[Xmca-l] Re: ...kind of like guarding Lenin's tomb

Fri May 29 10:02:08 PDT 2020

Anthony,

I love that word, AFFORDANCES!  ?

Kind regards,

Annalisa
________________________________
From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu> on behalf of Anthony Barra <anthonymbarra@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, May 29, 2020 10:38 AM
To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity <xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu>
Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: ...kind of like guarding Lenin's tomb

  [EXTERNAL]

Thanks, Greg.

I am far from the clearest writer, true.  I think the "life as a series of iterated 'games'" stuff is rooted in an evolutionary game theory approach, but I'm really not qualified to comment on that much at all.  But I do think the "try to play in a way that gets you invited back to the game" stuff is nice; it also seems to be one of this listserv's many positive traits (and likely one that has contributed to its vibrancy and longevity -- people play nice here, sometimes aggressively, sometimes to win, but from what I see almost always nicely -- and productively).

I don't think life is merely a series of games (literally or figuratively) -- but the "game" filter does have its pros and cons, as does the "play" filter, the "winners/losers" filter, and the "power" filter.  Each with its costs and affordances.

Thanks again,

Anthony

On Fri, May 29, 2020 at 11:42 AM Greg Thompson <greg.a.thompson@gmail.com<mailto:greg.a.thompson@gmail.com>> wrote:
Anthony,
Of course it would be best if you read her work before interviewing her.

Lots of questions come to mind:
-how does this connect with Vygotskyian theory?
-can you describe some of the successes of the All Stars project?
-what is social therapeutics?
-what is "play" in adolescence? in adulthood?

Also, I don't think that Lois is opposed to knowing and knowledge, she is just suggesting a "shift in focus". Again, probably best if you had a read of the book before speculating too much about what she *might* mean.

-greg

p.s. why does everything have to be about winning? (I would venture to say that Life is NOT a competition). Can't we imagine playing games that aren't about winning? I think that is a big part of Lois' project to get us out of the stupidity of thinking that joy is somehow connected to winning/losing. Perhaps that was your point Anthony, but it wasn't especially clear.
And/or is this too "political" of a point since it is the beginnings of a critique of capitalism?

On Fri, May 29, 2020 at 9:03 AM Anthony Barra <anthonymbarra@gmail.com<mailto:anthonymbarra@gmail.com>> wrote:
Thank you, Greg.

As I scan through these impressive sites, I am drawn more to the All Stars project, which reads as having no overt political slant.
Just a personal preference, though I am looking forward to reading more and appreciate the heads-up.

Also, this book blurb for The Overweight Brain is intriguing: "When educators shift our focus from knowing to growing, we help young people be all they can be." David J. Chard, PhD
I'd prefer "knowing AND growing" but am interested in reading more.

Thanks again,

Anthony

P.S. What might be an interview question you would ask?

On Fri, May 29, 2020 at 10:04 AM Greg Thompson <greg.a.thompson@gmail.com<mailto:greg.a.thompson@gmail.com>> wrote:
Sorry, I neglected the link to what I think is one of the most impressive projects that Lois has been involved in, the Allstars Project:
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://allstars.org/__;!!Mih3wA!Ue3X3jGs-dfosvnY--hg-m_W7xWP0F8AsnLDD29z6Ug-poiYiQLidre_xzL36Mvp3mvJwg$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://allstars.org/__;!!Mih3wA!QkjU-77lpmDqgQ5M0uKTjdBSHgpGnUia75S5I6QL1XNm2fMacxyYygNM8x2aFkJ7WAFzuQ$>

-greg

On Fri, May 29, 2020 at 7:39 AM Greg Thompson <greg.a.thompson@gmail.com<mailto:greg.a.thompson@gmail.com>> wrote:
Anthony,

Lois Holzman has done great work taking the power of "pretend" to older kids (high schoolers) with the East Side Institute and her development of social therapeutics. I find this to be particularly interesting since most Vygotskians tend to focus on younger age kids (as can be seen in all the examples mentioned thus far).

Here is her personal page:
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://loisholzman.org/__;!!Mih3wA!Ue3X3jGs-dfosvnY--hg-m_W7xWP0F8AsnLDD29z6Ug-poiYiQLidre_xzL36Mudj0rE9Q$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://loisholzman.org/__;!!Mih3wA!QkjU-77lpmDqgQ5M0uKTjdBSHgpGnUia75S5I6QL1XNm2fMacxyYygNM8x2aFkIeM1JbCw$>
(Esp. note her book Vygotsky at Work and Play.)

And here is the page of of the East Side Institute:
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://eastsideinstitute.org/__;!!Mih3wA!Ue3X3jGs-dfosvnY--hg-m_W7xWP0F8AsnLDD29z6Ug-poiYiQLidre_xzL36MtNowMA_w$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://eastsideinstitute.org/__;!!Mih3wA!QkjU-77lpmDqgQ5M0uKTjdBSHgpGnUia75S5I6QL1XNm2fMacxyYygNM8x2aFkJq269Skw$>

Would be great if you could get an interview with her - if you can catch her!

-greg

On Fri, May 29, 2020 at 5:53 AM Anthony Barra <anthonymbarra@gmail.com<mailto:anthonymbarra@gmail.com>> wrote:
Thanks, Mike.  I like this Franklin kid, and I never would've met him without you sharing that chapter.

And here, in the closing paragraph, is one great answer to my question about "guarding Lenin's tomb" type activities that likely support development:
"Suddenly I recognize the difference between telling a child he must share and saying, 'Pretend you are a boy who knows how to share.'  The first method announces that a child has done something wrong. 'Pretend' disarms and enchants: it suggests heroic possibilities for making changes, just as in the fairy tales."

I hope we'll hear more ideas (be they role-playing or anything else) from many others on this listserv.

Thanks everyone ~
Anthony

P.S. I've done a lot of role-playing with middle and high school students, mainly via in-role writing, which they tend to enjoy and succeed at -- but I really can't evaluate it from a development perspective, or more specifically from a development-of-higher-psychological-functions perspective.  Anyhow, a snapshot is here, and it's something that can likely be amended for any age: https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/upoxpz__;!!Mih3wA!Ue3X3jGs-dfosvnY--hg-m_W7xWP0F8AsnLDD29z6Ug-poiYiQLidre_xzL36MuXjBQ_dQ$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/upoxpz__;!!Mih3wA!TUH9TLwmfw8pwJ5lHRr3-kPrfEl6T5CLUAQdZ11uTtm67tXMvbgGUy1AZFkuhNIO6Lr5Dw$>

On Thu, May 28, 2020 at 1:52 PM mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu<mailto:mcole@ucsd.edu>> wrote:
Great question (s), Anthony!

Of the shiny top of my head I can identify another. This is from Vivian Paley.
It explicitly answers the question of "is this a once and for all change, or a bud that sprouted in just this one rare
circumstance."
Attached.
mike

On Thu, May 28, 2020 at 9:53 AM Anthony Barra <anthonymbarra@gmail.com<mailto:anthonymbarra@gmail.com>> wrote:
Dear educators of XMCA -

I think I have a good question this time!  To avoid redundancy, I searched the archives for answers and found an interesting thread from ten years ago.  But I still want to ask this here:

What kinds of "guarding Lenin's tomb" type activities have you thought of and/or used in order to support development?

In this great little 2-minute clip, Mike Cole discusses Manuilenko's tomb-guarding experiment: https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/znnvpz__;!!Mih3wA!Ue3X3jGs-dfosvnY--hg-m_W7xWP0F8AsnLDD29z6Ug-poiYiQLidre_xzL36MtHOb0zgQ$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/znnvpz__;!!Mih3wA!QnyDKMmlGuxChw2AzXV_HvcVQlE8oeBivNWuK6vHi8K43tjlH2D14vGQwFlSGpHZ8pMhQA$>

One can't help but try to think up other types of games (e.g., the Quiet Game on long car rides) that can function as cultural tools when the biological alone aren't cutting it.

On a side note, the short video brought a number of questions to mind for me, such as:
- where are 'the buds'?
- what are the qualitative reorganizations here?
- why are the buds (e.g, of volition) not yet present for the 3 year-olds, present for the 5 year-olds, and already flowered for the 8 year-olds? (ages are approximate, I know)
- how temporary is the 5 year-olds' improved volition? Does it wear off? It is now 'activated' for good?
- for the 8 year-olds, is volition fully developed for tasks such as standing still but still in the 'bud' stage for more demanding acts of will?

But those side questions are not the target of this post. Instead, my question of the day is (I think a fun one):  What kinds of "guarding Lenin's tomb" type activities have you thought of and/or used in order to support development?  (Any age or stage or setting will do)

Thank you,

Anthony

--

"How does newness come into the world?  How is it born?  Of what fusions, translations, conjoinings is it made?" Salman Rushdie

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Gregory A. Thompson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
880 Spencer W. Kimball Tower
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602
WEBSITE: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://anthropology.byu.edu/greg-thompson__;!!Mih3wA!Ue3X3jGs-dfosvnY--hg-m_W7xWP0F8AsnLDD29z6Ug-poiYiQLidre_xzL36Mvc0kyuBw$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://anthropology.byu.edu/greg-thompson__;!!Mih3wA!QkjU-77lpmDqgQ5M0uKTjdBSHgpGnUia75S5I6QL1XNm2fMacxyYygNM8x2aFkJKQTm90A$>
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--
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Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
880 Spencer W. Kimball Tower
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602
WEBSITE: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://anthropology.byu.edu/greg-thompson__;!!Mih3wA!Ue3X3jGs-dfosvnY--hg-m_W7xWP0F8AsnLDD29z6Ug-poiYiQLidre_xzL36Mvc0kyuBw$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://anthropology.byu.edu/greg-thompson__;!!Mih3wA!SmC7mVkbNzBF6a9N8zlzr8PqBf50lSPgkDPazwZNuAEG9t64Vqncu1v4mR9Pa6t-WzUMOw$>
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