Institutional Relations

Now, the study of this micro-physics presupposes that the power exercised on the body is conceived not as a property, but as a strategy, that its effects of domination are attributed not to "appropriation," but to dispositions, manoeuvres, tactics, techniques, functionings; that one should decipher in it a network of relations, constantly in tension, in activity, rather than a privilege that one might possess; that one should take as its model a perpetual battle rather than a contract regulating a transaction or the conquest of a territory. (Foucault, 1977, p. 26)

Fragment

01 I:   And the girls are putting their hand up too.

02 P:   We're tough out west. [girl tackling boy in background]

03 I:   And those girls, more than hold their own.

04 I:   Do you ever worry about getting hurt? [kids playing in background]

05 M1: No

06 I:   Have you ever been hurt?

07 M2: Guys

08 M1: Ya

09 M2: Yeh you guys, we're supposed to be playing bullrush (yelled from behind)

10 M1: Ya, actually, really ... ya, I have really been hurt.

11 I:   And what happened then?

12 M1: I think I got up and delt with it.

13 P:   I think we're wrapping kids up in cotton wool a little too much ... um ... years ago a good parent was somebody who just let kids play. Nowadays a good parent might be considered to be somebody [who] takes them to dancing lessons ... and rugby practice.

14 I:   there may be some people, some parents who think, “hmm, I don't want my children, my little girls, playing bullrush!” What do you say to those people?

15 M1: Well, if you think you can't handle it, well then, don't play ... that's just pretty much it.

16 I:   So what do the parents think?

17 P:   Some parents have come and asked about it. They've wanted to be reassured ... but I think generally, I've had really good support from them. [kids yelling and waving there arms infront of the camera]. I think our understanding of what is safe really means, is changing. And actually, kids are safe doing things, that, maybe we have thought, weren't safe ... for quite a few years.

18 I:   For these educationalists, the risks involved with a bit of rough and tumble, are far less than the risks associated with an activity.

19 P:   If you get a kid to test themselves when he's 7 years old on a scooter or ... a tree ... climbing a tree. He is not going to have to test himself when he is 17 ... behind the wheel of a car.

20 I:   And they also say it makes for better students.

21 P:   The only time they get into trouble is when they're bored ... and they really don't get a chance to be... [laughter]

22 I:   And yes, before you ask, the kids do go back in the class after playing bullrush, with a bit of mud ... but the full on mud sliding, well, that's before they head home...to the washing machine I presume.

References

Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. New York, NY: Pantheon.