John Naish and The Irony of it all

Damn it I’m going to write this! I have been haunted by the fact that I haven’t written for days now, and I really think I need to do this. It is half past eight on Sunday night and I am tempted to disengage and go and waste my time watching TV. I’ll watch the TV and then get caught up doing something else and that will be that. The prospect of sitting down and writing (difficult to write any other way) an entry will seem very unattractive.

Nevertheless I have now been forced to move. My wife has just turned the Olympics on, the one where you’ve got to guess what is actually wrong with the person to warrant their participation in the ‘special Olympics’. It makes the mind boggle at the fact China is hosting this event, and winning the thing no less. The pressure they seemed to place on competitors a few weeks ago, and everyone else participating for that matter (the little girl who ‘sang’ at the opening ceremony anyone?) you wonder how anyone ‘special’ survived let alone competed. I know, I know, you’re only meant to think this stuff. So yeah, I’ve got my ipod on listening to Bruce Springsteen just so I can block out all the distractions.

Had a discussion during the week with a colleague I love and respect about listening to ipods at work. He is advocating the free use of them at school (where we work). I was against this idea, but all for having them in private study, one of the classes I take care of. He disagreed and said it wasn’t possible to concentrate while working on something and listening to music so yeah I fed the horse this carrot and it bit my hand, things with big human teeth have scared the hell out of me ever since… actually he’s right to an extent. Classical music is ok, so is soundtrack music, but contemporary rock etc… it’s hard to think deeply. Specially when it’s the BOSS. Undervalued, I feel, is Bruce Springsteen. And I have taken to writing like Yoda because I’m listening to Bruce Springsteen so I don’t have to listen to the special Olympics and find myself distracted listening carefully to try and pick if there is a distinctive slur in people’s speech. Yes, I teach children there is nothing wrong with being different, provided what makes you different is the fact that you can run faster than a significant part of the population.


By the way don’t start on me about writing this stuff and not understanding because I do understand and actually care very much about people. So as long as you read what I’ve written with that in mind you won’t find it as breath takingly offensive at it at first appears. Of course if you’ve read this far and not busy furiously writing a blistering comment sweat beading on your forehead because it’s people like me who blah blah blah. Like I said it’s hard to concentrate with Bruce in my ear.


I wanted to reflect on John Naish’s article Enough is Enough that appeared in the Weekend Australian Magazine March 22-23 this year. Funnily enough it talked about the inundation of information and the effect it’s having on us. Things as simple as anticipating emails when you’re doing work can completely undermine your effort to do anything effective in your job. Welcome to my world. Holy cow the irony in all of this is making my head spin.

This crushing drive to get writing about some of the stuff I’m thinking about in the area of what I teach, only to ultimately question the possibility that I am an information junkie. Running to you with the article grasped in my sweaty hand panting with wide eyed enthusiasm only to register a look across my face. A look of “I have to write about all this information… I have to tell everyone about starting with this one about information overload….wait a second… I think I’m actually participating in being part of the problem”. Might be better to say nothing at all. You can see why I’ve struggled to write anything.