JOINING BRIEF
If you are reading this we are pretty sure you are feeling
inspired and excited about Classroom Alive: Ireland - we are pumped about that - so we are intentionally writing
from a perspective that the essential spark in your heart is burning
bright and we are now going to focus more on the practical sides it is
important for you understand so we can enter into real conversation together about whether it's right for you to join.
GOAL
The goal of this process is to co-create the best possible conditions for the people walking all the way to the end so they can be with their questions and in the experience, not to spend huge amounts of time coordinating lots of meet up points and lots of people.
While the core team must own our own responsibility to balance this dynamic, to truly co create an incredible journey we also need your help and understanding to do so. We have chosen to be intentional about the size of the group on the road, the timing of connecting up, the consistency of people and relationships in an ever changing landscape, and to be both idealistic and realistic what is possible about life on the road in a 10 week period of time. We ask everyone involved, from the core team to the causal observer, to respect this and reflect carefully on how we hold this process together.
Here are some key things to consider if you are thinking about starting a conversation about joining...
GROUP SIZE: Max 12 people walking at a time
Based on both the experience of Classroom Alive: Sweden to Greece and team dynamics literature we have decided to limit the amount of people taking part in Classroom Alive: Ireland to 12 people. The learning tells us that going above this number creates logistical and relational challenges that we feel will detract from the core purpose and experience of the journey.
TIMING - STARTING AND ENDING
This is a key factor in deciding if its right for you to join the journey.
There are two things, again coming from learning from Classroom Alive: Sweden to Greece, that we think matter here to hold the integrity of the experience for everyone:
FINANCIAL COSTS
We are committed to handling finances consciously, equitably and responsibly during Classroom Alive: Ireland. There is nothing that can cause conflict in a group and ruin relationships like unconscious economy, so to mediate this up front there are 3 things it is critical you understand in this area if you are thinking about joining:
GEAR
Mother Nature is beautiful and inspiring but not something to mess with. It is imperative if you are wanting to join Classroom Alive: Ireland that you have the right gear to do so. We will spend most days outside and nights in tents and it is virtually guaranteed that despite it being summer in Ireland that we will encounter both rain and wind that can turn weather conditions from beautiful to highly dangerous rapidly - hypothermia is not a game. Please do not put yourself or anyone else at risk by not having appropriate gear. Solid rain gear, walking boots, socks, backpack and tent will be essential - if you don't own it borrow it, buy it or crowd source it but don't compromise with shoddy gear that will just break when you are on the road and make the journey miserable or dangerous.
GOAL
The goal of this process is to co-create the best possible conditions for the people walking all the way to the end so they can be with their questions and in the experience, not to spend huge amounts of time coordinating lots of meet up points and lots of people.
While the core team must own our own responsibility to balance this dynamic, to truly co create an incredible journey we also need your help and understanding to do so. We have chosen to be intentional about the size of the group on the road, the timing of connecting up, the consistency of people and relationships in an ever changing landscape, and to be both idealistic and realistic what is possible about life on the road in a 10 week period of time. We ask everyone involved, from the core team to the causal observer, to respect this and reflect carefully on how we hold this process together.
Here are some key things to consider if you are thinking about starting a conversation about joining...
GROUP SIZE: Max 12 people walking at a time
Based on both the experience of Classroom Alive: Sweden to Greece and team dynamics literature we have decided to limit the amount of people taking part in Classroom Alive: Ireland to 12 people. The learning tells us that going above this number creates logistical and relational challenges that we feel will detract from the core purpose and experience of the journey.
TIMING - STARTING AND ENDING
This is a key factor in deciding if its right for you to join the journey.
There are two things, again coming from learning from Classroom Alive: Sweden to Greece, that we think matter here to hold the integrity of the experience for everyone:
- Your End Point: Can you walk to the end? To be able to hold a container for highly diverse learning topics, questions, personalities and backgrounds it is vital that the group has some common purpose that sits at the centre of the journey to bind us together and hold us together when it gets tuff both individually and collectively. This is the end point - Ballycastle on July 13th 2014. In addition it is ideal if participants can also take part in the harvest and closure week from the 14-21st of July in Ballycastle. Priority in joining will be given to those who can complete and harvest the journey together.
- Your Walk Duration: 5 week threshold, the longer the better. To be able to really sink into the rhythm of the journey, build authentic relationships and gain the most out of the experience, in addition to walking to the end, we have decided participants in Classroom Alive: Ireland should aim to walk for 5 weeks or longer (latest join time around the 1st week in June), joining as early as possible and ideally from the beginning at Kinsale on the 5th May.
FINANCIAL COSTS
We are committed to handling finances consciously, equitably and responsibly during Classroom Alive: Ireland. There is nothing that can cause conflict in a group and ruin relationships like unconscious economy, so to mediate this up front there are 3 things it is critical you understand in this area if you are thinking about joining:
- Invest your journey and your learning. While we are inviting financial gifts to support the journey it is vital you understand that we are not expecting them or depending on them to undertake this journey. ALL participants must have the economy to cover their cost on the road. This is about investing in yourself and declaring Classroom Alive: Ireland is both valuable to you and worth committing to.
- Budget: €10 per day on the road. The journey will run on a shoestring but there are still costs. This budget again comes from learning from the 6 months on the road with Classroom Alive: Sweden to Greece. Walking for significant amounts of the day is going to make you hungry and we are budgeting €5 a day per person for enough healthy nutritious food for everyone - breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. The other €5 per day is for a combination of accommodation cost when needed, gear repair, and emergency backup funds - from experience this is an essential reserve. Kinsale to Ballycastle budget = €750-850.
- Common Pot Culture. To make the journey possible we will pool some of our money and gift into 1 pot to cover food for us all - we will budget expenses together, buy and cook our food together and trust each other to operate economically in a way that serves the purpose of the whole and well being of all. This can be a huge challenge for some people but the spirit of Trust, Equity and Gift are core principles in Classroom Alive: Ireland and is the edge of learning we want to push as a collective and in society at large. At the end of the trip we will equitably divide remaining money from the pot back to everyone who contributes to it.
GEAR
Mother Nature is beautiful and inspiring but not something to mess with. It is imperative if you are wanting to join Classroom Alive: Ireland that you have the right gear to do so. We will spend most days outside and nights in tents and it is virtually guaranteed that despite it being summer in Ireland that we will encounter both rain and wind that can turn weather conditions from beautiful to highly dangerous rapidly - hypothermia is not a game. Please do not put yourself or anyone else at risk by not having appropriate gear. Solid rain gear, walking boots, socks, backpack and tent will be essential - if you don't own it borrow it, buy it or crowd source it but don't compromise with shoddy gear that will just break when you are on the road and make the journey miserable or dangerous.
FINDING AGREEMENT
Please be aware that to maintain the integrity of the journey we ask you not to join us without first being in conversation and reaching agreement with both your self (are you really ready to commit to the reality and not just the idea?) and those already committed to walking.
It is worth being true up front that the conclusion to a request and conversation around joining is not guaranteed to end in 'Yes'. We hope to reach either yes or no mutually through dialogue together.
There is more information on joining on the next page.
Now we invite you take a moment to...
...breathe
...centre yourself
...reflect on what inspires you
...ask what questions do I have for myself?
...ask what will serve me most in my life at this time?
...is the timing really right? Can I access the gear, economy and time to make this possible?
...ask is this really my wise next step?
...go for a walk for half an hour to let this sink. Remember you can honour those who are walking with either your presence or your absence.
If it's not the right time for you we challenge you not to let the spark die and to create another journey when it is!
We will be harvesting our learning from this trip to support people who want to do that.
If you do feel it's the right time, we look forward to beginning the conversation.
Click here to go to the joining letter and conversation form
Please be aware that to maintain the integrity of the journey we ask you not to join us without first being in conversation and reaching agreement with both your self (are you really ready to commit to the reality and not just the idea?) and those already committed to walking.
It is worth being true up front that the conclusion to a request and conversation around joining is not guaranteed to end in 'Yes'. We hope to reach either yes or no mutually through dialogue together.
There is more information on joining on the next page.
Now we invite you take a moment to...
...breathe
...centre yourself
...reflect on what inspires you
...ask what questions do I have for myself?
...ask what will serve me most in my life at this time?
...is the timing really right? Can I access the gear, economy and time to make this possible?
...ask is this really my wise next step?
...go for a walk for half an hour to let this sink. Remember you can honour those who are walking with either your presence or your absence.
If it's not the right time for you we challenge you not to let the spark die and to create another journey when it is!
We will be harvesting our learning from this trip to support people who want to do that.
If you do feel it's the right time, we look forward to beginning the conversation.
Click here to go to the joining letter and conversation form