Some Aspects of a Volcano Walk.

Chris Berthelsena-small-lab.com

WithMairangi Bay SchoolJunior SchoolDecember 2013

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The ways of children show us a certain way of living that is not stressed out or hurried, where everything clicks into place like slow films or a slow poem[1] ... this new gentleness offers the possibility of creative proliferation and diver-sity[2]. A volcano walk along rocky and sandy shores brings us back to a time before the three related developments of footwear, paving and transport. Barefoot walking reveals the ground to be rich, complex and multifaceted and awakens us to the fact that our primary tactile contact with our environment is through the feet, not the hands, and is for the most part mediated by restricting manufactured goods [3]. This journey and the dexterous movements it entails enables the development of joyous sensory knowledge of the materials that make up the world.

Children will play anywhere and with anything. Through play children unfold as individuals in the creative manipulation of their surround-ings[4]. A long walk outside involves chance en-counters with familiar, unfamiliar and unknown objects, materials and surfaces (see 0.1 A list of stuff, p35). In working loosely with materi-als and not just doing to them children develop experiential knowledge and skills[5] along a spectrum which includes dreamlike states of comfort, loose free association, fine-tuning of the environment, pragmatism and adaptive reuse, and the challenges and focus of problem solving and making (see 0.2 Sketch for spec-trum of activities, p36).

The most profound experiences of happiness and love are instantaneous, sparked in brief fractions of time[6]. I lay no claim to competency or special insight. Humbly, this pamphlet is one more small experiment which recognises that to move, to know and to describe are simul-taneous aspects of the condition called being alive[7].

[1] Certeau (1984:101)[2] adapted from Xin Cheng in letter to Kah Bee (2013:34)[3] Ingold (2011:16-17)[4] Ward (1978:210)[5] Ingold (2011:10) [6] Neutra quoted by Xin Cheng (2013:27)[7] Ingold (2011:xii)

Introduction Collage based on readings-at-hand.

1-2pm 14 March 2014

Look at the photos in any way you like.

Generate your own comments.

There is nothing particularly special or sacred about the comments I have made. They are one of many possible worlds.

In any case, I suggest you look first at the photo before reading the words. That way you can see it your way without being persuaded to see it mine.

You can always look at it a second time.

(After de Bono, 1970:11)

Some Aspects of a Volcano Walk.

a stone wall, a good height

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There are many more op-portunities for (testing) bravery than we realize.

What aspects of our learning en-vironments become salient when we prioritize for bravery?

various driftwood

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Musical training is not one of the stated aims of a beach walk. Yet sticks lend themselves to im-provisation.

Smooth, uneven textures and varying hefts acti-vate the hands and fin-gertips while offering diverse and subtle tonal challenges for the ears.

What might surprise us if we actively selected improb-able or seemingly irrelevant learning goals for our school outings?

seaweed , my schoolbag

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I am interested in the contrast and connection between grimey beach de-tritus and cute, fluffy accessories.

The delight of discovery and the comfort of famil-iar possessions.

When our objective is discov-ery are the ‘limits of gross’ more flexible than they are in other settings?

a packed lunch

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Snack time can be a time for relaxation, reflection and mental preparation.

Food is about more than energy, flavour and pres-entation. It is also about personal rituals, memories and anticipa-tion.

What might we be losing when we remove seemingly unneces-sary elements of our child-rens’ meal times (like wrap-ping).

a packed lunch, a precarious situation

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Eating on the go can be a precarious activity for small and big hands alike.

Unwrapping and consuming a long anticipated snack is sometimes an experi-ment in balance, reflexes and problem-solving. And when a spill occurs we witness a battle between hunger and hygiene.

What valuable lessons and experiences could we give our children by preparing them lunches packaged as intracta-ble problems or volatile ob-jects?

my own binoculars, a few friends

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Personal items provide opportunities for shar-ing, collaborative ex-ploration, negotiation, responsibility, care, and trust.

Breakages, loss and theft create space for learning to deal with grief, an-ger, and suspicion.

Will letting our children mold their environments by bringing anything and every-thing to school enable richer and more challenging social and physical interactions?

a sturdy lunchbox, an unfriendly surface

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The things around us are ripe for repurpose and improvisation, especially when trying to carry out familiar activities in unfamiliar environments.

A lunchbox plays a new role as a familiar, com-fortable, and multifunc-tional seat.

If we celebrate the irregular and sometimes destructive im-provisations of our children how will this contribute to their development as inven-tors and researchers?

my schoolbag, a wall just a little too high

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An inconvenience is an invitation tor explora-tion.

In such pursuits anything can be an assistive tech-nology.

How do we create inconvenient learning experiences?

What are the child-created assistive technologies that exist in your classroom?

a wall, a companion

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Even with an abundance of space it is possible to create your own ‘close quarters’ in the search for physical intimacy.

How do we fine-tune ourselves and our environment to create closeness or distance in our daily interactions?

a wall, a fence, an opening, something on the other side?

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Nooks, crannies, walls and barriers.

Obstacles and inter-stices inspire curios-ity equally.

Where are the interstices in your curriculum?

And are there enough se-crets in your school’s built environment?

a wall, a hand

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There is something comforting about the ground at eye level.

Hands and straight sur-faces often go well to-gether.

What is happening at the interface of hand and brick? Surfaces are where most of the action is (Gib-son, quoted in Ingold, 2011:22).

a patched up crack

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A ‘must follow’ condi-tion.

I am inspired and sur-prised by how traces and residues of past activities in our envi-ronments can guide ac-tion and provoke new ideas.

What do we forgo when our repairs ‘return to new’?

What might we gain if our learning spaces were patch-work environments that are permanently on the mend?

sand, shoes

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A floorscape of sand af-fords diverse possibil-ities for subtly dif-ferent engagement and feedback that more com-mon surfaces do not.

What happens to our percep-tual motor skills when eve-ryday surfaces are slightly malleable?

my hand, an unfamiliar object

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In transit, the stance of the child is that of a collector rather than a maker.

What does the school-in-tran-sit look like?

my bare feet, a rockpool

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In bare feet you are al-ways experiementing with texture.

Sand and rock pools turn into resources full of diverse textures and sub-tle changes in shape.

Taking off your shoes exposes your body to an ever-changing floorscape.

We often prioritize sight and (a distant second) texture. How can we activate smell, hearing and taste as integral and casual parts of our eve-ryday learning environments?

water, my shorts

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Exuberence and explora-tion is tempered by care for belongings, rote be-haviour and concern for future personal comfort.

soft sand, my hands and feet

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Sand affords the chance to mold our floorscape for comfort and pleasure that grass, concrete or wood do not.

Is this unconscious fiddling or part of a hard to perceive but deep set of experiential skills?

a large log, a friend

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Large, unwieldy and ar-bitrary elements in the environment invite inter-action.

Taking on a challenge by yourself leads to cooper-ation, mutual acheivement or failure, and friend-ship.

sand

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Bare sand can be fasci-nating and meditative.

The simple malleabil-ity of fine grained ma-terials lends itself to contemplative play.

How can we develop similar experiences for our tech-nology curriculum?

someone’s parent

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Parents are also mobile storage units that give children the freedom to explore.

How do interactions change when we start to use hu-mans to fulfill roles that ‘things’ usually play (rather than our usual adult stance of outsource trival functions to tech-nology)?

my shirt

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What my wife sees as a recipe for ruining a polo shirt I applaud as an exercise in cozi-ness.

Adaptive use of func-tional garments for frugal pleasure is a key element of a child’s interaction with her ‘second skin’.

many bodies

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Many hands and rough-housing make for valu-able skinship* time. *physical intimacy

my legs, three-legged race ties

Construction for re-straining oneself.

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skipping rope, companions

“Not taking turns” offers lessons in negotiation, coordination and dealing with pain.

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myself, skipping ropes

There are pensive and mesmorising aspects to dynamic moments.

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my father, a drink, sunlight through trees, time

Opportunities for skin-ship* often align with down time, shade and re-freshment.

*Physical intimacy

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my schoolbag, grass, sleepyness, shade, dappled sunlight

Repurposing resources at hand for comfort is a key aspect of the everyday experience of a child.

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bowl, spoon, plastic egg

Food is everpresent in the DIY play of children.

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collaborators, sticks, sand

The collaborative process of making a trap, col-laged out of sticks and sand is an endeavour I am envious of.

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parent

Parents are also tools.

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a stick, sand, my message

The transient record of an idea, scrawled in sand, leaves traces of its freshness.

(After artist Xin Cheng, 2013:28)

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a stone walla good heightvarious driftwoodseaweedmy schoolbaga packed luncha precarious situationmy own binocularsa few friendsa sturdy lunchboxan unfriendly surfacea wall just a little too higha walla companiona fencean openingsomething on the other side?a patched up cracksandshoesmy handan unfamiliar objectmy bare feeta rock poolwatermy shortssoft sandmy hands and feeta large loga friendsomeone’s parentmy shirtmany bodiesmy legsthree-legged race tiesskipping ropecompanionsmyselfmy fathera drinksunlight through treestimegrass

sleepynessshadedappled sunlightbowlspoonplastic eggcollaboratorssticksparentmy message

0.1A list of stuff

“[Everything] stores and re-leases energy like nuts and seeds.“

(After artist Xin Cheng, 2013:33)

0.2Sketch for spectrum of activities

Chris Berthelsenchris@a-small-lab.coma-small-lab.com

a-small-lab is a weird re-search, making and photogra-phy unit based in Mairangi Bay and Tokyo with a focus on creativity, simple mate-rials, knowledge transforma-tion, frugality of needs and the everyday pleasures of the senses.

Collaborators include architects, spaces for collaboration, think tanks, independent publishers, edu-cational institutions, artists and researchers.

Diverse output includes university courses, publications, presenta-tions, digital projects, public art, exhibitions, and physical structures.

References

de Bono, E. 1970. The Dog Exercising Ma-chine: A Study of Children as Inventors. Middle-sex: Penguin Books.

Certeau, M. 1984. The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkley/Los Angeles/London: University of California Press.

Cheng, X. and Smith A. 2013. Distracted Read-er #1. Mixtures: Xin Cheng and Allan Smith. Auckland: split/fountain publishing.

Ingold, T. 2011. Being Alive: Essays on Move-ment, Knowledge and Description. London/New York: Routledge.