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Lessons from OII New Mexico Style Date: Thu, 10 Aug 1995 HI folks, As I sit and write these words, in a 180 year old hacienda in Taos, it is remarkable (yet somehow perfect) to me what has been achieved here in New Mexico, and what all of us can learn from this success. There is a real, visceral community out here, which I got a taste of yesterday during a visit to a workshop sponsored by Los Alamos National Labs. When OII, as a whole, embraces the necessity of forming such a community, we will truly be able to begin our work together. Just as jazz couldn't have evolved anywhere other than New Orleans, my experiences out here convince me that OII's potential for community had to blossom here first, in the desert. The reason is diversity. The work that Celia Einhorn (who calls herself the "glue" of OII New Mexico Style) has initiated with Betsy Frederick, attracted major talents in the person of individuals and partners. This array is not unlike our present complement of OII people - simply the best in the field who share an adventurous spirit and are willing to hang with the uncertainty of exploration and discovery. However, as a newcomer to the land of enchantment, I find myself having to undergo some changes, and these are dependent upon my willingness to learn about the history and cultures that comingle at this time and place (again, not unlike OII). Some concrete examples may illuminate this awareness process, but you know me, I prefer metaphors ;-> Two days ago, my family and I hiked through the Bandelier National Monument, witnessing both the power and diversity of nature, and the creative response by the Anasazi who came to this canyon and created a community that lasted 500 years. They found all the elements required for living: shelter, in the easily shaped volcanic cliffs, water flowing in the Frijoles creek, and food that met the needs of hunter/gatherers quite well. In the OII we find a way to meet our needs as well: a place to meet, ideas flowing freely, and a mechanism that serves our hunter/gatherer agendas (albeit embryonically at this stage). Today, as we voyaged from Santa Fe to the Santa Clara Pueblo and up to Taos through the Carson National Forest, we saw evidence of the depth to which diversity is integrated within New Mexico life. Much the same as New Orleans provided the single spot in north america where African, French, Spanish and American cultures could blend to nurture Jazz, the respect for natural beauty (discussions about sunsets, thunderstorms and the merits of green versus red chili taking the place that sports and tabloid news would in NJ) and the respect for what Native American, Hispanic and Anglo contributions provide to enrich life here in general form a background for community building through the Internet. This is happening in a harsh environment. The desert is much more alive than I could have imagined, and I now see thunderstorms and mesas as living things. After watching rain fall from a blue sky, turned to silver arrows by intense sunlight, after seeing rock sculpted like clay, and then seen clay reflect the process in Santa Clara artists' hands, to show the Creator as sculptor, with the Water serpent moving under clouds, over mountains, up the Kiva steps, in unbroken cylces to create what is all around us...this enchantment stuff is for real! Yet all the enchantment we can muster doesn't solve the connectivity problems that deny many NM style participants a "home" on the Internet anywhere as suitable as the cliff dwellings so many tourists come to admire. Our harshness is not climatic, and doesn't reflect the ethnic and religious hostilities that racked this land in the 1800s. Is it that we're just too busy to get to know each other? No, I haven't had too much green chili, although my NJ system can't deal with the absence of humidity and pollen and is in full rebellion. I'm realizing that the power of the OII New Mexico style is that people who can help are supporting the process, in sustained and creative ways, and that support embraces a wider diversity than anyone could have imagined would be required. In coming days, you may see the archive of messages that were exchanged during this process put up as a WWW page (just like OIIALL is), and get to know these remarkable folks better, without having to go all the way to New Mexico to do it ;-> Visit them in the Great Matchup, or from the OII home page...it's worth the trip! In the meantime, let's take another look, see who we can make contact with, perhaps widening our focus beyond our specific projects to discern underlying themes (as Tamara Wells-Banar prompted us to a couple weeks ago) and get to the task of building our overall community, guided by the lessons of our partners here in the West. |
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Ferdi Serim co-author: NetLearning: Why Teachers Use the Internet "We are more than the sum of our knowledge, |
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© 2006 Online Internet Institute. |