flâneur

Am I starting a school...again? - by Chris Balme

chrisbalme.substack.com · 1,574 words · saved by 2 readers

A few weeks ago, on a perfect spring morning in San Francisco, I was strolling somewhat aimlessly, somewhat purposefully, behind two quite headstrong seven year olds. They were mesmerized for a time by a concrete pour taking place, watching as one worker carefully leveled the new surface until it met the sidewalk seamlessly. Later they took note of the architecture, debating what it meant to be a “modern” house, before agreeing that it was another way of saying “boxy.” They noticed plants, paused for insects, and talked almost constantly. In their hands were two checklists, a set of challenges to notice things around them. Nope, not my curriculum — it was entirely designed and written by one of the seven year olds. Here is what she typed out, at painstakingly slow speed: That’s all, and that’s all they needed. We wandered for maybe an hour, maybe 90 minutes, up and down the remarkably steep San Francisco hills. They were having a ton of fun. Near the end we stopped for cookies at a caf

A few weeks ago, on a perfect spring morning in San Francisco, I was strolling somewhat aimlessly, somewhat purposefully, behind two quite headstrong seven year olds. They were mesmerized for a time by a concrete pour taking place, watching as one worker carefully leveled the new surface until it met the sidewalk seamlessly. Later they took note of the architecture, debating what it meant to be a “modern” house, before agreeing that it was another way of saying “boxy.” They noticed plants, paused for insects, and talked almost constantly. In their hands were two checklists, a set of…

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