[Xmca-l] Re: Winn's Exploring the Literate Trajectories of Youth across Time and Space

[Annalisa Aguilar]

OK, now I understand the boundaries that you mean, mike.

I thought you meant the institutional boundaries as communities of practice, not personal boundaries of the teachers inside and outside the institution. 

I can see that boundaries around teaching are important to keep intact in that sense. Teachers are already so overloaded, that there has to be some way of drawing out appropriate interactions that are "allowable" and "finite" and perhaps this suggests that there is a study of patterns of interactions in an ethnographic sense to decide which are the optimum ones and then these can become sorts of touchstones or guideposts that can be elaborated upon over time?

Of course I'm not thinking as a teacher, but as a designer of interactions. Perhaps one of the reasons outside activities are so demanding is because of a lack of naming and defining these interactions.

Also I'd like to add that it can also be the case that activities that are creative, such as poetry slams, are enormously rewarding and so they can become a kind of fuel for everyone involved, as is the case where joyful undertakings take place and takeover the place. Because of this energy-creating force, it's hard to see this as work that requires boundaries, and it's even harder to see it as a sacrifice, as may be the case when marking papers for 150 students.

Kind regards,

Annalisa