Page 95 - To know things we have to have the world inside us

How to proceed?

As postcards were laid out, comments of “that’s my tree” or “that’s from my tree” were heard. Some postcards
were of ‘whole’ trees but the majority were of ‘parts’ of a tree, cropped to focus on a particular physical feature.
Recognition was very quick - teacher~researchers knew their tree.

Being ‘introduced’ to the trees of others via the gifts and now the postcards drew many surprises. Similarities
between trees were frequently noticed as were differences. However, upon closer examination, the similarities
were often reclassified as actually holding differences. The ‘confronto’ offered by working in small groups

highlighted these differences. ‘Difference’ seemed to be an invitation to look differently, ‘look at this’ accompanied
by pointing of fingers occurring within the groups.

Over the course of this project teacher~researchers were gradually changing their relationship with expressive
languages. One teacher~researchers described her amazement at discovering that she could write poetically. She
noted that she had seen someone else do this and thought perhaps she could too. Others, normally very reluctant
to draw, had discovered pleasing outcomes when drawing features of their materials. Their surprise at creating

aesthetically pleasing photographs encouraged further exploration of photography.
Discussion with the group had also explored the role of aesthetics as a thread in learning processes, aesthetics

being understood as being “responsive to the patterns that connect” (Bateson 2002, 8). We had all noticed more
complex ‘patterns’, more subtle but, at the same time, more and more obvious as teacher~researcher became
more perceptive, more attuned to the languages of the things~objects~materials with which we were working.

Rinaldi commented that “reflecting on these shifts and those of other children (teacher~researchers) modify and
enrich their theories and conceptual maps” (2006, 67). She emphasises that this enrichment must be in relation to
the other, “in and with others - […] to listen and be listened to, to express their differences and be receptive to the

differences of others” (ibid)

Tenth proposal

Working individually, choose a postcard that you are drawn to. Find/create/use words, drawing and fabric that
have similar qualities to the image you have chosen and arrange them on the paper.

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