Santa Cruz, CA, November 1st, 2005: Winter quarter is just starting. But you won’t need any student id, add/drop forms, or registration fees. There are no classrooms, professors, or administration, just people sharing what they know. This is Free Skool Santa Cruz. And the first thing you will learn is that we are all students and we are all teachers.

Free Skool summer quarter runs November 1st to January 31st and offers a variety of classes in homes, community centers, and open spaces all over Santa Cruz. In Free Skool Santa Cruz’ third quarter, classes include knitting, jazz history, Spanish, drawing, beer-making, singing, Indonesian monkey chant, oriental medicine, local history, bike and automobile repair, political history, and much more.

Free Skool is a completely grassroots effort, a collection of locals acting collectively and autonomously to create a skill-sharing network, a school without institutional control. It is an opportunity to learn from others and share what they know, to help create self-reliance, vital communities, and beauty in the world.

Free Skool teachers are ordinary folk drawn from all over the county. Artists, musicians, teachers, healers, tradespersons, activists, and community members are leading winter quarter classes.

Free Skool winter calendars are available on-line and at most cafes, bookstores, and community centers in Santa Cruz and beyond. At the Free Skool website you can browse the online calendar, read Free Skool news, teacher bios, class review, and articles. You can also take part in the discussion about Free Skool, post questions, suggestions, and class proposals. santacruz.freeskool.org