I've been trawling the madison.craigslist job boards, but having nosed around here for a bit [and being a S67 member] I find this a bit less anonymous, the people more qualified, and the gene pool decidedly healthier. I also have a problem with most of the current "authority," everybody who totes their degrees around with a sense of entitlement, and everyone who takes a degree as the sole token of ability. In the pursuit of a new education paradigm, one based on apprenticeship and a rounded curriculum that includes meaningful contributions to society and self, I obviously had to come across S67. Having just exited the k12 system, I can say, with the authority provided of fresh experience, that it could use a lot of work. I saw a lot of the cream get mixed up with the dregs, and it seems to me that we lost some of my classmates to some part of the machine's cogs and belts, when they should have landed in with the controlling wires and circuits. Undoubtedly they will attain their lot of silicon and a constant current source in time, but the economy is bad, we have a massive national debt, and a few wars that should be dealt with. Their slow rise back through society will take time. We [of course this is quite generous, most of this existed before I joined, and I have contributed little] have already created a sort of melting pot at Sector67, and I was wondering if there is any interested in taking that a few steps farther, including jobs and a more structured education framework into the mix. I know a lot of you have your fancy degrees lying around :3. I also know y'all have full time jobs and tons of other stuff to do, but perhaps if there was community support and cashflow (dare I say prestige?) we could sucker you into a part time position at Sector67, lecture style.

Anyway, this is two posts now hopelessly merged into one, vague, gaseous planet of a post, but the two main points are; Jobs board, and Classes board (or something similar) where people can see times and dates, talk to each other, etc? Perhaps including online payment options would keep attendance up I'd really love to be able to take some programming classes, math classes or something along those lines and I'm sad to see no upcoming events.

I can do/ help with coding, etc. (all of you exhausted S67 webdevs and your naysaying!) I need experience and portfolio padding (I don't have any fancypants degrees yet.)

Anywhoom, it's past time to put this to bed.

I'm a programmer by trade and enjoy learning and teaching. My only problem is a busy schedule. Let me know if you get some momentum on this front, as I'd like to contribute (I have more free time in the snowy seasons).

SEN: Great idea! Jobs are good. Education (in theory) is good, too. And yes, I think S67 can and will be able to do a lot more in both these areas as time goes by. But I'm pretty new to the group, so I'm not speaking from authority, just from the sense that you guys really have yer shit together and a lot of enthusiasm for this stuff.

My kids love to come and hang out at Sector67. (We build kits and stuff at home, but why remain isolated when there's a place like this so nearby?) So it only seems natural to me that S67 could (and should) be more involved in the education of the next generation.


One idea - did anyone here realize that Madison schools in general do NOT host "science fairs" anymore? Something needs to be done about that! Stat!

'Nother idea - School Field Trips should be making this place their destination.

'Nother other idea (and this sorta involves the "jobs" part of this thread) - there is money to be made in doing presentations at schools. Most schools do have money allocated for special assemblies or on-site performances, and they usually wind up getting the Ukrainian folk dancers. Or the Mexican folk dancers. Or the Native American folk dancers. Or the folk dancers from Uruguay that happen to be passing through. ...A cool, exciting, traveling sci-tech show might be just the thing to blow the kids away! And provide some much-needed variety from all that folk-dancing.


Being new here, I guess I better learn more about what S67's ultimate goals are first, but really, you guys have so much talent and so much potential that numerous possibilities are wide open. And I think reaching out to the k12's and the madcity school system is one of the routes that could prove to be highly mutually beneficial!

Cool ideas. I love to teach but have no degrees to flaunt. Lots of info and a unique teaching style. I'm also a scientist, so science is one of the things I can teach.
I can volunteer a little time, but I will have to be paid for much beyond that. I met a couple other people interested in science at the last Sector67 meeting, there is definite interest in that...