Shared by Kelly-Ann MacAlpine
Does exaggerating plastic’s presence in the classroom transform children’s relations with plastics? Hundreds of water bottles inundate the toddler room, and for the next few hours bottles and toddlers become acquainted with each other. As I wonder how plastic invites children to move with them, I notice how the “throwntogetherness” (Massey, 2005) of bodies and bottles seem to co-mingle as they bounce, shake, spin, and role in a friendly frolic.
As bottles come to rest in a small corner of the room the toddlers follow. Plastic bottles seem to gather the toddlers rather than toddlers gathering the plastic bottles. The role of protagonist seems fluid, shifting from child to bottle and back again, as children and plastic lay together. Their collective movements seem to meld together as bodies cover bottles and bottles cover bodies. Encounters with toddlers and bottles trouble the notion of plastics as objects of human inspiration by speculating on water bottles as lively, unexpected provocateurs in relations with children.
Massey, D. (2005). For space. London, UK: Sage
Thanks for your thought-provoking blog Kelly-Anne!
I really like your idea of ‘exaggerating’ plastic in a classroom. It made me wonder what affects it might have in a primary, high school or tertiary classroom…? I wonder if the playful relations of plastic-children in your early learning classroom, might be more complicated with older humans…?
Plastics are now a core part of an immersive existence on this planet and beyond. They have a varied, political and aesthetic quality that surround and engulf all species and spaces. This demands consideration, care, emotions and a willingness to question the discomfort. At once engaging for children, potentially frustrating for educators and even disgusting for parents, engagement with this material and fabric of our environment and existence is required.