Automatic Writing

In my last Arts and Learning session, I was working with a visual artist on ghow we might use both our disciplines to engage girls in science in secondary education. I hated science at school so I was thrilled to hear that she'd got an A*. I asked her what she loved about it, but she just couldn't remember and hadn't a clue about how to use her visual skills to teach girls to love it like she had. I told her about automatic writing and asked if she would set aside 5 mins to splurge her thoughts on GCSE science. She said that she wasn't a confident writer, and then she sent me this...

I love science because........


I found it really logical and a formula, 1 + 1 + 2 and therefore easy to understand and grasp, I got hold of it without even realising, I just followed the textbooks and listened in class and it all made sense, and it was fun in the sense it was practical so the formulas when put into practice worked and it was like ohh of course it is like this or works like this because 1 + 1 +2.... I remember the van der graaf, think thats what it was called, a machine that when placed hands upon it made your hair stand on end and it was funny and fun but made sense from what we had learnt, and it was exciting and a little scary which made it more fun, that this huge machine that vibrated and made noises and looked very scientific could be fun and interactive but also make sense that all the theory was then put into practice and it all came together... I remember dissecting a kidney from a frog, maybe, and enjoying it, the hands on and the experimentation and exploring, the fact others found it revolting but to me it all made sense, all the theory and learning leading up to this moment when all the knowledge came together, we were allowed to play, we had to follow some examples on the board and look at certain parts of the thing – maybe it was a heart now I think about it, but I remember having free reign with a scalpel and this meaty object on my table, it felt professional, gloves on, white coats as did experiments, glamourous almost like you imagine all scientists to be, frankenstein or ones in movies, lab coats and the glasses holding test tubes and pouring liquid in and looking at things close up as if youwere discovering the cure for cancer or something really significant like your studies could change the world,the course of the world.... I remember this vacuum space with a window that lifted up and we were told to put things in their that fumed and the fume would rise and disappear and it felt like I had responsibiltiy to be trusted with things and chemicals that if done wrongly could cause significant harm, control, trust, learning about corosive and irritant chemicals and the damage they could cause and then seeing this labels and knowing their meanings throughout my science lessons and knowing I was being trusted with harmful chemicals..... I remember lesson in first year maybe – 10 years old?? and having to pour water into liquid bottles we had collected to see if the label on a bubble bath bottle correlated with how much liquid we could put in, and it did and our teacher was cynical and couldn't believe it thinking companies like marks and spencer would cheat us and not have the right amount of bubblebath in the container and I thought of my teacher having humour and being not a teacher, and the experiment proved something and was significant in that it just made sense- we needed to prove how much we could fit into the bottle so we poured water into the bottle and then tipped it into a measuring jug and checked the amount and it was the same or a little out and proved something – no question about it..... my first memory of science was growing beans on the outside of a glass with blotting paper and wathcing the bean sprout and grow shoots and seeing it, witnessing it and what the teacher saying making sense.... I remember teaching baking to 5 year olds in a school a few years ago and telling them about how states change through baking – a fun activity with meaning, that by adding water it goes to liquid, that the cakes rise because of a reaction to heat, all this formulas and statements made true by the findings and what was visibly happening......understanding the periodic table again felt easy....simple, simple to understand H20 because its 2 hydrogen to 1 oxygen..... acid plus akaline + neutral
later on once checked over the above text for spelling...... the van der graaf was fun because our teacher who had been cynical about the bubble bath and water amount let us create blue sparks from our fingertips by one of us touching the machine and then nearly touching the person next to us and so forth and we created a chain around the room and it felt naughty and something we weren't supposed to be doing, fun and exciting and we could see it happening it felt like magic watching a blue spark be emitted from us and all created by the electricity and static stuff from the machine that hummed and made noises in the middle of the room like it belonged in doctor who or something, its ironic that I cannot remember what the experiment was about or the meaning or what it proved, but it was fun and felt different to text book work, like our teacher had decided one day he had had enough and was to be practical or with a hands on approach.......

This is the magic of automatic writing. It shows the writer what's really inside her head. It wakes her up to what she already knew, but had secreted the details away somewhere. It harnesses the power to persuade, paint pictures and light fires. It's the answer...

Arts and Learning Homework 3

Reflect on a piece of work you have facilitated, and how it worked in terms of groupwork theory and the work you did with your specialist tutor



What worked, what didn’t work, what would you do differently next time?

Umi Sinha, a writer and writing facilitator, came to talk to us at the second Arts and Learning day in November, and passed on some invaluable exercises which I have used with my students. They reminded me how I use creative writing techniques when I’m working with academics, business people and students, and how I can use them for myself. So when Elizabeth, Jane and I decided to set up The Storyworks as a writing consultancy for schools, one of the first things we did was to meet at Elizabeth’s and find out about each other through the use of metaphor.

Exploring what colour, animal, vehicle we were in automatic writing, we then allowed each other to explain our choices. I was a jasmine plant, potentially fragrant but rather in need of some solid bamboo to hold me up if I was to reach for the sky. My waggy dog was eager to please, loyal and fun, and if put on a lead might pull till I choked. The others described their silent, gregarious, creative, self destructive, resourceful and generous selves through metaphorical old jalopies, contented cats and vibrant colours. We found out more about each other’s strengths and weaknesses and how we might support each other in those 2 hours than I think I’ve ever done with other professional – or any other – partners.

With our business plan, visions and expectations - as well as our flabby and scrawnier bits given form by metaphor - we were able to pool our ideas into a website that gave us a mirror to look into. Did we like what we saw? Our newly tuned sensitivities, like homing devices went in to nip the buds and prune the branches to allow our tree to grow tall and strong.

Since then, we’ve divided the work on our plan fairly, I think, and when commissions come in, we’ll be in a good place to share our skills with our clients. The jasmine has found her bamboo…

Conflict

We were asked to reflect on conflict, and as I always tell my students that automatic writing is the way to find  out what you really think, I used it for this exercise. This is what I found...

 I HATE conflict. It reminds me of rows between my parents and I’ll walk a mile around the houses before getting involved. I hear conflict as if the words are smothered under blankets leaving only the rise and fall of emotion. blood rushes to my ears and I can’t concentrate. I don’t think quickly enough to be able to respond; I’m in awe of the quick wit of a proper row. 

With children though, I find it a pain. I’m very confidant about how to resolve it, and I’m able to command enough authority to keep the focus on me. I can usually turn it into something creative, and I’ve done it enough times now to grow my confidence. I should welcome it as a creative stimulus, a point at which we jump off the bridge and run with something new.

At home, I try to talk it out. Again, I find it a pain but I know that we’ll always win through. Again, I’m the leader and I wish someone older and wiser than me would sort it out – just once! I’m training my 15 yr old.

A Bit of de Bono

Ken Robinson recommends this in 'Out of Our Minds'.

Six Thinking Hats® is a simple, effective parallel thinking process that helps people be more productive, focused, and mindfully involved. And once learned, the tools can be applied immediately!



You and your team members can learn how to separate thinking into six clear functions and roles. Each thinking role is identified with a colored symbolic "thinking hat." By mentally wearing and switching "hats," you can easily focus or redirect thoughts, the conversation, or the meeting.

The White Hat calls for information known or needed. "The facts, just the facts."

The Yellow Hat symbolizes brightness and optimism. Under this hat you explore the positives and probe for value and benefit.

The Black Hat is judgment - the devil's advocate or why something may not work. Spot the difficulties and dangers; where things might go wrong. Probably the most powerful and useful of the Hats but a problem if overused.
The Red Hat signifies feelings, hunches and intuition. When using this hat you can express emotions and feelings and share fears, likes, dislikes, loves, and hates.
The Green Hat focuses on creativity; the possibilities, alternatives, and new ideas. It's an opportunity to express new concepts and new perceptions.
The Blue Hat is used to manage the thinking process. It's the control mechanism that ensures the Six Thinking Hats® guidelines are observed.

As you know, the difference between mediocre and highly effective teams lies not so much in their collective mental equipment, but in how well they use their abilities to think and how well they work together.

Six Thinking Hats® helps actualize the full thinking potential of teams. And when used as a meeting management tool, the Six Hats method provides the disciplined process for individuals to be focused and to the point.

But possibly most important, it requires each individual to look at all sides of an issue.

Employees like the way the Six Hats method neutralizes employee rank in a meeting where several levels of employees are present. It also puts people who are quiet and reserved on an equal playing field with those who are more talkative and might monopolize a meeting.

from http://www.debonogroup.com/six_thinking_hats.php

Umi's writing techniques

Umi Sinha, a writer and writing facilitator, came to talk to us at the second Arts and Learning day yesterday, and passed on some invaluable exercises which I shall use with my students.  The chicken's in the oven, so I'll be brief....

Warm up exercises:
Walk around the room with pad and pen, finishing off any number of one liners starting with 'I see'. Here are a few of mine:
I see tangy lime walls without any juice
I see pin boards empty of ideas
I see horizontal lines, beachless pebbles, harsh lights and sharp-faced buildings
I see empty streets, a lone cyclist with nowhere to go
I see empty spaces waiting for life

This was designed to connect us to our visual senses and then Umi asked us to turn one of those lines into a metaphor by changing the 'I see' into 'I am'. Because I was in a bad mood, I chose 'I am an empty space waiting for life'...

We then used the diamond shape to try collaborative story telling as another warm up;
I worked with Jane and we took a line each in two stories so that we each had a go at the beginning and the end of a nine word story.

Leaves (Jane)

fall softly (Gilly)

in the woods.(Jane)

Another day (Gilly)

closes (Jane)

Panic (Gilly)

takes over. (Jane)

Quickly, they realise (Gilly)

time has (Jane)

stopped (Gilly)

We studied texts by Dickens ('Great Expectations'), Geoff Dyer ('But Beautiful') and Jean Rhys' 'Voyage in the Dark' to look at use of senses in describing place and emotion. Lovely stuff!

Umi showed us a great writing technique that I'll try with my students at UCH. The poet, Roger Stevens, had taught it on one of his writing courses and told her to pass it on. I do love the generosity of the creative mind.

Write down the following:

• an emotion
• a sport
• something you enjoy at work/school
• something you enjoy at home
• a bad habit
• a good habit

Now write down an animal you would associate with each of them.

Now write a line for each, starting with 'There's a (your animal) in me that....'

Et voila; you have a poem that explores the very essence of you.

Here's mine;

There's a dog in me that wags her tail at the sound of the key in the door

There's a chimp in me that leaps onto your hip and buries her neck into yours

There's a lion in me that watches you play, occasionally stretching out a paw to warn you how loud I can roar

There's a cat in me that curls up on the deep red sofa as soon as the sun slips behind the yard arm

There's a tiger in me that pounces on anyone who steps out of line

There's a meercat in me, eagerly spotting the next opportunity to give away my love

We talked about working with teenagers at the end of the session. Umi asked us to try out this exercise to see how to get deep safely.  She asked us to write down a time when we felt grief. We all selected the death of a family member. My original line was 'I felt grief when I read 'She is Gone' at my mother's funeral and looked out at my father and brother and knew that, to them, she really had.'  Turning it into a definition kept the power but distanced it from the personal so, 'Grief is looking at at my father and brother as I read 'She is Gone' at my mother's funeral and knowing that for them, she had.' 

Out of Our Minds

I wonder if Ken Robinson ever did automatic writing - with or without the Aggiss stimulus.

Creative processes draw from all areas of human consciousness. They are not strictly logical nor are they wholly emotional. The reason why creativity often proceeds by intuitive leaps is precisely that it draws from areas of mind and consciousness that are not wholly regulated by rational thought.  In the creative state, we can access these different areas of our minds. This is why ideas often come to mind without our thinking about them.  

Robinson, K. (2001) Out of Our Minds. Learning to be Creative. p154, Oxford: Capstone

Odd is Good

Another Arts and Learning day is just around the corner, and it can't come soon enough. I've even had to resort to my own creative techniques in class, and my students are beginning to look at me from under furrowed brows.

Actually that's not really fair; Professor Liz Aggiss was so scary, so Gothicly odd in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZNXk1JZems  that I think they saw me as cuddly, if a little batty in comparison. I'd shown them Motion Control, part of Aggiss' Dance for Camera series, as I had with all those taking part in my 'Write Rhythm' research project (see http://thewriterhythm.blogspot.com/) to see if such weirdness might stimulate the kind of writing they didn't know they had in them.  As I recorded their thoughts after five minutes of automatic scribbling,  I admit I was rather pleased. Looking down at their pages, most of them told me that they saw something they didn't recognise as their own.

I'm sure I'll come back from Saturday's session armed with a bunch of new techniques to use, but for now, I might just Google 'odd dance' and see what happens.