In Praise of Slowness - Links and Resources
“I am a possibilist. I believe that humanity is master of its own fate... Before we can change direction, we have to question many of the assumptions underlying our current philosophy. Assumptions like bigger is better; you can't stop progress; no speed is too fast; globalization is good. Then we have to replace them with some different assumptions: small is beautiful; roots and traditions are worth preserving; variety is the spice of life; the only work worth doing is meaningful work; biodiversity is the necessary pre-condition for human survival.”
- Robert Bateman
The following list of links and resources have been compiled for the Professional Day session "In Praise of Slowness: Finding a Balance between Work and Life while Teaching in a Lower Gear" to be presented at Middlesex Community College on April 7, 2006. Participants in the session, as well as visitors to the blog are welcome to make use of these resources and to use the comments link following this entry to discuss any of the issues raised. The presentation and the posted resources are an outgrowth of the ongoing COPPER blog theme of "doing too much."
Links:
Teaching in a lower gear:
http://www.nea.org/teachexperience/ifc051101.html
Maurice Holt's initial article that is credited with starting the "slow teaching movement"
http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k0212hol.htm
Another article by Holt which I think gets to the heart of this movement more directly than the previous one:
http://www.lean-service.co.uk/6-28.asp
Copper Blog discussion of the topic Doing too Much:
http://middlesex.blogs.com/copper/2004/10/best_of_the_blo.html
Copper Blog entries on the topic of Doing too Much:
http://middlesex.blogs.com/copper/doing_too_much/index.html
Readings (The resources below have received a number of positive reviews and are related to the theme of life balance, but I cannot personally vouch for them with the exception of the first title). More titles may be added as they come to our attention in the future:
In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honore (HarperCollins, 2004)
American Mania: When More is not Enough by Peter Whybrow (W.W. Norton & Co., 2005)
Creative Time Management for the New Millennium by Jan Yager (Hannacroix Creek Books, 1999)
Downshifting by John Drake (Berett-Koehler, 2000)
Take Back Your Time: Fighting Overwork and Time Poverty in America by John de Graaf, Editor (Berett-Koehler, 2003)
Take Back Your Time: How to Regain Control of Work, Information and Technology by Jan Jasper (St. Martins, 1999)
The Overworked American by Juliet Schor (HarperCollins, 1991)