Pedagogical Inspiration

This week I have been thinking a lot about inspiration, about how we find inspiration to do the things that we both have to do and want to do at a time where socio-culturally and politically  there is so much being thrown at us asking "why does this matter"? Yet it is sadly during times like these that we need to dig deeper for the inspiration for what we do. Of course not in a toxic positivity sort of way, because you know I would be the very last human to support anything toxic positivity as I have already identified that as the number one reason for burnout and moral injury in HigherEd. But digging for inspiration in terms of what connects with who we are in terms of morals, values, lived experiences, and connections.

Over the last two weekends I have been lucky to see theatre that has made me think a lot. A lot. In a deep brain itch being scratched sort of way. Last weekend I saw The Table Knows Our Names by the Tapestry Theatre Collective and I can only hope that they take this piece to different cities because it was a real experience and I want others to have that opportunity. Imagine being witness (or participant if you so choose) to a dinner party, but also of the embodied memories of food, community, and family. It is a durational piece with individual scenes that is exactly the kind of inspirational space that we need right now. A place to reflect, react, connect. I found myself thinking of so many things at different times; things that connected to my history, my sense of place, how I am in community, and what I want to inspire in others, but also for myself. The four members of Tapestry Theatre have created memorable characters in this piece, with their own histories, embodied connection to space and song. The in-between scenes give you time to recollect, reflect, and again connect and I have been carrying what I witnessed there on the stage/not stage of the apartment they carefully curated with material and food ingredients for more than a week now. The attention to detail in The Table Knows Our Names is a tangible example of care in art; the kind of slowing down that says "we were here, we are here" that the world needs right now. It is a piece that actively counteracts narratives and systems of erasure. I will be forever grateful to Tapestry Theatre Collective for sharing their art and ideas with us.

The Table that Tapestry set for their visitors has had me in a deep dive of the whys of the educational and creative choices I have made over the years. It had me thinking about my choice to do a PhD and my move to English and eduspace from chemistry as finally reaching the disciplinary destination where I always was meant to be. In fact I found this old 2012 blog about Adrienne Rich and Emily Bronte that I wrote that pretty much speaks to why I was always meant to be in that particular disciplinary space. It also had me thinking of how we all have that reason why when it comes to education. Why we picked the program we did, why we picked the school we went to, and how sometimes the whys were accidents, or the whys had no meaning until later, or only have meaning at those precise Bergsonian duree moments. [If you want a 50 second explanation of duree, watch this clip from The Hours where Meryl Streep does a better enactment of this than any academic has ever].

So how do we find those pedagogical inspirational moments when things are just really hard and scary right now? I know some say that inspiration in their teaching and learning space comes from the learners, but I think part of what is forgotten in that is that there is some design elements that need to be in place first in order for those connections to learners to happen. This is a Field of Dreams kind of situation, if you build it, they will come, but you can't just expect that inspiration to just come through the doors every day. There needs to be some intentionality there, even if small. Finding and designing things that scratch your brain itch and inspire in educational spaces can be small adds to your design. So I will end this blog with a few suggestions and I open up discussion to other things that have inspired you lately, because golly we all need more inspiration, and also we all need more examples of why art is so deeply important and foundational to our existence on this planet.

Pedagogical inspiration suggestions:

Songs and Playlists. Have the students curate songs or a playlist that connect to the topic or the course or the module you are exploring. This type of tangible connection to what inspires them, what brings them happiness, joy, or sadness in music can make the topic more resonant. As well from an accessibility point of view to support those who may be hard of hearing, you should have the lyrics to the songs available for review and discussion. 

Etymology deep dive. We use words all the time but we rarely stop to talk and think about the origin of those words. Especially when the origin is more than likely from another language or culture. We need to trace histories, so giving space to where the words are from and have discussion about how that connects to the topic or the learners in the class is important.

Creative applications of topics or concepts. Have learners create (or co-create) poems or visuals of the topic. Or have them bring in videos or posts from social media that the learners feel connect to the topic. I know that many say well this can't be done in STEM fields and it absolutely can. If you want an example of how it absolutely can, look at this exhibition that is happening at York University right now. 

Storytelling in different ways. Our existence as humans, no matter our positionality, is a collection of stories. This is something that Indigenous ways of knowing has always emphasized [Carolyn Roberts' book is a good read on this]. That includes the story of us as learners (even if not in formalized learning spaces) or us as teachers/educators/mentors. Giving opportunities to share stories in different ways, in small clips, podcasts, art (always with keeping accessibility in mind), can allow for co-creative inspiration that makes topics resonate and come alive. This blog that I have writing since 2009 (27 years of this omg!) is one of the many ways that I have weaved the story of me as a pedagogue, learner, writer, poet, into the me as public human. There are many ways that learners and teachers can start writing a story and sharing a story of connection. In a time where the systems are trying more and more to silence and erase histories and realities, it is a foundational aspect of education to give and make space to curate, hold, and share the stories that we bring to eduspace and beyond. The stories that inspire us, the stories of who we are, what we have learned, and what we continue to carry as teachings.