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What is a Teaching/Learning Community (TLC)?
A TLC is any group that comes together for the purpose of shared learning and teaching. Typically, leadership is shared or informal, as everyone takes a role in both the teaching and the learning. Such a community evolves out of a shared desire or purpose, and literally "grows itself as it goes." Whether it is a study group, a group focused on creating local change or a regular gathering of friends with shared interests, it is in such groups that we find the shared energy and imagination to create sustainable change in our own lives and that of our communities.
Another similar term for a TLC is "community of practice:" these communities are webs of connections woven by people to get their work done. Where people may find formal structure ineffective, they will reach out for the resources and relationships needed to get things done and follow leaders of their own choosing. In this natural evolution, communities of practice are formed. Learning is a social experience, and humans learn best in relationship with others who share a common practice! We self-organize as communities with those who have skills and knowledge that are important to us.
Our Mystery School and Social Artistry TLC's may take a number of forms and be as diverse in purpose and scope as those who choose to create them. They may emerge on the model of the Mystery School as we know it, or perhaps as informal study groups. They may be focused around shared community or workplace issues, or simply a gathering of like-minded friends who are committed to their own depth work. It will be up to you to fit the form and function to your vision for the TLC you are bringing together. It is our intention to offer resources and suggested practices from a spectrum of sources, and it will be up to you to find the form that best ignites the purpose and imagination of your group!
Why a Teaching/Learning Community?
First of all, the very urgency of our times seems to demand the growth of such communities. Even as we attend the Mystery School and/or Social Artistry as students, it is vital that we teach and expand the learning, creating those small groups that, in Margaret Mead’s words, can change the world! Clearly, our time is NOW. All of us have the capacity to gather a few interested souls together around a shared hearth or good food. Indeed, many of us are already
doing this!
A TLC is a great way to deepen the learning you’ve begun with the Mystery School or Social Artistry communities. Discussions and processes you experience through the weekend can be more firmly embedded in daily practice as you share and experience them with others.
A TLC will also provide significant support for you as you launch your projects or "trim tabs," with the wisdom and resources of a nurturing community behind you! Not only will we further empower ourselves and keep the inner fires burning, we will spread that fire to others, and spread the circle of learning.
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