Earlier this evening I was listening to this song for the first time in a while:
Once there were parkin’ lots,
Now it’s a peaceful oasis…
This was a Pizza Hut,
Now it’s all covered with daisies.David Byrne in ‘(Nothing But) Flowers’ by Talking Heads
The combination of that imagery with the bright, lively Afrobeat pastiche of the music felt like the perfect counterpoint to the edtech pessimism I’ve been reading lately. It also reminded me of this song, which I also love:
Take a packet of seeds, take yourself out to play
I want to see a river of orchids where we had a motorwayPush your car from the road
Just like a mad dog you’re chasing your tail in a circle
Andy Partridge in ‘River Of Orchids’ by XTC
To me, they are reminders of the importance of imagination in the face of the ‘disimagination machine‘: we need people who can help us see that there are alternatives to both our current reality and the future(s) imagined for us by technocrats.
pedagogablog 