral parts of the whole.  

 

Essentially, by opening these channels, the individual's work becomes community driven work since the best way the business can meet their needs is by having them in the conversation.  So we're looking at this questions not as an either/or, but a both/and.  

 

Thanks for asking!

 

Matthew

 

The Mycelium School                                                      

Founder

646.709.6075

www.myceliumschool.org

www.vanishingfootprints.com

 

  

 

            The Mycelium School is a 501 (c) 3 social-profit organization

 

 

 

From: local-solu...@googlegroups.com [mailto:local-solu...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of mat...@myceliumschool.org

[mat...@myceliumschool.org]

I would love to explore possibilities.  Why don't you give me a date/time or two that work for you and we can schedule a skype or phone chat.  Thanks for reaching out!

[Vincent-Mark, Arlene (CDC/ONDIEH/NCIPC)]

Matthew:

 

Thanks for getting back to me.  I am away facilitating a training this week.  I can call you in the afternoon after the training around 5:00 pm.  Let me know if that will work, and I can do so either today or tomorrow afternoon. 

 

arlene

[mat...@myceliumschool.org]

Hi Arlene,

I'm caught up today - Flying out of town tomorrow, but would be available after 5, otherwise, the following few days are relatively open.  Let me know what works, or feel free to just give a shout and if I can talk, I will.

Looking forward,

Matthew

The Mycelium School                                                      

Founder

646.709.6075

www.myceliumschool.org

www.vanishingfootprints.com

  

 

            The Mycelium School is a 501 (c) 3 social-profit organization

[mat...@myceliumschool.org]

Shoot - So sorry - didn't mean to sent that to the group...

Have a magic day!

[mat...@myceliumschool.org]

Hey Neal,

Just confirming we're on for tomorrow.  I don't think we scheduled a time, but how's 12:30/45 at Society Cafe?

Looking forward,

Matthew

The Mycelium School                                                      

Founder

646.709.6075

www.myceliumschool.org

www.vanishingfootprints.com

  

 

            The Mycelium School is a 501 (c) 3 social-profit organization

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: [LSF] The Mycelium School - Education for the 21st Centruy

From: "neal lesh" <nl...@dimagi.com>
Date: Wed, August 10, 2011 6:16 am
To: <local-solu...@googlegroups.com>

Hi Matthew,

 

Thanks for this rather beautiful description of your background and objectives.   I’ve already forwarded it to several friends.  

 

I really like the principle you included below, as well as the idea of articulating the shared principles of the LSF community. Perhaps we can devote some time to that on one of our discussion weeks or perhaps a few people on this list would volunteer to lead a process to come up with a draft.  I think the one you listed very much captures the spirit of Spark MicroGrants (the organization in LSF I’m working with).    And while it seems rather self-evidently true to many of us, it might be useful to pool our evidence that this holds to build a more convincing case for it. 

 

I love the idea of the Mycelium school and wish you the best with launching it.   I’m curious if you expect (and probably plan to address) a challenge between supporting an individual entrepreneur to champion their vision of change in the world and promoting community-driven work Or put another way, is there a tradeoff between having time in the Dream Lab to develop one’s own enterprise vs. evolving an approach within community-based efforts?   I think many of the groups on this list are both championing their vision and supporting locally driven work, so it’s clearly possible—and so am curious if you see this an issue you have to address –and if so, what your thoughts on how you’ll do that.

 

Thanks again!

-neal