I recently had the opportunity to attend an
event at the newly opened Robert Bateman Centre, located in Victoria, B.C., for
their first “Educator’s Night”. At first I had my reservations and, honestly, I
only agreed to go for the free food and to be able to get close and personal
with the work of the legendary Robert Bateman without having to pay a bloated
admission fee. I walked in expecting the
usual promotion of student/school tours and the advocating of the particular
academic draws of the facility; however, I was pleasantly surprised to discover
that all my preconceived notions were promptly dashed upon entering. Not only was the centre beautiful, it was
unpretentious, welcoming, and accessible. But perhaps the most notable feature
of this centre is its seamless blend of art, education, nature and …
technology, the last feature being an unusual surprise.
Robert Bateman has long been known for both his
art, and his promotion for the inclusion of nature as a fundamental element in both
education and learning. Throughout his career he has strived to call our
attention to the plight of the natural world, and the benefits of protecting
and preserving it. As guests at his Educator’s Night, we were also privileged
by a talk from Mr. Bateman himself – in fact it was the same talk that he was
using for his upcoming Ted Talk. One of the topics he addressed happened to be the
effect of modern media consumption by adolescents and its impact on the
integrity and sense of social responsibility of this “coming-of-age”
generation. He went on to condemn TV shows and movies featuring vampires,
werewolves, walking-dead and other fantastical elements which he claimed have
no grounding in reality and which succeed only in alienating youth from “real”
nature and the existing social environment. Mr. Bateman also called attention
to the increasing reliance on smart phones and the “addiction” that adolescents
appear to have to such devices – simultaneously pulling up a cartoon
depiction of the teenage couch-potato surrounded by junk food glued to his TV, his
smart phone firmly cemented in his hand. I’ll admit, at this point in the
evening I may have been rolling my eyes. It appeared to be another “the trouble
with kids these days” rant from the senior generation clinging to technology’s
downfalls rather than grasping the educational potential of mobile devices and
social media. However, to believe that Mr. Bateman is firmly rooted in this
stance would be a glaring misconception. In fact, just as quickly as I had
jumped to this assumption, I was pleasantly surprised when the conversation
turned in a new direction which, to my delight, including discussing the many
opportunities that technology affords us – making lemonade from lemons.
I was impressed, given my initial opinion, with the open-minded spirit
of Mr. Bateman as he conceded that technology can and should be used to promote
learning, and, surprisingly, to promote the integration of the natural world within
educational institutions where it is not easily accessible – such as inner-city
schools. The Robert Bateman Centre reflects its namesake’s stance by placing QR
codes under each painting that, once scanned, will bring visitors to online videos
where Mr. Bateman explains in depth the story and natural elements behind the
particular artwork. He also discussed another project where QR codes are being
placed along nature paths to identify specific vegetation and its role within
the eco-system, bringing meaning and education to a simple walk in the forest. It
is this use of technology, he stresses, which will promote learning in a mobile
and modern way. He discussed the Centre’s promotional plan of action which will
rely heavily on social media and the internet, providing access to students and
patrons who may be unable to see the Centre in person, but will still be able
to reap the benefits of Mr. Bateman’s message which he discusses in depth in
his essay Reasons for Hope (also
available on the Centre’s website):
The frightening thing in the
cacophony of narcissism that our electronic revolution has produced is that the
great mass of population is engaged with amusing itself to death. As Aldous
Huxley predicted in Brave New World we are being controlled by pleasure, and
truth is being drowned in a sea of irrelevance. It is hard to compete for public
attention in this cacophony […] I hope that the role of the Robert Bateman
Foundation will be to sound a clarion call about the seriousness of this issue
and to make known all of the exciting efforts that are actually underway. The
hope is that a critical mass of people will become engaged and join the
movement to change our ways for the good of humanity and all the other living
things.
I will
finish by saying that I was truly inspired by Mr. Bateman’s talk and his contemporary
insights on the issue of youth’s addiction to technology the overload of social
media: let’s harness this potential and turn a negative into a positive.
Through the use of technology, our students are now able to digitally explore
the Amazon rainforest, or the Gobi desert, or the Himalayas. Youth restricted
to a concrete jungle can search different species of plants and animals, studying
ecosystems both close to home and abroad. Technology affords us possibility –
the possibility for change and the ability to spread a message faster than ever
before. What matters most? It’s all in the content
of the message.
