Jumping In
August 8th, 2005 at 3:55 pm (Unschooling Life, The Magazine)
When I started the magazine, I didn’t know a thing about Dreamweaver. Or Photoshop. Or Pagemaker. I didn’t know magazine layout. Or editor protocol. I didn’t know anything about advertising. Or graphic design. Really, I just jumped in, blindly. I learned “on the job,” so to speak. Some things Terry understood well - the programs, layout and design, etc. He taught me what he could, and I took over from there. He still designs the covers, and he draws the cartoons, but I do everything else. If someone had told me I’d be designing and publishing a website and magazine on my own, I’d have laughed. These weren’t skills I thought I had.
However, the experience mirrors my belief in unschooling. Instead of studying website design and magazine publishing just in case I might want to pursue this path, I first developed an interest, then a passion. I dove in and decided what needed to be done. Then, I found knowledgable people, bought books, searched out information on the Internet. and figured the rest out on my own. I learned because I’m interested and I have a need to know.
I’m still working on it. Dreamweaver tables are simply not my thing. But, I’ve come a long way, and I have shiny, new webpages to prove it.