Learning ... on Saturday morning

Do you ever walk into an institutional space and watch what is going on ( or participate in it) and recognise it as a learning space rather than a teaching one?Do you get the sense that it is learning that is the centre of things and not teaching and that the motivation to learn comes from deep inside the learners because everything else is right?

How come this is so? At which moment for the individuals was the tipping point reached so that they began to take the responsibility and, just like a good parent, at which moment did the institution begin to let go?

Have our educational institutions got this 'letting go' built into their ethos or is it so very, very clear who is in charge?

And how does this fit in with the concept of virtual spaces? When do you stop pushing and feel the pull?