The Education Bazaar

This blog discusses issues about applying Open Source methodologies, and Open Systems thinking to education.

The focus here is on ideas about how the “Cathedral Model” of education – top down, proprietary, closed, vendor-driven – is currently conflicting with the “Bazaar Model” of education – bottom up, open source or open content, needs-driven.

Eric Raymond, in his classic essay “The Cathedral and the Bazaar“, applied these ideas to software, but we see plenty of applicability of the CatB’s key points in how school curriculum, textbooks and software are produced and sold.

In the Education Bazaar, school districts, schools and teachers select and or build software, write curriculum content, and devise solutions that meet thieir needs, not the needs of the vendors and the usual benefactors in the existing system.

Posts are typcially by current and former school administrators who tend to “think differently” than their peers.

Expect controversial ideas. We welcome diverse opinions in the comments sections, but please keep it polite. Comments can be left by anyone.