9 Open Hearts, Open Minds, Crossed Purposes
Simon Ensor
Pirate’s bay play area.
Play mats, play house to hide in, to climb on, to run around, wheels to turn, seesaw to rock…
Kids of varying sizes were rushing around shrieking, babbling, laughing in varying languages, often at crossed purposes.
There were moments of understanding, moments of perplexity.
There were moments of synchronicity of action, moments of chaos, moments of inertia.
The ship sailed on on the grey, grey sea.
Parents looked on, only too happy to see their offspring safely occupied.
God’s space.
One parent, stepped into the kids’ play area, took out a towel, laid it down in a corner, stood still a few moments, eyes closed, silently held her hands raised, angled outwards away from her heart, then in one slow, graceful rhythmic movement knelt.
She then bowed down, head and hands to the deck, prostrate.
She waited a few moments in embryonic prayer, stood up, stood still then repeated the ritual.
An older woman, similarly veiled looked after two small children who continued to play.
The ship sailed on.
The kids continued to play their different games, in their different languages, oblivious to all else.
Two parents, perhaps Dutch, I saw, staring quizzically, perhaps critically at the prayer ritual.
Was it an incongruous adult intrusion here?
Or something else?
I was thankful that I was questioned thus.
I made notes quickly in Evernote.
I wrote the words to a song.
“Oh Lord. Please don’t let me be misunderstood.”
I don’t know why.
I couldn’t quite remember the rest of the words.
Language lessons.
My daughter came over to see me.
“How do you say: I am French, in German?” she asked.
I tried to remember.
I must have learnt that once.
Open hearts, open minds, crossed purposes.
I have been thinking today about discussions which have been going on about “Open Pedagogy”.
I watched a discussion on attempts to define the term, it was brought about thanks to the opening efforts of Maha Bali.
If the video of the discussion is openly available on Youtube.
Is that video an open educational resource? I think to myself.
Open educational resources.
It is only open to those who have
- internet access.
- Youtube access
- time to watch it.
- permission to watch it
- understanding of the language used.
If I am watching this discussion, it is because my attention has been drawn to it by people that I find myself identifying with, and by questions which I myself am concerned by.
If I am able to identify with these people is it not because I become part of an (academic) language community?
It is only an educational resource in so far as I choose, or someone chooses that I might learn from watching it.
If I say it is educational but you don’t learn from it, how is it an educational resource?
“Open”, it appears, has pretty much become a brand for what are termed OER or Open Education(al?) Resources.
Such “resources” or “content” are open to retain, reuse, revise, remix, redistribute and are licensed according