This is me officially throwing in the towel at trying to write some profound synopsis of the event that was Northern Voice 2009. I give up. I tried. I really tried.
I tried to capture how, inadvertently, a presenter from a consulting firm that shall not be named clue’d me into how important it is for us trying to create change (whether it be through learning or social action) to not uncritically adopt social networks explicitly framed with commercial motives.
I sought, but failed, to capture an ever growing sense that not all boundaries are created equal; that there are groups bounded not by firewalls and passwords, but by relationships and trust, and that, far from this being an exclusionary thing, because of conscious acts and the intent to invite with a welcoming heart, they grow, are inclusive.
I struggled, and lost, with my growing understanding (born in part firsthand through my own thumbfisted ‘facilitation’ of WordCampEd – sorry!) of the importance of messiness, not just in teaching in learning, but in resisting reductive rational ‘frameworks.’
And oh how I wanted to tell you how I’ve given up asking for the secret sauce to becoming a good teacher and instead just to keep trying myself, everyday (but still watching and learning from those who can every chance I get to be around them).
But I failed, and all you get is this poor excuse for a post. To everyone I had the pleasure of learning with at Northern Voice, THANKS. You are the reason I keep coming back. The relationships we form, the trust built, is what helps me take bigger chances when I’m sitting here writing on my own. Although…apparently not in this post 😉 – SWL
