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The flâneur is more of a serendipitous explorer, receptive to whatever comes along. They are a combination of curious explorer (having no goal other than to experience city life), critical spectator (balanced analyst, seeing beauty, but aware of social inequities), and creative mind (an interpreter who renders the urban landscape legible).

This is both a reflection on my one word for 2018 – Intent – and my new word for 2019 – Flânerie.

For a couple of years now, I have been focusing on one word, rather than goals or resolutions. This was inspired by Kath Murdoch:

The word provides as a kind of ‘tincture’ to the year – its purpose being to regularly nudge you along a path of your choosing – a path that strengthens you in some way.

My word for 2018 was ‘intent’. This involved:

Although this was a useful focus, I felt that as the year went on I was becoming too black and white about things. Too clinical. Too methodical. Yes to this, no to that. Moving forward I felt I needed a means of engaging creatively within constraint.

Initially, I was inspired by Tantek Çelik and his efforts to regularly post positives. I wondered if my new word might be something like ‘solution focused’ or ‘happiness’. However, the more I thought about this, the more concerned I came about what such a focus might imply.

I moved to thinking about small things. Although I feel I pick up on things, I do not always act upon them. Julie Beck argues that unless we do something with what we have read within 24-hours then we often forget it. This got thinking about Ian Guest and his work in regards to flânerie. As he explains, the flaneur is a:

serendipitous explorer, receptive to whatever comes along. They are a combination of curious explorer (having no goal other than to experience city life), critical spectator (balanced analyst, seeing beauty, but aware of social inequities), and creative mind (an interpreter who renders the urban landscape legible).

What I liked about this was that it was not about merely observing, but also actively producing.

So far I have used Alan Levine’s new plugin to create an ‘On This Day’ page. I am also going to return to posting reflections more regularly. I did this a few years ago when I tinkered with the idea of a ‘What If‘ site. I hope that being more active will also help in extending my ‘serendipity surface’.

So that is me, what about you? Do you have any thoughts and suggestions? Do you have a word that you are focusing on this year? As always, comments welcome.

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Quote about Mythologies

Whether it be sport, education or life, it can be easy to be typecast. The challenge is how to break this myth once it is established.

Glenn Maxwell: To Play or Not to Play, is that the Question?

When it comes to cricket, I am intrigued by Glenn Maxwell. On the one hand, he has shown the ability to achieve the unthinkable. Performing at the highest level, in a number of roles, with the bat, ball and in the field. Continually finding his way out of tricky situations through a mix of improvisation and creativity. This success and ability seems to have also been a part of his downfall as it has led to him being put in number of no win situations. Rather than seeing him cement himself in a particular position and subsequently a test career, he has seemingly been stuck playing something of a perpetual Mr. Fixit role.

In a recent interview with Sam Ferriss, Maxwell touches upon some of these challenges, one of which is the desire from selectors to just focus on white ball cricket.

Selection chairman Trevor Hohns said on Wednesday the National Selection Panel (NSP) want Maxwell to focus on white-ball cricket ahead of the 50-over World Cup in England later this year.

Maxwell shares the challenges associated with batting in six different positions in his first six test innings. With all the limited over cricket Maxwell has played, Ferriss suggests that in some ways it is amazing he has managed to play any test cricket. Some have blamed his character, the way he trains and his lack of runs and/or wickets. However, the biggest hurdle is often just opportunity:

If you are playing Shield cricket you’re not playing for Australia and if you’re playing for Australia you’re not playing Shield cricket.

Although he has taken the opportunity to play County cricket over the IPL, this is still restricted to just a few games. So much of his opportunities that Maxwell craves are therefore out of his hands.

Typecasting Teachers

This scenario has me thinking about education and the way in which teachers can be typecast into particular positions. Although this can be to the benefit of the school or system, it is often to the detriment of the individual.

Like Maxwell, I feel I have been thrown into a number of different situations as a Mr. Fixit. Whether it be to a change in staffing or timetable issues, personally they were often no win situations. Although I have the pedagogical nous, I did not always have the content knowledge to reference and build upon. In addition, these areas were often poorly supported with little room for development or innovation.

The catch is in an effort to break the Mr Fixit moniker you at the same time reinforce it. If you do poorly, then it justifies to some why you are just not good enough for what it is you were meant to be doing (even though that was not the reason given the change in roles), while if you do succeed this only adds to the myth made for you therefore earning yourself more Fix It jobs.

So often it feels like we talk about coaching and development until it no longer suits. Some argue that the answer is to move schools or change systems. However, just as it is not possible for Glenn Maxwell to go play test cricket for New Zealand it is not always possible to just move to the ideal role. Here lies the limit of a ‘solution focused’ approach that preaches ‘more runs’ or ‘different attitude’. The solution focus is to simply be grateful for what we have https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/03/west-virginia-oklahoma-protests-teacher-pay/555434/, especially when in Maxwell’s case it has the potential to earn him millions of dollars and to be glad that he has been able to play test cricket at all (see Jamie Siddons).

So what about you? How have you been supported to succeed? Are there sacrifices that you have had to make for sack of the students and the wider system? As always, comments welcome.

NOTE: I always did my best and was often the best fit for the position or maybe I simply cared more than others. This tendency though to have people teach outside of the expertise is a growing trend, especially around Mathematics.

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