Classes are starting and many learners are already off and running, especially those who are taking classes at the traditional schools.  Others aren't in as much of a hurry, which is fine, but I have been hearing that in many cases it isn't for lack of desire to get started.  The Scheduling Soiree provided opportunities for learners and educators to meet, and it was exciting to see plans for classes forming.  It's also encouraging to see  parents coordinating clusters of classes with groups of learners.   While many planning efforts are working, there still seems to be a need for more  networking.  There are educators who would love to teach classes and there are learners who would love to take classes. 
One of the challenges is in ensuring that classes will be big enough to be financially feasible for educators and learners alike.  A one-and-a-half hour class held twice a week for twelve weeks would equal thirty-six hours of class time.  Both the learner and the educator would be spending that much time again preparing for class and doing homework.  That equals seventy-two hours of learning time.  If a learner is paying $10 per class ($20 per week) for twelve weeks for a class, the total cost of the class would be $240.  That seems to be  a fair expenditure in relation to the $2,100 learner budget and learning hours.  But is it reasonable for educators?  With one learner, for 72 hours of work, the educator would be making    $3. 33/hour.  Even for the North Fork Valley, that's not very good.  Two students only brings it up to $6.66.  It gets a little more reasonable with three learners, but it doesn't really become appealing until you get to four to six learners.  That's not exactly a big class by most standards, but it's perfectly "big" for a VISION class.  The challenge is to have more "big" classes to benefit learners and support educators.
VISION provides networking opportunities through the educator list, educator portfolio, bulletin board, scheduling soirees, sample classes, meeting with RC's and informal communication.  Beginning this year, we are making available classroom space in the  VISION building and in a room above Expressions Bookstore.  Short of setting up a regular school, we would like to do everything possible to facilitate the creation of "big" classes and other activities and resources that will meet learners' needs.  Some very exciting things are developing for many learners this year, but I'd like to see it be as good as it possibly can be for everyone.  This might be a good discussion for the next community meeting.  In the meantime, please contact the VISION office if you are looking for more classes, if you would like to be more involved in VISION community activities or if you have ideas for enhancing the program so that it helps all learners meet their learning needs.     ~Moni