You’re Never Too Old to Learn Shoemaking

A class on historic gastronomy at the Brooklyn Brainery, which offers cheap, low-commitment classes on a variety of topics, like tying knots.

By AMANDA PETRUSICH

Published: May 12, 2011

LEARNING should be a lifelong pursuit. But between the cost of tuition and dark memories of failure at the blackboard, formally committing to edification can be daunting.

Now a different approach is gaining traction in New York and beyond, one that should spare most of us that humiliating hike from the blackboard to our desks. The movement — sometimes called collaborative learning — is showcased by Web sites like unclasses.org (connecting “people who want to learn about a topic with those in their area who want to teach it”) and projects like Trade School, where, since last year, instructors have bartered courses for things like mixed CDs and blocks of cheddar cheese. The overarching principle: We’ve all got something to learn — and we’ve all got something to teach.

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