Re: [TheThinkTank] Focus on education or D.I.Y.?

When we explain our incentives for doing work in our admittedly funky space, we say "because this is a learning shop, we need all kinds working here. If you know what you're doing, we want to watch. And if you're not sure, we want you to ask questions. Learning requires both roles." We stress the cycle of studying theory, watching another do the job, doing it yourself with assistance, and then teaching the process to somebody else. Shop managers keep an eye out for opportunities to repeat a lesson to everybody in the shop, but we also refer new students to the one who just learned that lesson. We accomplish a lot of repair while focusing on maintaining the learning environment.