"Biological determinism is one of psychology’s ugliest evasions, removing the poetic human from any issue."

"As we as a society become desperate financially, and more regulated and conformist, our ideals of competence become more misleading and cruel, making people feel like losers. There might be more to our distractions than we realized we knew. We might need to be irresponsible. But to follow a distraction requires independence and disobedience; there will be anxiety in not completing something, in looking away, or in not looking where others prefer you to. This may be why most art is either collaborative — the cinema, pop, theater, opera — or is made by individual artists supporting one another in various forms of loose arrangement, where people might find the solidarity and backing they need."

"Currently, I’ve been working on a chapter of my dissertation that, in part, looks at youth as curators and the transformative possibilities of this role. By taking ownership, labeling, collecting, and displaying ephemera within their communities, my students help guide a collective consciousness for their peers that establish opportunities for social improvement. The act of curation is a liberatory one. Or at least that’s what I’m arguing so far.

Wonderstruck finds its protagonist desperately holding onto the artifacts that make up an unclear past in search of meaning amongst them. Selznick’s narrative illuminates the personal power of curation and imbues it with the same sense of wonder that I attempted to achieve in the ARG I created. The book opens up paths of discussion that I’d love to someday host with students."

"A secondary school has divided its students by ability, complete with different uniforms. Innovative way to lure the middle classes, or worrying segregation?"<br />
<br />
[Sneeches and "A Class Divided" come to mind.]