The purpose of the What’s in Your Bag task was to unearth identities that we hide within unexpected objects in our bags.
When I first did this task, the weirdest and most useless objects in my bag were my Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) Cards.
I thought they were based on Cards Against Humanity, but Ernesto asked me if this might actually be more like the Death Conversation Game.
Using these ideas, I’ve decided to provide an audio experience for just these cards.
I recommend you use headphones for the best experience.
Process Work and Analysis
This was a hard task for me. I originally made a podcast in Audacity where I talk about my teaching experiences but I ended up scrapping that. The linear audio format doesn’t really explore what audio can do.
These songs helped me reflect on how sound can be layered:
- come home to my heart – mashup of every lorde song by sai ziju
- Listen with headphones on! 00:00 – 00:48 sets an amazing aural atmosphere
- TAPE 2002 7 28 by Epik High
- I considered doing something similar with card shuffling sounds in place of the cassette player sounds, but didn’t do it in the end. You hear samples of different Epik High songs and I thought of getting my teacher friends to play a round of the OTPP cards with me or get them to share their experiences. Juxtaposing the sounds of laughter and fun over our actual experiences seemed really raw. I didn’t do this because it seemed intrusive.
- Sleepless by Epik High
- A robotic voice asks you questions that may be linked to depression. I chose to use a robotic voice to embody dehumanization and facelessness.
In the end, my audio experience layers the OTPP card prompts, some of the pension tips, and some snippets from my podcast attempts. There’s repeated language like “We’re listening” and “These cards contain statements we’ve heard from teachers just starting out”. I think that the OTPP cards are more like Cards Against Humanity and try to be funny. I find the cards depressing and think there needs to be a “This sucks. None of these are funny.” option like the Cards Against Humanity Lab. By repeatedly layering “We’re listening” and other speech from the original cards over my voice, I’ve tried to emphasize that I’m not being listened to. Also, it’s inappropriate to make light of what people have actually experienced.
Maybe the OTPP cards are funny to people who have made it, but I find them depressing. Maybe the experiences are seen as a rite of passage, but it felt like a variant of hazing. The pension tips also reinforce and normalize over-productivity while reassuring members that they’re contributing to their pensions.
On the flip side, these cards could become a Death Conversation Game if the players choose to listen and have a conversation:
- When did you start overvaluing the hustle/grind/productivity?
- How do you feel about the representation of newer teachers?
- What challenges are you facing with the job search?
- What are you doing to take care of yourself?
- How has your identity changed now that you are a teacher?
There’s a lot to unpack here and we need to talk.
Hi Linda,
Thank you for an interesting auditory experience. For me, your creativity with this assignment created an experience that was a combination of the TV Series “Lost” (the repeated distress signal from Rousseau) and the video game Fallout. It definitely had a post-apocalyptic sound to it (the repeated SOS radio message), which was somehow made even eerier by the content of the cards. I really enjoyed your post and listening to your creation.
Kelvin
Hi Kelvin,
I’m not familiar with Lost or Fallout, but will look into them!
– Linda
Hey Linda,
I felt very stressed listening to your work. The repetition of ‘we’re listening’ over and over combined with the overlay of you voice, experiences, and emotion, was challenging for me to listen to. The confusing and frustrating nature of not knowing what exactly is being said is best heard through the automated voice; if it could just give you a real answer, rather than lofty expectations and goals.
In response to your question, “What are you doing to take care of yourself?” I have worked at 4 schools in 6 years. Staying for between 6 months to 2.5 years and leaving when I found I was not respected, valued, or my requests were not taken seriously. Most often, the school leadership has been the cause of struggle, but also the prominent attitude that new teachers need to fend for themselves to survive and make it though. As a new teacher many times over, I have been given some of the most challenging classes. Why as a school community would you choose to set new members up to fail? Why is this a right of passage at a time when teachers are shaping their understanding of pedagogy and identity as a teacher?
Hi Emily!
In re-reading your comment and Kelvin’s comment, I think I forgot how freaky my recording sounds. I guess in some ways it was intended because the stress, confusion, and eerie introduction embodies the feelings I had when I became a public school teacher.
I definitely agree with you in that our new teachers need to be supported when they join schools–whether or not they are there for a day, few weeks, a semester, or a year. At one point, all teachers in my board were classified as “replaceable employees”. I perceived this as “disposable”, but another teacher told me it was important because it removes pressure from being away.
I wish the rite of passage for being a teacher wasn’t so dehumanizing.
Hi Linda,
This is extremely cool! I love the way that you layered things in such an analog earthy way. Good job in terms of your stereo spread and the use of filters to modify your voice. Well done!
Thank you, Andrew!
The process was certainly an adventure 🙂