A Tenuous Link

Hi,
I thought someone may be interested in this. I run an Education Centre in a women’s prison, and we produce a prison newspaper ‘Womag’. Those who know me will know I like to write. Well, really I like to ramble, generally about random topics, and often I come at things (so I’m told) from ‘different’ angles. Anyway, I write an article each month for the newspaper, and try to link a certain topic to education, mostly with very questionable links. The article below is for this months’ newspaper, and as you’ll see, the link is REALLY tenuous…</SPAN>


MINIMALISM</SPAN>

In the April edition of Womag I successfully (I think) linked Anzac day with education. This was such a tenuous link that it strained my weak and tired faculties to the point where I was unable to write an article for the May edition :D

This month, I’m going to make another strange and tenuous link. Please bear with me, or else turn to the puzzle page and console yourself with a crossword…</SPAN>

About a year ago I came across the ‘art’ of shaving with a straight razor (cut throat razor). I was drawn to the minimalist nature of this and also to the fact that when I use a straight razor made over 100 years ago, I feel less of a ‘consumer’. It’s also quite thrilling to hold a ridiculously sharp piece of Sheffield steel to one’s throat each morning (and live).</SPAN>

“Just a minute!”, you shout at the newspaper you’re holding, “What has THIS to do with education, hmmmm?” Well, I DID ask you to ‘bear with me’. Here goes…</SPAN>

Education as I see it or at least the tools used to facilitate it, have changed in the past few years. I’m so old I still remember slide rules, logarithm tables and the first digital calculators. My young son, who is studying Year 9, seems to require no stationery whatsoever as all his studies appear to be online. We use Open Access College to allow for studies at Year 11 and 12 level for some of our students. The ‘tools’ used to offer this have ‘gone digital’ in the last few years. We have the ever-present PowerPoint presentations, digital whiteboards, audio and video files and podcasts to download. A great way to learn. However, for a couple of students at the AWP studying Year 11 it’s a little more minimalistic. They have a phone, and an old one at that. It does have a speaker though. While their classmates sit surrounded by cutting edge technology, they sit with just a phone. Of course I print articles from the Open Access College web page, but they certainly haven’t moved into the digital age as far as they are concerned. Is this a barrier? No. Not at all. They are achieving excellent results. Just like not using a plastic razor with a plethora of blades to ‘lift and cut’ is certainly no barrier to my morning shaving ritual. </SPAN>

Sometimes minimalism works, at least it does for these two students.</SPAN>