Small Business Chamber of Commerce's Community Room College: February 2010

Sunday, February 7, 2010

A 4-week online seminar Action Class in Practical Politics will start February 15. Each Monday morning an opening "lecture" will be posted, then online discussion will continue through out the week. The class is free, a certificate of completion will be available for those who actively participate each week. For more information and to RSVP see Action Class in Practical Politics Session #1 on Facebook.

Steps

Find one or two like-minded learners, people who are interested in learning about the same things. One way to do this is to start (or attend) a meetup.com group.(See links below.)

Decide when and where you want to meet, how often you want to meet, and how you will conduct your meetings.

Franklin's original group had two parts to each meeting

Members take turns making presentation to the group.
Members address Standing Queries. (See Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography for information about the format and Standing Queries used by Franklin's original group, what he called the Junto.)

Invite new people to attend each meeting until you have 12 people who are mutually acceptable to each other.

Tips

One person needs to take responsibility for leading the group, or it will not come together. Let it be you! Or support the person who has taken the job on.

The organizer also needs to contact each person in the group to remind them to attend prior to each meeting, this makes a big difference.

The organizer needs to get to each meeting a few minutes early to set up the room and to greet the members as they arrive.

Warnings

Leadership needs to be inclusive and shared. People will rebel if one person dominates. One good way to do this is for the organizer to rotate the chairmanship of each meeting.

Following a written format or guideline for the meeting is essential. Experience shows that without this, the meetings soon turn into bull sessions and people stop attending.

The format or guidelines need to be open to revision and change by the group as needed.

Things You'll Need

Training Magazine, "What we Know for Sure About Adult Learning," June, 1995.(For link to this article, see www.JohnWren.com[1])

Malcolm Knowles, Self-Directed Learning--A Guide for Learners & Teachers, Josey-Bass, 1975.

Benjamin Franklin, Autogiography, yale University press, 1964.

Ronald K. Esplin, MA Thesis, Franklin's Colleagues and Their Club: the Junto in Philadelphia's Golden Age. University of Virginia, 1979.

Inc. Magazine article on CEO Peer Advisory groups says 75% of the success of a group depends on the faciliator. [2]

Sources and Citations

Information about Franklin's original Junto http://www.acadweb.wwu.edu/OSL/

Meetups are starting around the country on nearly every topic, a great way to find like-minded learners for your Franklin Circle. http://meetup.com

See how the Denver IDEA Cafe is used to find like minded learners who are interested in small business and entrepreneurship http://www.JohnWren.com

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Start a Franklin Circle Adult Self Directed Learning Group. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Small Business Chamber of Commerce's Community Room College

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Weekly meeting each Friday, 4 p.m. Join our Facebook group to get announcements.

Start or join an adult self-directed learning group focused on a topic of interest to you.

Topics: Groups now meeting or in the process of starting. List yours? Email John@JohnWren.com

How to Start a Franklin Circle Adult Self Directed Learning Group

Steps

Tips

Warnings

Things You'll Need

Related wikiHows

Sources and Citations

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