Archive of CRN Home Page Topics for Discussion

Feb, 13 2004 Preparing for Workshops (and Life) Hillel Weintraub, Future University -Hakodate (FUN)

This is my third writing in a row focusing on the concept of "Workshop", with the two earlier ones in November 2003 and December, 2003. Each of those articles, and many others that I've written over the past few years was about a different type of Workshop or Party or Playshop. In this month's "What's New?", I'd like to focus on the topic of "preparation" because there are so many different styles possible, and because it's such a vital part of any event. I discovered an earlier writing on CRN's homepage back in 1998, called "Our Dream for the New CRN Website". This was CRN's first Advisory Board posting, a conversation between Nobuyuki Ueda and myself about our philosophy of learning and living. In that conversation, at one point, I said: Sometimes, when someone asks me, how long did you prepare for that class or that workshop, I answer, "My whole life." Of course, we prepare specific things for each situation, but it's more designing for possibility than for actual sequence. This allows us to interact with people and observe their responses and react to them. I think this idea of "preparing our whole life" is one that we should think about, especially in the context of Japanese society where events are prepared for with a great deal of constraints, almost as though the outcome were predictable, which, at least in my experience, it never is. In fact, it is the fact that nothing is ever what you expect or plan for, that makes life (and workshops) so much fun. These surprises and unpredictable happenings can be a cause for panic, but they can also cause us to feel a great challenge. For example, in the "Making Toys from Natural Materials" workshop described in December, our focus had been on working with elderly. But suddenly we found out that there were only two elderly people attending the workshop. So we switched generation focus to parents and children. At the Halloween Party described in November's writing, our focus had been on pumpkin carving, but suddenly at the last minute we found out that there weren't enough pumpkins available. What could we do? We brainstormed, looked around, used our imaginations and had "bell pepper carving" - perhaps a Halloween first! Students who work with me sometimes get pretty nervous because so many details are unclear as the workshop time gets closer. Perhaps I'm a bit too much on the opposite side of "overplanning". Finding a good balance and knowing what to have ready, what to have organized, what kind of time table to have in place are certainly vital. Please don't imagine that I'm advocating "winging it" or just walking into a situation unprepared for anything. It's more like preparing for something, but not SO MUCH that you can't let go of your exact plan when you see that things are not proceeding as you imagined they would. That's the key isn't it? "As we imagine".�c. When we prepare for something we have to imagine a scenario, filled with people in places using different toys &tools. Of course, with all the variables and with our limited experience, this image is always imperfect. This is one reason why we should prepare for a number of scenarios - for example, what if it rains, what if the projector breaks, what if the internet is down, and so on�c But the things that can be different are innumerable and impossible to prepare for every possible variation on our main scenario. And why should we try? So what do we need - flexibility, enjoyment of surprise and challenge, imagination and creativity. Without these, all the preparation in the world won't help us have a great party or workshop. To go back to a specific example, at the CAMP toy-making workshop, there were countless times that we had to change our plans due to real-life situations. The workshop itself was planned carefully, but not inflexibly. The closer the dates came, the more real our plans became, but until we were actually able to visit the site, the concrete vision of things was very fuzzy. In the same way, until the participants - the heart of the workshop - actually appeared, all our plans were really quite different from the actual event that took place on that day of the workshop. Using the analogy of a game such as volleyball might be quite helpful in thinking about this. Of course it's vital for a team to practice before a game. The team needs to go over their plans and run through them until they're comfortable and smooth. The more practice the team can have, the better their mental and physical condition will be. But wait!!! Is that always true? Some training philosophies put too much emphasis on practice and in fact players are often over-prepared for controlled situations and under-prepared for the unexpected; that is, the unpredictable element of real play. Deciding how much and what kind of practice and planning before game play is very difficult! No one would say that practice and planning aren't important, but at the same time no one would mistake them as being the real thing. There are just some things - some very large and meaningful elements of Real Play - that differ from Practice. One of these is SPACE. It's very important for a team to practice in the space or gym where the actual game will be played. Every floor is different, every basket and backboard is different. The light and reflections of every space are different. But all these differences between Practice and Real Play pale when suddenly the players of the other team appear in front of you. This is the PEOPLE element. All the things you thought they will do and practiced for suddenly don't exist as you imagined them. The sudden fact that the star on the other team is sick and all the practice you did to avoid that star is now changed. The number of people in the stands cheering change the sound in the gym. (and in your head!) In the real game, the ball in your hands has a different feel, the air itself is affected by their presence. Even your heartbeat is not the same. How could you practice for this, when it never existed until that very moment? This is the same in a workshop, and even in a classroom or on a first date, or in any encounter between humans. In fact, one might say that there can be much joy, much learning, much fun in reveling in this unexpected, unpredictable, unknowable experience that comes among people in new spaces. The wonderful thing about life, that can be different from games, is that there doesn't have to be a winner and a loser. In a work/playshop or party, everyone can benefit. Let's enjoy one together! Have some questions or comments? No need to wait. Let's Talk!

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