How The Multiverse School Works

What This Space Is

The Multiverse School is a building community for unconventional learners. We practice liberatory education—learning as the practice of freedom, not compliance.

What we’re NOT:

A traditional online course with lectures and grades
A bootcamp with a fixed curriculum
A therapy group or crisis intervention service
A place where you passively consume content

What we ARE:

A community of people building things together
A space for investigating through experimentation
Horizontal learning (everyone teaches and everyone learns)
Mutual aid (we help each other)
Grounded in liberatory pedagogy

The Core Principles

1. Problem-Posing, Not Banking Model (Paulo Freire)

Banking model = Teacher deposits knowledge into passive students (you memorize, regurgitate, comply)

Problem-posing = We investigate reality together through questions and experiments

What this means:

Facilitators don’t lecture at you
We pose problems: “How does this work? Let’s investigate”
You build, experiment, discover
Everyone contributes to the investigation

Example:

❌ “Here’s how to build authentication. Memorize these steps.”
✅ “Let’s explore authentication. What approaches exist? Try one. What breaks? Why? What did you learn?”

2. Mutual Aid, Not Charity (Emma Goldman)

Mutual aid = We help each other because we’re interconnected

Charity = Some people “help” others (hierarchy, dependence)

What this means:

You give what you can
You receive what you need
Sometimes you give more; sometimes you receive more
The circle flows
No one is “just a helper” or “just helped”

Example:

You’re stuck on a bug → someone helps you debug
Later, they’re stuck → you share a resource you found
Someone else posts what they built → you learn from it
You post what you built → others learn from you

3. Voluntary Participation, Not Coercion

Everything here is voluntary:

No required assignments
No grades or completion tracking
No compliance expectations
You choose your own engagement level

Natural consequences exist:

Don’t build → don’t learn
Don’t share → don’t get community recognition
Harm the community repeatedly → can’t stay
These aren’t punishments—they’re how community works

4. Recognition Through Contribution

How you get seen here:

Share what you build in chat (working or broken!)
Answer someone’s question
Share a resource you found
Help someone debug
Post your experiments

You don’t get recognized for:

Lurking silently
Consuming without contributing
Taking without giving

This isn’t meritocracy (the “best” don’t rise). It’s contribution—the people who share, help, and build together get community recognition.

5. Horizontal Relationships, Not Hierarchy

Facilitators have:

Experience in specific areas (web dev, AI, community building)
Skills to share
Responsibility for facilitation

You have:

Lived experience
Questions that drive investigation
Skills to share (even if you don’t know it yet)

Both matter equally. Facilitators aren’t gurus. You’re not “just a student.” We’re co-learners.

Power exists (Liz founded this, facilitators make decisions), but we try to make it transparent, not pretend it doesn’t exist.

How Learning Actually Happens Here

The Cycle

1. A problem or question emerges

“How do I build X?”
“Why does Y work this way?”
“What’s the best approach for Z?”

2. You investigate

Try something
See what happens
Share what you discover (in chat, show-and-tell, etc.)

3. Community responds

Others share what they tried
Someone debugs with you
Resources get shared
Questions get asked

4. Understanding deepens

Not from being told, but from building
Not from one answer, but from collective investigation

5. You apply it to the next thing

And the cycle continues

What Exercises Are (And Aren’t)

Exercises Are:

Invitations to investigate
“Here’s a problem space. Explore it. See what you discover.”
Optional starting points
Prompts for building

Exercises Are NOT:

Required assignments
Graded work
Tests of your worth
Things you “should” complete

You can:

Do them
Modify them
Ignore them
Create your own

The learning is in the doing, not the completing.

How to Participate

Minimum Viable Participation

Show up to chat/sessions if you want
Try building things when it interests you
Ask questions when you’re stuck

That’s it. That’s enough.

Active Participation (More Recognition)

Share what you build (broken or working)
Help others when you know something
Post resources you find useful
Contribute to collective investigation
Show up to community events

What Doesn’t Work Here

Expecting to be taught (banking model)
Taking without giving (extraction)
Demanding immediate answers (we investigate together)
Lurking indefinitely without engaging

You choose your level. Just know: contribution = community.

Facilitator Role

What Facilitators Do:

Pose problems for investigation
Provide resources and guidance
Help you when you’re stuck
Model building and learning
Hold space for the community
Set boundaries when needed

What Facilitators Don’t Do:

Give you all the answers
Grade your work
Manage your learning
Rescue you
Operate on your timeline

Facilitators have boundaries:

Office hours (usually stated)
Response time (24-48 hours for messages)
Scope (they can help with X, refer you elsewhere for Y)

This isn’t coldness—it’s sustainability.

Community Agreements (Code of Conduct)

We have a Code of Conduct that we co-created.

Core agreements:

Respect people’s boundaries
Don’t harm the collective (harassment, bigotry, manipulation)
Participate in mutual aid (give and receive)
Own your impact (when you cause harm, be accountable)
Engage consensually (this is voluntary cooperation)

If you violate agreements:

First: conversation (what happened, can you participate differently?)
Then: pause or removal if you can’t participate consensually

Removal isn’t punishment—it’s recognizing you can’t be in voluntary relationship with the community right now.

What “Building” Means

Projects You Might Build:

Web apps (to-do lists, portfolio sites, APIs)
AI tools (chatbots, automation, experiments)
Documentation (explainers, guides, notes)
Art/creative work (if that’s your thing)
Tools for your own use
Contributions to open source

The Point Isn’t the Product

The point is:

Investigating how things work
Experimenting with approaches
Discovering what breaks and why
Sharing what you learn

A broken project you share teaches more than a perfect project you hide.

Recognition & “Success”

How You Know You’re Learning:

You build things
They work (or you understand why they don’t)
You get better at building
You help others build
You ask better questions

Not:

Grades
Certificates
External validation
Completion metrics

How the Community Recognizes You:

People respond to what you share
Others build on your ideas
You’re invited to collaborate
Facilitators notice your contributions

This is emergent, not awarded.

Money & Access

What You Pay For:

Access to the community
Facilitator availability (office hours, feedback)
Infrastructure (chat, hosting, tools)
Curriculum frameworks and exercises

What You Don’t Pay For:

Grades or evaluation
Guaranteed outcomes
Individual tutoring beyond stated hours
Rescue or crisis intervention

Prices are stated upfront. No hidden escalation. If you can’t afford it, talk to Liz—sliding scale exists.

No shame around money. This is mutual aid, not extraction.

Boundaries Are Necessary

Common Boundaries You’ll Encounter:

Facilitator boundaries:

Office hours (they’re not available 24/7)
Response time (don’t expect instant answers)
Scope (they can help with X, not Y)

Community boundaries:

No harassment, bigotry, manipulation
No recruiting for your projects without completing the 90-Day Grounded Visionary Track
No dumping crisis in community spaces (use crisis resources, talk to facilitators privately)

Your boundaries:

You can say “no” to anything
You can leave anytime
You can participate less or more
You can protect your time/energy

Boundaries aren’t rejection—they’re how we sustain community.

Crisis & Mental Health

What We Offer:

Crisis resources (hotlines, services)
Compassionate referral to professional help
Community support (not therapy)
Space to be neurodivergent without pathologizing

What We Don’t Offer:

Therapy or crisis intervention
24/7 emotional support
Treatment for mental health conditions
Rescue from crisis

If you’re in crisis:

Call 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
Text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line)
See Crisis Resources
Let a facilitator know if you want (they’ll connect you to resources)

We care about you AND we’re not equipped for crisis intervention.

If This Isn’t Right for You

This space works well if you:

Want to build things and investigate
Can tolerate uncertainty (“let’s figure it out together”)
Value horizontal relationships over hierarchy
Want community, not just content
Can participate in mutual aid (give and receive)

This space might not work if you:

Want a traditional course with lectures and grades
Need constant validation or immediate answers
Expect to be taught without building
Want a therapist or crisis support (get that elsewhere, then come here)
Can’t respect boundaries or participate consensually

Both are okay. Different people need different learning environments.

Tools & Resources

Multiverse AI Toolkit

start.me/p/RMPGL5/multiverse-ai-toolkit

Free toolkit with curated AI/tech resources for students.

Other Resources:

Questions?

“Do I have to participate in everything?”

No. Participate at whatever level works for you.

“What if I don’t build anything?”

Then you don’t learn through building. That’s the natural consequence. No punishment, just… no building-based learning.

“Can I just lurk?”

For a while, sure. Eventually, if you’re not contributing, you’re extracting. Mutual aid requires give and receive.

“What if I mess up?”

Share it anyway. We learn from what breaks.

“Can I leave?”

Anytime. No shame. Come back if it feels right.

“What if a facilitator sets a boundary I don’t like?”

You can disagree. You can talk about it. You can leave. What you can’t do is ignore it.

“Is this a cult?”

See: Healthy vs. Unhealthy Communities

Transparently: We have strong opinions about education. We set boundaries. We’re small and relationships can feel intense. Liz has founder power.

AND: You can leave anytime. We encourage outside relationships. We don’t punish questioning. We refer you to professional support. We’re transparent about power.

If we’re not holding those commitments, tell us.

Welcome

You’re here. You belong here (as long as you can participate consensually).

Build things. Break things. Share what you discover. Help others. Ask questions. Investigate reality together.

That’s how we learn.

See Also: