Learning in the World and on the Job

Schooling, the most ubiquitous species of formal educational practice, removes learners from the world in which they exist and places them in contrived environments in order to educate them for the world in which they will work, play, and engage in other forms of cultural production for the rest of their time on Earth. While this arrangement seems to work for some, particularly those in academia and policymaking (who make decisions about educating others), it serves many of us somewhat less satisfactorily. This book documents the ongoing journey of a young cheese professional as she navigates the worlds of formal and informal education and the craft and art of cheesemaking. Her self-education is examined as she appropriates available resources in the service of constructing a professional learning program in the world and on the job. As she both succeeds and bumps up against obstacles in the pursuit of a life and a future in uncharted territory, we explore her being and becoming a professional cheesemaker, affineur and cheesemonger.
A parallel story of an emerging educational researcher is examined as he partners with the cheese professional, propelling both of their stories into uncharted territory.

Mitch Bleier, Ph.D. (2018), The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), is a science educator recently retired from CUNY and the New York City Department of Education.