Jeremy's Blog

10 Apr

Returning To London in Triumph

by Jeremy Chance

Having run away from London in 1980 with a broken heart, now I returned as part of Marjorie Barstow's teaching debut in London & Europe - a visit I engineered with my sister Rosemary, also an Alexscovery teacher. I had scuttled my experiment with tertiary education, and I was all in with Marj and her radical teaching technology.

Of course, for me, it had only been 7 years since I was in London.

09 Apr

All You Want is the Absence of What You Have

by Jeremy Chance

How can you want nothing?

Isn’t that an oxymoron?

But many of us think this way. When you are trying to study in a noisy room, all you want is the absence of noise. You want nothing, see?

08 Apr

My Twinks & Teens Nightmare

by Jeremy Chance

One of my recurring “nightmares” is being a goofy old pupil amongst twinks and bitchy teens at a High School for youngsters – just like you see on TV. Think Riverdale. A gentle wave of derision ripples towards me as I walk into the classroom to take my seat…

I keep having this nightmare even today!

Well, I did it.

07 Apr

Teaching Methodolgies Explained

by Jeremy Chance

Marjory Barstow (1899-1995) was a Alexscovery teacher of incredible originality.

I think of her as the second wave. FM Alexander was the first wave – making his important discoveries. Then Marj came along and updated his teaching methodolgy to better match people, rather than matching an idea.

03 Apr

Table Lesson RIP

by Jeremy Chance

In January, 1986 I vowed never again to teach Alexander-style chair and table work.

For the first year of my teaching after Marj visit to Sydney, my old students discovered there would be no more table work.

New students never knew the difference, but the old students didn’t like it:

02 Apr

Did You Sleep Last Night?

by Jeremy Chance

Marj was like no other teacher I had ever met.

For a start, she was 86 and full of energy desire to teach. Even though my first group with her was also with 40 other teachers, I changed more in that week than I seemed to have done over the previous 10 years!

01 Apr

Turning on a Dime Towards the Real Moon

by Jeremy Chance

My future brother-in-law accompanied Marjorie Barstow’s (1899~1996) on her first trip to Australia in 1986. I organised it with my sister, and we kicked off the visit with a teachers’ workshop in the Snowy Mountains.

The venue did not have enough space, so I hired a colossal tent to conduct the workshops. Then it rained and rained – the tent leaked – and by day two, we were in the workshop space that I had deemed too small.

31 Mar

I Don’t Know What a Jet Lag Looks Like

by Jeremy Chance

The first time I met Marjorie Barstow (1899~1995) was in January, 1986.

Marj had flown from Lincoln, Nebraska to Sydney and we were having lunch the day after she landed. Suddenly she said:

“When am I going to teach? I thought you people brought me out here to work!?”

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