Scramble (changes ahead)
Here in Perth, Western Australia there has been a seasonal shift into Djeran with deciduous leaves falling and cooler starts to each day. I walk around 5am. Thirty minutes down still-dark streets near the Swan River, and I cut across the football oval where fenced turnstiles have been opened to the public. Magpies carol.
Calm prelude to this global sense of scramble.
453 Squadron RAAF Buffalo fighters scrambling
My own COVID-19 lockdown was prompted by an immune-suppressed husband, and the shift to online functionality came as an enabler of change. I feel safer with the distancing allowance – a pandemic risk reduced. From a single-day trial to one week notched. My study is equipped with devices and WiFi. Teaching online? No problem, I thought. Reality is in the logistics, it seems.
I should clarify that my systems have been in place since November with our 2020 Anzac Tour program loaded to Padlet, students signed up for Edmodo, blogging underway via KidBlog, and our private Facebook group sharing events and updates with a community of teachers and family members. The Instagram feed is available here. Image flow appears abruptly stalled.
Here we are gathered from across the State at Lake Monger for a briefing in February:
Business interrupted.
Along with other educators in the surge towards online shores, learning and working at home has forced an adaptive impetus.
After working through this Canva-inspired infographic solution, I realised that Smiling Mind was an oversight for my “Emotional Wellbeing” tip; their app is free, and aims to relieve tension in 10 minute bursts.
From the mind to the body: Disco Funk dance class has me clearing the lounge for an afternoon release of energy in front of a bigger screen. What are you using?
In the week-that-was, I collaborated on English resources for this Learning at home repository:
And, to round off this applause for adaptive practices, an important component of each day was the check-in chat afforded by Microsoft Teams meetings, part of the Office 365 suite. I am grateful to a colleague for the introduction to Robert Wood and his “A Time for Small Fish”:
What does that mean? It means a few different things. Firstly, it is to treat the minor details with as much respect as the broader picture… Second, it is to consider how we go about our habits with a sense of calm purpose… what is my small fish? What is my daily practice that gives me faith? How can I stay balanced, safe, positive? … stay at home, read, listen, reflect. That’s what we are up to and it gives us hope. You will be better off for it and the world will thank you as well.
When is that point?
Selected reference
Braungart, M. & McDonough, W. (2008). Cradle to cradle: Remaking the way we make things. London: Vintage.
an early test case
Selected reference
Wallace-Wells, D. (2019). The uninhabitable earth: A story of the future. UK: Penguin Random House.
Suggested references
Burke, M. & Tanutama, V. (2019). Climatic constraints on aggregate economic output. NBER Working Paper Series retrieved 29 December 2019.
Wainwright, J. & Mann, G. (2012). Climate leviathan. Antipode, pp 1-22.
Wallace-Wells, D. (2017). The uninhabitable earth, annotated edition. New York magazine, retrieved online 16 December 2019.
This might seem perverse
Selected reference
Bloom, P. (2016). Against empathy: the case for rational compassion. London: Vintage.
The quality of life
Selected reference
Merchant, C. (1989). The death of nature: Women, ecology and the scientific revolution. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
Poverty of spirit
Selected reference
Wilkinson, R. & Pickett, K. (2019). The inner level: How more equal societies reduce stress, restore sanity and improve everyone’s well-being. UK: Penguin.
Moving on track
Selected reference
Solnit, R. (2005). A field guide to getting lost. Edinburgh: Canongate Books.
Mortality is lonely
Selected reference
Laing, O. (2016). The lonely city: Adventures in the art of being alone. Edinburgh: Canongate.
Driven by processes
Selected reference
Williams, R.J. (2019). Why cities look the way they do. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Suggested references
Cooper, J (Director). (1972). Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles [Documentary]. Retrieved via Vimeo 10 October 2019.
Pawley, M. (1998). Terminal architecture. Retrieved via Scribd 10 October 2019.
Illuminating the darkness
Selected reference
Solnit, R. (2001]. Wanderlust: A history of walking. London: Granta.
