Our Shambolic Yet Lastic World
Until a recent and absolutely witty, smart, spot-on article by Anthony Lane in The New Yorker on the Oscar debacle with respect to the mis-awarding of the coveted "Best Picture" award, I had never even heard or seen the word "shambolic" appear anywhere. I actually thought it was a made-up word. I imagined it to be a combination of the words “shambles” and “symbolic” -- something that most assuredly does describe the Oscar kerfuffle.
But, “shambolic” isn't a make-believe word. While primarily used in Britain, it is an adjective referencing something that is totally disorganized, chaotic, mismanaged and messy --- as in "this has been a shambolic start for the new President.” What a good word. If it hadn’t existed, it needed to be added to the lexicon. Onomatopoetic too.
The title of this LinkedIn piece contains another word that may not be known by many – “lasticity.” And, unlike “shambolic,” it is not an actual word -- yet. It is a term, a concept, I created to describe the process for enabling low-income, diverse student success across the educational landscape. It is a deliberate combination of three existing words in the English language: elastic, plastic and last (as in durable). One could say that students who are lastic are more likely to progress to and through college. It is onomatopoetic too.
For a more detailed understanding of lasticity, as it is used with respect to educational outcomes, see www.breakawaylearners.com, a site that describes my forthcoming book from Columbia Teachers College Press in April 2017.
Importantly, though, lasticity is not limited to the educational arena, although that is the context in which the word was initially developed. Speaking more broadly, lasticity refers to the capacity to move forward through traumatic and stressful events and to emerge better able to make wise decisions; it also enables a reaffirmation of one’s belief in oneself.
Given the state of our world at present and my omnipresent sense that the world has fallen off its proverbial axis, I think we all need to be lastic and we need to create a lastic culture. We need lasticity to move forward, to enable change, to make wise decisions, to engage in reciprocal relationships and develop a deep and abiding and enduring sense of self --- when the earth seems to be moving under our feet.
That is not easy when there is fake news and there are lies galore and actions (and inactions) that take one’s breath away in terms of how far they move us from our previous reality. One example: the alignment between HBCUs and the President. Really? Be careful with whom you share your bed. And, at least when you walk down the streets of DC, the tension is palpable, almost breathless. DC not only is a swamp -- literally -- but it feels like a swamp these days.
So, between “shambolic” and “lastic,” I think we have described the feelings many of us are experiencing and the struggles in which many of us are engaged as we transition from one president and one government to another president and his form of governing.
Who knew that the Oscar fiasco might actually provide the levity needed to overcome messes, the humor relevant to seeing what really is and is not important, the value of trusting one’s gut and the fact that the winner (a largely minority team) initially appeared to be the loser and was deprived of its just due – almost.
The Oscars or Miss Universe (why Miss not Ms – OK, don’t get me started) pageant both had mistaken winners. In the grand scheme of things, these are not grandiose mistakes: no one died; no one lost limbs; no one ended up without money or a home or food. The wrongs were righted more or less swiftly and more or less deftly. No values were tromped upon endlessly.
Sadly, that which ails the world is not as easily remedied. It’s not as if we can simply change the winner – saying there was a mistaken card or mistaken reading of a piece of paper.
The state of the nation is shambolic and our capacity to activate lasticity is not easy. Two key words coupled together: shambolic and lastic. Would that our current mess in DC were as facile to fix as the Oscars or a beauty pageant. It isn’t. And that realization should give us pause and reorient us to begin to find ways out of the swamp. Today.
Note: My thanks, yet again, to MW who gets the swamp and the difficulties of cleaning its water.
Adjunct Professor at Rockland Community College (SUNY)
7 年Lasticity. Role that around your tongue. MMmmm I don't know. It's sweet enough I suppose, but its got a kind of lasticity to it. Ok, so that's not what it means. But, seriously, if lasticity suggests an ability to get over the rough patches, to overcome and to prevail, and if this concept is applied to students, (and to students of life), then I would suggest one caveat. Plastic is tough but impermeable. That may be the singular quality that makes it tough. Yet, what makes plastic strong is also its weakness. That is because the inability to absorb is also the inability to process. As Paul Simon wrote, "I am a rock, I am an island....and a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries." So surviving does not necessarily mean growing; it may mean blocking out and not much more. In the educational world today we feel the strong current moving toward the blocking out of uncomfortable ideas rather than going through the traditional process of evaluating and either accepting or rejecting. There must, then, be a way to get off of the island, to be able to feel pain, and to cry. There has to be a balance between the toughness and the ability to absorb.