Squishy Not Slick
Frank Chimero gave a talk in Portland last year. During the talk, he shared this slide:
He talked about how squishy design is better than slick design. Squishy not slick. This seemed right. I heard this and realized that it encapsulated much of my thinking about what makes good teaching. Good teaching is squishy not slick. I started compiling a list of contrasting ideas from education that fall into the categories of squishy and slick. Here’s what is on that list right now.
Squishy Teaching =
- Spontaneous
- Unique
- Particular
- Tailored
- Entangled
- Mixed together
- Woven
- Patched
- Organic
- Rebel Forces
- Poetic
- Ambiguous
- Emotional
- Non-linear
- Non-sequenced
- Inquisitive
- Inextricably-linked
- Constructivist
- Experiential
- Holistic
- Democratizing
- Authentic
- Collaborative
- Adaptive
- Complicated
- Contextual
- Relational
Slick Teaching =
- Mass produced
- Psychologically manipulative
- Planned years in advance
- Manufactured
- Imperial
- Hegemonic
- Afraid
- Spreadsheeted
- Shallow
- Narcotizing
- Cauterizing
- Anti-intellectual
- Uncritical
- Uncreative
- Emotionless
- Scripted
- Juking the stats
- Dropout factories
- Assembly-lined
