performance >>

its late I have not long been back from being a very, very small part of a dance (performance evening) at the school where I teach (not where I dance). my 9 year old son was also part of this performance. his school had rehearsed and practiced for it and came up to the big school to be part of a bigger evening.

that in it's self is nothing unusual schools all over the UK & europe will have the same kind of thing happening through the year. but this one was different I saw the performance from a different view that of a teacher (as usual) and also as a parent (still not unusual) the combination is perhaps the difference. I saw the nerves of all the performers, the upset when some-one got things wrong and the happiness when things went ok. I also experienced the dismissal by some adults/parents of the way that the children 'weren't that good' in contrast to the vast majority who thought it was marvelous.

for the most part I think that parents, adults, and even some teachers had missed the point. for most the children and young adults that took part the future will be very unlikely to be full of acting/dancing /performing in front of a partisan full house. (for the few it might just happen) but there lives will be more than ever modeled by the way they attempt things. being part in what ever way of a collaboration is difficult but the difficulty is more often rewarded by a huge sense of achievement and relief, even when things don't go well.

we are all performers in some way, learning to cope with the pressures and enjoy the experience is difficult. so a dance in front of a hall full of people is surely a way to in crease the confidence of the majority, and has to be worth being part of. me I was just back stage making sure the break dancers didn't get too excited, but I actually enjoyed it. more perhaps because I saw the happiness in my son's face as he along with his fellow class-mates left the stage having pretended to be 'humanoids'.

>> another one of those days

a very hot (temperature) evening at the local hall, ben being very serious in the choir the best thing of the day, you should have see the way people park! all amongst another one of those days.

I have to get some 'real writing' done deadline arriving all too quickly, so I am having a couple of days off (well I plan to) so the next updated blog will be tuesday 8th may, speak then.

different >> but all linked

It has been a long funny kind of day, long in the sense that I have been awake for a long time, funny (I don't mean full of jokes) but I had to see a few people to discuss stuff as well as contact people who are making decisions that could effect my future.
oh yes and teach!

just a normal day you think for most of you I would expect. but I also spent some time talking to students and their parents who are currently making decisions that will at least make a difference to the next 2 years of their lives (probably more), if not the whole of their lives.

amongst all this I was sending and receiving emails and even twittering a little.
I received a very interested email, fully work related and I will hopefully attend some of the events that were documented in the email. it had a list of interesting links with it I thought of adding all the links but to put them all on one post would have been too much information would be too much so I have added just 4.

I am posting them out of context but I don't think that really matters have a look you might well find some interesting I did.

kurator
pirate university
signwave
andy pink

3 things from the kichen >>

I have been trying perhaps too hard to be inventive, informative and or complex in the last week or so in this blog.

but after a very interesting conversation this afternoon which ranged from barcelona to goudi, creativity to starbucks, ICT and the performing arts, I realised that sometimes you can try just too hard.

in the so called creative/design world things/images are so often not that good, it's more the explanation or intellectualisation of them that convinces you that it is good.

so I thought i would go it my kitchen a photograph 3 things that I liked for no other reason other than I liked them for some reason. Some cake, left over from carols birthday, a waitrose espresso tin (I just liked the red), and some chilli plants that we are growing as I like chilli's.
as I was thinking in 3's I have included in no particular order and for no particular reason 3 blogs that I looked at and enjoyed today that I wanted to pass on art design by, urban fonts and idealist, none of them new to you all I'm sure, but never the less still worth a look.

oh yes I ordered the (what if) 'sticky wisdom', book as well a good day all in all.