(Note: This post is slightly premature, because the third phase of the project hasn’t actually ended yet – it still has another month to run. However, I don’t feel this is likely to make much difference. WordPress screwed up and wiped the second half of the post, forcing me to rewrite it. Also, it’s rather dull, as is everything I write.)
So, after leaving, returning, leaving, returning, leaving, and returning to/from this project, it seems that it has finally decided to die. By which I mean that all attempts to obtain funding have failed, they’re running out, and they can’t afford staff. I can’t say I’m going to miss it much. In all honesty, the project didn’t die because of a lack of funding – instead, it died due to the lack (or, more accurately, the ignorance) of a coherent vision. This is a problem for a project with the stated intent of trying to work out how to make an idea work – so far, all it has to show for it is that it doesn’t, mostly because the management over-compromise to make their vision fit in.
The third phase of the project was, apparently, formed with the purpose of discovering what happens when you add school to the mix – a mix with the slogan “not school – not home – schome.” You basically get school. In fact, that’s exactly what you get. Complete with deadlines, grades, pressure from teachers, and rushed homeworks.