11 December, 2009

If it’s got ‘OI!’ in the chorus it’s probably okay by me.

Looking around the web at punk bands last night I saw that Jim Lindberg has left Pennywise. Now, I don’t know the guy but this hit me a little, made me feel a bit empty and, well, old. Pennywise were one of the bands that saved me from being a complete knob at a pretty critical age and got me through some pretty rough space. They’ve always been there, helped me form my dress sense, fueled midnight (and arguably drunken) skate sessions and the number of times I struck a pose pointing at my head encouraging young folks to think just a little harder about society is innumerable (I know ‘cos innumerable students have mentioned it). My first (and probably only) parenting book was Punk Rock Dad by Mr Lindberg. It’s fair to say he and Pennywise had an influence on me. I liked the intelligent and educated punks who understand why they’re busting out.

Had a discussion today that turned my opinion of my teaching experience a 180. Talking with a colleague about our generation’s approach to protest and associated sacrifice. We don’t tend to do marches and get arrested like our parents and the idea put forward was that we tend to put ourselves on the line financially (spending otherwise chargeable time on active causes) and risk personal and professional reputations (which in many of the industries we operate in are critical). It got me thinking about my time in the secondary education system as a teacher. It is fair to say I pushed some boundaries by switching my class to Linux, using projects for everything, teaching skills outside my subject area, providing students with the real risk of not achieving without effort on their behalf and generally being pretty unapologetic about it all. Probably going head-to-head with senior managers could also fit into the category of making waves. I left feeling I had failed myself and the students by giving in to the senior managers and conservative “leaders”. Now I’m looking at it as my part in a real battle to change the system. I protested heavily and actively made changes. I know many students benefited from it, I know I am still working with the education system (albeit in a different role) and the odds are good I will go back to the classroom one day. It’s a different view of activism and one I quite like.

Now I think I’ll listen to some Pennywise. Later all.