Sunday, December 27, 2009

Oh, Yes, Yes...

I had a post in mind called "Is TV Still Happening ?, " as the holidays brought into sharp relief the fact that I have not even turned mine on in several months (how did that happen ? When does 24 restart ? Has it already ? Did Jack Bauer live ? I have no idea). Meanwhile, though, I came across this. Since I am, always have been, but am ever strongly more of the opinion that public K- 12 schools destroy education and the desire to learn (making higher ed increasingly a kind of rescue and salvage operation), I bring you this, with Ken Robinson. I may be the last person on earth to have discovered this video, which, I believe, dates from 2006.


12.28.09: Okay, people: I should confess that this is facetious--- Robinson has the idea that K-12 schools aim to make every student a "university professor" (ROFL, folks), and the part about said creatures at the final night of a conference is, I hate to admit it, funny in that painful recognition sort of way. Of other people, of course. Now watch the video and have a good time. He had a serious point about creativity, but manages to skewer himself in the end. Also fun to watch. When, WHEN, did creativity suddenly become opposed to intellect ? I've been watching this new(ish) creativity movement develop with some amusement and, yes, well, disdain. One can find a plethora of articles on ERIC for example, that believe all of this is newly hatched. Steiner, anyone ? Montessori ? For a truly terrifying look at the uses and abuses of "play," read this and tremble.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Back: Lynx and Long Distance

The whole semester gone, and only now checking in. Too many conferences, too much writing, no place from which to safely blog, no excuses and not even a hello, and now tonight's riddle: you have found the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail cannot be moved; supposedly, you can be. You can be the tenured Fisher Queen of Backwater or the status uncertain Grail Maiden of Bigbrightland. You have always enjoyed being Queen, even if you knew your world was small. Are you the risk-taker you thought you were ? Discuss.

(Yes, the HG analogy is pushing it, but get over it.)