Camille Pissarro,Vue De Bazincourt, Effet De Neige, Soir 1894, Huile Sur Toile, 54,5 X 65 Cm, Ordrupgaard

Source: Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, The Wicked + The Divine, Issue 30, 9 August 2017. 

Seine River, Villeneuve Saint-Georges/ Paris, France, 2018. 

Source: Mystic Cheesecake Balloon

Fukugawa Hachiman Matsuri, Tokyo, Japan, 2015.

Source: Mystic Cheesecake Balloon

The crazy thing about the human condition is that we are only able to relate to the world to the extent that our language and its limits will allow us to. If you ask any bilingual person, they will probably tell you that the person they are in language A is at least slightly different from the person they are in language B, because to truly learn a language you have to adapt your thought process at least partially to encompass the new reality that the second language creates. And that’s a major thing in sociology, if the language(s) you speak cannot describe a concept, then that concept effectively does not exist for you. We didn’t create language, language created us.

Eugène Jansson, L’aube sur le Riddarfjärden, 1899, huile sur toile, 150 c 201 cm, Prins Eugen Waldamarsudde Museu, Stockhölm.

Source “Au delà des étoiles, le paysage mythique de Monet à Kandinsky”, 15 mars au 25 juin 2017, Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

Genève, Suisse, 2017.

Source: Mystic Cheesecake Balloon. 

As a teacher, I no longer use the word, “smart.” I refuse to call any of my students this word, and I am intentional about not using it in my class. What even is, “smart”? Is smart getting the answer correctly? Being able to perform a specific skill? What is it? Because when we tell kids that they are smart, in reality, it does nothing for them. It does not provide any feedback for them. And the worst part is that this word has become a way for people to classify children into 2 categories: smart, and not. When children assess themselves they have difficulty defining their strengths and weaknesses. Instead, it has become a question of whether they consider themselves as smart, or not. And herein lies the problem. I too, can relate to these kids. I always struggled in math, and considered myself, “not smart” in this subject. I could never take a different perspective and evaluate what areas of math were a struggle, and which parts I understood. Was it the calculation part? Was it memorizing math facts? No, after years as a student in the classroom I looked at my peers and compared myself to them because they were “smart” in math and I was not. Leading me to believe I was somehow less intelligent than my peers when in reality, I just learned differently. I required different help. Teachers, parents and students tossed the word smart around as if it was a label which you had to earn. My point in all of this, and even taking the time to write a tumblr post about it, is that the way we perceive ourselves has everything to do with the way the institutions we grew up in engraved it into our brains. You are not smart, and you are not NOT smart. You are full of strengths and weaknesses, and it is much more important to figure those out than label yourself as anything. Instead of telling a child they are smart, point out what they did correctly and why it was correct. Instead, tell them how the skills they display affect the outcome of a situation. Unsurprisingly, I get quite a few messages from college-aged kids who feel like they’re not smart. Or from people who feel like they won’t make it in college because of how they perform in their academics. I had these very same thoughts as I went into college, and as I was in it. The system of education has failed you/me, and for that, I am sorry. The classroom environment should be teaching you how to identify and reflect on your weaknesses, and how to identify and maximize the potential of your strengths. You’re more than a label, please know this and reflect. Knowing all of this now, I hope and pray that you will change your whole perspective on yourself.

Thank you for reading my extremely long post which is somewhat of me venting, while also trying to encourage you. I hope it is taken to heart.

- Lindsay

Ferdinand Hodler, Le Männlichen, 1908, huile sur toile, 57 x 71,5 cm, collection Christoph Blocher.

Source: “Hodler, Monet, Munch: Peindre l’impossible”, 15 janvier 2016 au 22 janvier 2017, Musée Marmottan-Monet, Paris. 

Aux alentours de Chambéry, France, 2015.

Source: Mystic Cheesecake Balloon. 

Roberto Monténégro, Ville dans la Brume, 1911, huile sur toile, musée régional de Guadalajara, Guadalajara. 

Source: “Mexique (1900–1950)”, du 5 Octobre 2016 au 23 Janvier 2017, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris.