Saturday, July 16, 2011

07.16.11

07.16.11 by colemama
07.16.11, a photo by colemama on Flickr.

The mighty fortress still survives...both the enemies of the surf and the walker's footsteps...but how soon before it succumbs to the elements? Just by the nature of its constructive materials, it will be a temporary structure with limited resiliency. Nevertheless, it served a function - if only in the imagination, energy and tactile creation of the 'sand sculptor'. The photograph documents the sand castle's existence and allows a moment of delight and reflection, but its time is definitely finite.

Pondering attributes used in the traditional school system to measure success and their relationship to time....Students are expected to 'learn' concepts within a specific semester or academic year, checked off with an assessment instrument. The system has developed the temporal infrastructure to deal with the masses and that is understandable - though the rigidity is often frustrating. How much depth of understanding/meaning do we lose to those time constraints? Are reflective pieces either missing or superficial? Does it matter? Can the artificial time constraints be changed to better accommodate our learning needs? Fleeting thoughts as I work to keep this image in my mind! 2nd Ave N & Gulf of Mexico, Naples, FL

2 comments:

  1. I appreciate your questions regarding measuring success in the schools. I really don't think the current methods are useful. We have yet to agree on (or even really discuss) what it means to be educated, much less successful, like there is a single criteria for everyone. Oh yeah, great shot. What a blue ocean you have!

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  2. When evaluation starts to come from within and goals are set I think more learning will happen. Too much of our system is with outside rewards and punishments.

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