Issues of Style and Subjectvity

July 26, Masterclass with Dr Martin Patrick

I thoroughly enjoyed this particular morning's meander through the above. It gave license to 'produce' and disseminate in one's own voice. I have constant internal battles; what is my voice? what is my style? I can be crass when I feel like it but then crassness can be construed as unintelligent...(which is what I say to my own children) "Yes you can say Fuck and Shit, but there are more powerful ways of expressing yourselves..." ..eyes glaze over. I can offer a plethora of collaged, excited vernacular, exploiting prose and whim at whence pomp birthed...arā ka taea atu hoki ahau te ruku hōhonu i te Ao tawhito ō āku mātua tipuna 'E kore au a ngaro, He kākano nō Rangiatea!!' Maybe I'm unknowingly mildly schizophrenic...or just made up of many parts that I use when I see fit. Sometimes it's the inquiry or systemic concern of constantly being assessed; who do I need to impress to pass my life's assessments? Impress is the wrong verb...Which criteria do I need to complete to achieve what I am wanting to achieve...thats a more acceptable revelation.

Back to Martin. He is great. He is smart. He is generous. He is cool. I didn't relate to the american pop-writings / offerings...I enjoyed and related to Bryce Galloways writing more as it was a style that i felt comfortable 'absorbing'. Our time is precious and having to read about Hollywood egos and Iggy Popisms I didn't really care for. There seems to be an assumption among some academics that American culture (or western produce) is the only produce out there worth investigating...or maybe that's what they specialise in so thats what they should be delivering. During my privileged time at NAISA I was exposed to some amazing stories from indigenous cultures that in my humble view, surpassed the distant, remote biographies of David Hockney or Duncan Hannah. I mean, they are people who lived these interesting lives, but ...I'm not interested - I don't have time to concern myself with Eve Babich's listening to Kenneth Rextrop/Patchen poetry readings at home. But I realise that absorption or osmosis of information wasn't really the goal - the goal was to observe writing style and subjectivity, hence my spiel.

As a guiding educator myself, I constantly question the way we assess students; Formative Assessment, Summative Assessment, Collaborative Workshop assessment, Graded / Non-Graded...I prefer Ipsative Assessment myself; where the student sets their own criteria / goals and educators assist students towards meeting those goals. Rationale being, I feel that most students are curious and motivated to learn something...so it could be a bonus if that something was student driven - Oh wait a minute, thats what we ARE doing wazza! So get off your bloody laptop and go make something!!!! Ka kite ;-)