J. Ouellette | UBC-MET | ePortfolio
Slowness
ETEC 511Â | ARTIFACT ONE
One of the first provocations in this course was that of Carl Honoré's Slowness (TEDGlobal, 2005) movement by professor Matiul Alam. It is a provocation that stuck with me to this day. In the west, we are so caught up with being "productive" and a culture of "busy" that it ultimately impacts our relationships with others, particularly the ones we love. I thought it quite ironic at the time, that an online graduate course was trying to promote this. Undertaking the UBC-MET program is not a "SLOW" process by any means. One would argue that most of its students are working full-time, juggling family commitments, and trying to tackle a master's degree in their spare time. Just starting the program myself and struggling to manage it all, this concept took a while to seep in.
(TEDGlobal, 2005)
Thinking about this movement now, it has become a big part of how I approach balance in all aspects of my life. In teaching, I'm often a part of curriculum development committees at the schools I work for. Schools are always pushing for more rigor and more learning objectives, however, are we asking the important question of "What objectives are no longer relevant?" One reason that the Finnish model of education is so internationally acclaimed is because it takes a "less is more" approach to learning - one that focuses more on effective and efficient authentic experiences.
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The concept of SLOWNESS had a longer lasting impact in the way I chose to partake in the MET course the semester after I took this course. Working full-time, juggling family responsibilities and time with friends is not easy to do when trying to take two courses in a semester. For me, it was just too much and wanted to take the time to enjoy more of the learning, and life in general, whilst finishing the rest of the program. As seen in my visual timeline, the concept of SLOWNESS is why I chose a longer MET journey, taking just one course per semester afterwards. Like Honoré, I wanted to enjoy more book time with my son, rather than always being too "busy" to despise it.