♫ La la lala la ♫ la best community of practice

In the spirit of sharing the discoveries I have made in class, this blog will take you through the process of how I came to realize that the Smurfs could be the ideal community of practice. As suggested in Wenger's (1998) book, communities of practice can be recognized through numerous different indicators. My interest here is to highlight the characteristics of the most ideal community of practice beneficial to the process of lifelong learning. In my own experiences in this class, I have discovered that learning can be attained in many ways. My 'aha' moment came through assigned readings and classroom discussions. It is through these discoveries that I arrived at the conclusion that the best example of a community of practice that I could think of was the Smurfs living in their village.

In our GSLL 6206 class, we have seen how human beings experience life in an unrefined primate-like manner. Some knowledge comes naturally or instinctively; like scratching an itch, balancing to stand, or developing the skills to walk. Tomasello does well in guiding us to the point of becoming humans in Cultural Origins of Human Cognition. This served as an appropriate introduction to Wenger, who examines how we, as humans, learn with and from each other. In his book, Wenger provides a detailed list of what one might consider criteria for a community of practice to exist. It is from these indicators that I will make my associations.

From Wenger's indicators of a community of practice (p. 125-126)

1. sustained reciprocal relationships
2. mutual engagement
3. rapid flow of information
4. ongoing interactions without preface
5. ability to quickly set up discussions of resolve
6. mutual consensus of who belongs
7. knowing each other’s contributable strengths
8. reciprocally shaping identities
9. able to measure actions and products as appropriate
10. use tools and artefacts specific to their culture
11. common ground based on shared stories
12. integrative terminology easing communication
13. certain manners representing membership
14. shared view of the world

When Pierre Culliford (Peyo) created the Smurfs in 1958, he may not have intentionally set out to portray an excellent example of a community of practice. He has in fact given us an ideal society in which learning occurs through interacting with each other. Everyone's own expertise in a certain area uses their particular set of skills to contribute to the group. If there is some heavy lifting to be done, the Smurfs call on Hefty. To have a hearty laugh, follow Jokey around. Enjoy the beauty of music with Harmony. Learn to love your self like Vanity. Need something fixed, Handy will handle it. The list goes on and on, but I want to focus now on how this long standing community of practice reflects the same qualities as mentioned by Wenger.

In relation to Wenger's fourteen indicators of a community of practice:

1. lifelong relationships with each other, Smurfette, and her evil creator Gargamel
2. shared participation at work and play
3. easily communicated ideas in a closely-knit community where..
4. understood meanings facilitate information sharing
5. issues most often resolved directly by Papa Smurf
6. those who are blue and about three apples tall belong
7. each smurf is able to contribute to their cooperative society
8. celebrations, adventures, events are all shared
9. can distinguish between good and bad, do what is best for the community
10. a range of tools from Handy's toolbox, Painter's paints, to Papa Smurf's potions
11. shared cultural history from years of living together
12. the word 'smurf' used as a noun, a verb, or affixes in almost any situation (a smurfy day to go smurfing for smurfberries) 
13. all but Papa Smurf and Smurfette wear white pants, white shoes, and a white hat
14. a united society with family values

The discussions we have had in class further build on this idea. Separated groups were assigned the task to list the qualities needed to fulfil Wenger's ideal community of practice. Without referencing his book, some of the key elements that we thought necessary included: a shared interest, open communication, self-motivation, trust, respect, being open to different ways, and a desire to belong. These qualities are also present in the land of the Smurfs. They are happy to be a member of their society, respectful to each other, with equal contributions, open to others as they demonstrated in welcoming Smurfette to their group, and in a way dependent on each other's strength and sense of unity.

This notion of drawing from each other to benefit the group is a manner in which to learn from the individual strengths of others. Through this collaborative process we share our skill set with those who are interested, and we learn with the help of experts from all walks of life. This collaborative learning environment supports Wenger's idea that “we cannot become human by ourselves” (1998, p.146). It might not be a very practical choice in our daily lives, as we are expected to participate in an educational system designed with specific curricular outcomes. Fiscally it might be difficult to have so many specialists on hand to share their acquired knowledge with others. With so many different professionals, a structured schedule of learning may be a challenge administratively. The example of Smurf village as a viable community of practice may not be a realistic possibility as there would be practical issues to overcome. Although it might not be the most ideal community of practice, I think that we can all agree that it is the smurfiest.