Transcript of "How to
Learn-a-Palooza"
[Intro Music]
Joey Coleman:
All
together:
Participants in unison: The
presentation I'm about to hear is NOT legal advice. It's life advice based on
life experiences. If I have a legal question or... [voices fade]
Narrator: I'm sitting in a darkened office that's been
transformed into a makeshift lecture hall, and am surrounded by strangers. The
weather outside is beautiful on this May afternoon. I'm in the neighborhood of
Adams Morgan, a vibrant area known as the
heart of Washington, DC's Latino community as well as for its variety of ethnic
restaurants, bars, and independent boutiques. So why on earth have we all
opted to spend an hour or more in this dim space watching a Powerpoint?
Because Joey Coleman, a self-described "recovering lawyer," has offered to teach
a free class titled "How to Get Out of a Speeding
Ticket."
Joey Coleman
10:30 - I started
driving when I was very young, very young. In Iowa where I grew up you can get
your driver's license when you're 14 years old, I've been pulled over 70
times. Literally, 70 times. My gut instinct by the gasp... [fades]
Narrator: Hi, I'm Julia. Welcome to
the Idealist Community Podcast, a series in which we spotlight innovative people
and communities...hoping that you'll be inspired to come up with your own
ideas. In this episode I'll tell you about my experience at Learn-a-palooza,
a
one-day event in Washington,
DC
where
temporary classrooms are set up across the city in which
regular people share their knowledge
and skills with their neighbors for free. And, if you listen closely,
you'll find out how you can
organize
a similar event in your own area, if the word "classroom" didn't just scare you
off.
Because trust me. It's really fun.
[Music -
Rufus Thomas - Big Fine Hunk of
Woman]
Narrator: This is
the second year for Learn-a-Palooza, and Joey Coleman's workshop on getting out
of a speeding ticket is just one of more than 70 offerings.
This year topics ranged from
practical things, like "Personal Finance for Young People," to wild cards like
"How to Be a Brazen Burlesque Dancer." If there's something you've always
wondered about but might never pay to study - how to fix a broken scooter, for
example, or how to volunteer abroad - this is the day for you.
[Music -
Rufus
Thomas]
Narrator:
This year's event is mainly held in
an area where I've worked
and hung out since I was a
teenager.
I learned
about LAP through my work at Idealist. In fact, we
at
Idealist
thought
it was such a good idea that we've opened up our office in Dupont Circle as a
workshop space.
Melissa:
There's nothing by the way that really qualifies us [laughter] other than the
face that we just love to dance...
Narrator:
That's Melissa.
She spends
her days at a media
non-profit, but
today she's teaching a class called How to Dance at a Party. Right now we're
learning to find that happy medium between grinding inappropriately on strangers
and doing the wallflower shuffle.
What's
cool about Learnapalooza is that you can share what you know in any way that you
want, no matter what your experience level.
Today, I'm
chatting up different workshop leaders and
finding
that people have chosen to teach for all sorts of
reasons.
But there's one refrain that I hear
most...
Joey:
What I love about LAP is the genesis of it is so pure...
Narrator: That's Joey again, of "How to Get out of a Speeding
Ticket" fame.
Joey: I’m surrounded by intelligent interesting people who have
these great passions, that wouldn’t it be cool if on one day you could create
the environment and situation and circumstance where people could share what
they’re passionate about, in a way that was impactful and really gave a lot to
the community...but – what I think is great is that it ends up being –
Learnapalooza is like a road-map to navigate your life. If you basically look
through the different classes that are being taught there’s somewhere you can
plug in to get to the direction that you’re trying to go.
[Music - Causeway, "Gems and Jewelry"]
Narrator:
So, what makes DC a good testing ground for an event like this? The changes
in its population may be one
answer. Say the words "Adams
Morgan" to one Washingtonian and she might think of the high number of immigrant
families and a great little Salvadoran restaurant; say them to another and he
might think of hordes of affluent college students using fake I.D.s to get into
the bars there on weekends.
I'm
a young white professional who commutes to work from Shaw, an area not too far
from Adams Morgan. Shaw is home to Howard University, and rivals Harlem and
Bronzeville with its rich legacy of African American organizing. But in both
Adams Morgan and in Shaw,
gentrification
is on the rise and some longtime residents have been forced to move out of both
neighborhoods in recent years.
With
new condos replacing older buildings and ever-increasing
property
costs pricing some
residents out, tensions in the city can be
high.
I was intrigued to learn that this was
one reason Learnapalooza was founded.
Roz
Lemieux:
So
I
was taking this leadership development
class...and
so that sort of started the thought process of what can I do to get connected to
this community better.
I
felt like there was a weird unspoken tension between new residents and sort of
people who had been there a long time.
And
thinking about, well, how can I connect to my community and is there anything I
can do in the process to help ease this kind of
tension.
Narrator:
Learn-a-Palooza is the brainchild of Roz Lemieux, an online advocacy consultant
who has lived in Washington, DC for more than a
decade.
Roz:
The idea of peer to peer knowledge sharing had deep roots for me. It's kind of
an essential concept to my work; anytime you can get more people to share
information that's in their head and share skills they have that is a
contribution to the
world.
Narrator:
Roz's intention was to connect people in Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights who
walk past each other on the street every day... and this meant that a lot of
creative outreach was needed. The first year her team placed a good deal of
emphasis on canvassing: pounding the pavement to speak with store owners,
neighbors, and government officials to make sure locals would get
involved.
Roz:
One
of the coolest moments last year of organizing I went to ANC1 neighborhood
commission meeting that was at a church that I pass everyday on my way to work.
I never would've gone inside the church, I never would've met everyone from the
neighborhood commission, and I never would've met them
otherwise.
[Music -
Causeway, "Gems and Jewelry"]
Participants from Yvette's
Workshop:
"Do you guys
realize, or do you remember, that bananas used to have seeds in them, when we
were kids?"
"What?"
"ALL bananas are genetically modified now, all bananas
that are
grown"
[Outcry and exclamations from other attendees and conversation
ensuing]
Narrator: I never knew that either! And throughout the day I
realize there's a lot I never noticed about this neighborhood, even though I'm
here all the time. I imagine this is how Roz felt when she went canvassing. The
"green your home" workshop, for example, is held in the welcoming storefront of
a local, green business called Greater Goods. Now
that I've been here for the
workshop, I know where I can go to recycle used batteries and buy
non-toxic cleaning supplies.
At the center of all this activity is Affinity Lab, a big communal working space
for professionals from nonprofits and consulting firms. Today, though, the desks
are pushed aside for Ian Fisk's class on using improv comedy in group
facilitation.
Ian
Fisk: We're gonna
count to 20. Now you might think this is fairly simple. The way that we're
going to count to twenty is, everybody eyes on the floor. But if any two people
speak at the same time, you're going to have to start over.... [People
count. Laughter,
groans]
[Music - Aidan Doyle,
"Funk2Paddy"]
Narrator:
In Ian's class we did
some group storytelling, played some physical games, and received handouts on
how we might use these techniques at work or in our lives. I had fun meeting new
people, and also running into some familiar faces from the workshops I'd
attended earlier that morning. That's
what's great -
There was nothing
intimidating about the sessions, even the ones I walked into with zero
experience.
Take Ian's class. There's no pressure to be a star performer and since I've
never met most of these people before, I just let go. It didn't matter if I
looked, well, silly.
A lot of the workshop teachers shared a similar approach of throwing caution to
the
wind.
Joey: Do
it. Don’t think about it, don’t worry about it, don’t fret about it, just get up
there and do it. You will learn more putting together your presentation and
standing in front of a room that is guaranteed friendly audience than you will
learn I think in anything else you’re considering doing. I mean, what's the
worst case scenario? You get up there and you do your presentation, and it
bombs. No puppies die, no one goes to jail, it's not the end of the world,
you know?
[Music - Aidan Doyle,
"Funk2Paddy"]
Narrator:
Each
of the workshops I attended had a pretty high turnout. But I did observe in
several sessions that the attendees were fairly homogenous.
Although you can walk a couple of blocks from Affinity Lab and find yourself
surrounded by Spanish speakers, virtually no workshops were offered in a
language other than English. And many participants, myself included, are fairly
young and learned about the workshops through online social networks, city
papers or blogs.
Joey: A big portion of this was online driven. So I think it has
a tendency to target more of that younger crowd. I think that'd be maybe the
only thing, it'd be like, well, how can you really virally spread the
word?
Narrator:
I'm told that the organizers will strive to reach a broader audience next year
by bringing back neighborhood canvassing, finding a sign language interpreter,
and encouraging planning committees in other neighborhoods. Of course, this will
depend on the dedication of even more volunteers.
Joey:
If you look at it, like I said, Learnapalooza, entirely volunteer run, entirely
volunteer funded it's one of those things where there aren't big corporate
sponsors, I mean there are some corporate sponsors but we're talking like a
hundred dollars here or there. So not a boatload of cash around this, it's just
Roz, who has a passion around organizing people, put it all together. People who
have passion for marketing and design created the logo and created the posters.
Everybody got a chance to plug in and help out.
Narrator:
The volunteers who
plan this event really have the power to make it
inclusive.
Of course
there's always room for improvement, but from my personal experience it was easy
to get involved. As soon as I expressed interest in the project, I was
invited to participate as much or as little as I wanted.
And on the day itself, I was a little nervous no one would talk to me, let alone
agree to an interview... but sure enough, everyone was cheerful and open to my
recording of their workshops.
For some volunteers it even turned into a family affair. One organizer,
Clay Johnson, invited his father Ray who was visiting from Georgia. Ray loved
the experience. Here's what he said to
me:
Ray: Learnapalooza is helping people to connect with each
other in healthy ways. That's the main thing, and it's – it's -- this
community, like all communities, is poised to come together. There's a hunger
for affiliation that's not generally present. There’s a great deal more
kindness, as Emerson said, than is ever spoken! And people are
trying to find a way to speak that kindness
and to re-unite, to re-connect with each
other.
It’s about helping people to accept themselves and accept other people, it’s
about coming together, it’s about ideas that
work.
Narrator:
Clearly Learnapalooza is an idea that works, at least in Washington,
DC.
I talked to at
least one friendly stranger in every workshop I attended. And I think I went to
eight of them!
By the end of the day I was too exhausted to even stop by the after-party and
put my newfound dance moves to the test. But even though I was so worn out, I
felt rejuvenated for days afterwards. Learnapalooza was a great reminder that
the city where I live is full of colorful characters who know a lot about a lot
of things!
It looks like other cities, New York and San Francisco included, will be
following suit in 2009. If you want to organize a Learnapalooza in your town,
you can email info at learnapaloozadc dot com. Who knows, maybe in a few months
you'll be transforming your own office into a dance
floor.
Melissa:
So tonight, just to sort of clarify
this workshop, this workshop is about getting nasty sweaty, dirty, really
sweaty, just to let you know, so that's what this is about. So don't be shy
cause this is really about letting completely loose. Ok, now, just a quick note
about dress... [fades out]
[Music - Rufus Thomas, "Big Fine Hunk of
Woman"]
Narrator:
We'd
like to thank all of the Learnapalooza participants who agreed to be interviewed
for this episode. For more information, visit www.learnapaloozadc.com.
Want to get involved in your community in another way? There are more than
13,000 volunteer opportunities and nearly 900 groups listed on Idealist.org.
Visit the web site today to find one perfect for you.
Music in this episode included
Big Fine Hunk of Woman
by
Rufus
Thomas,
Gems and Jewelry
by
Causeway,
and
funk2paddy by
Aidan
Doyle.
Thanks for listening to the Idealist Community Podcast! As always, we'd love to
hear what you think. Email podcast@idealist.org with your rants and raves.
[Music - Outro]
[End]
