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Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

spinning the plates

English answer:

juggling the needs/activities of the children

Added to glossary by cynthiatesser
Sep 3, 2011 14:56
12 yrs ago
6 viewers *
English term

spinning the plates

English Art/Literary Linguistics metaphor
Hello!

What is the meaning of this metaphor, please?

Thanks!

Cynthia

CONTEXT:
This does not mean of course that the practitioner will not go to the children working on these adult-initiated activities and have conversations with them about their ideas and solutions and answer their questions, but this will be done when the practitioner is ready. The adult should be in control of their own time. This support for the independent activities - **'spinning the plates'**as it is sometimes called - will occur after the practitioner has finished one focused activity and before starting the next. There is a world of difference between practitioners being in control of when they move from one role to the next and being at the mercy of the children, doing little more than servicing their needs, because the planned activities all need adult input at much the same level at much the same time.
Responses
4 juggling the needs of the children
3 +4 maintaining attention on a selected list of ongoing projects
4 +1 multi-tasking
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): Lara Barnett

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Discussion

Stephen D Sep 3, 2011:
Thanks for taking the time to read my reference :) and I think that although "maintaining the momentum" isn't a metaphor, it is very idiomatic... I don't know how it sounds in Italian.
lorenab23 Sep 3, 2011:
the reference posted by Steve talks about "maintaining momentum" which I think is a really beautiful way of explaining the situation. An instructor must maintain the momentum when transitioning from one focused activity to the next one. "Conservare lo slancio" comes to mind but of course it is not a circensian metaphor...
cynthiatesser (asker) Sep 3, 2011:
Yes, you can see plate spinning in circuses in Italy, like anywhere else in the world, I guess. Juggling metaphors work well in Italian too, but we usually talk about "turning somersaults" meaning almost killing yourself to do something. It is still a circensian metaphor ....
Stephanie Ezrol Sep 3, 2011:
Just for fun. I don't know if they do plate spinning in Italy but here's some history and an interesting website: The French equestrian Louis Soullier (1813-1888), who managed Vienna's Circus at the Prater, toured the Balkans, settled for a time in Turkey, and then continued to China, where he introduced the circus in 1854. When he returned to Europe in 1866, he brought with him Chinese acrobats who in turn introduced traditional Chinese acts such as perch-pole balancing, diabolo-juggling, plate-spinning, hoop-diving, et al., to Western audiences. http://www.circopedia.org/index.php/Short_History_of_the_Cir...
Stephanie Ezrol Sep 3, 2011:
I think that the metaphor works in both directions. The teacher has to maintain the students' attention on their tasks and keep those tasks going (spinning), but the teacher also has to work to not be distracted - "this will be done when the practitioner is ready. The adult should be in control of their own time." I think that is why it is a powerful metaphor -- the activities need "spinning" to keep going, just as the plates need spinning, and the juggler/teacher must maintain a focus on those activities and not be diverted into others. That is reinforced by the reference to adult initiated, and the practitioner being in control.
cynthiatesser (asker) Sep 3, 2011:
Stephanie In a sense your answer fits as well, if we think of a teacher maintaning his pupils' attention on a number of different activities or tasks
cynthiatesser (asker) Sep 3, 2011:
Well ... I have been asked to translate a chapter so I suppose it hasn't!
Stephen D Sep 3, 2011:
Good luck!! I don't suppose the book's translated in Italian is it? :P
cynthiatesser (asker) Sep 3, 2011:
Yes, that's exactly it! It is something between supporting and mutitasking, keeping all the children busy and involved in different tasks at the same time. Now I have to find a suitable Italian translation ... gosh!
Stephen D Sep 3, 2011:
After a bit of research... I found EXACTLY what you're looking for published in the book "Teaching and learning in the early years".

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yPElS9tWEScC&pg=PA25&lpg=...
cynthiatesser (asker) Sep 3, 2011:
Thanks Steve I thought that was what it meant but I was looking for support from native speakers. Form your quotation, it looks like it is a very common metaphor in early education settings. My translation is about the role of teachers in Reception and Foundation Years.
If you post a suitable answer, I will consider it for points.
Stephen D Sep 3, 2011:
I think you may be right This is taken from a prospectus from Canterbury University:

http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/education/professional-developme...

‘Spinning the plates’: support in your first FS or Y1 post

This course offers you continued support in topics of interest if you are teaching in the foundation stage or engaged in the seamless transition from foundation stage to year 1. You will have the opportunity to reflect on your own practices and develop your ideas further by working collaboratively with colleagues.
A mixture of theoretical perspectives will deepen your understanding and you will take away a number of strategies and practical ideas to try out in your own setting.

Here it seems to means providing continuous support, in the same way as in your text. I've also found this link, which seems to mean continued support to keep something going.

"from the community agreement, while another LEF staff member is “spinning the plates of community engagement,” by continuing coalition building and..."

www.policystudies.com/studies/?download=62&id=54
cynthiatesser (asker) Sep 3, 2011:
If you look at my context, it says:

This support for the independent activities - **'spinning the plates'**as it is sometimes called -

I think they are referring to the teacher getting activities started for the children, he/she spins the plates for them, that is, gets their activities going.

Her's another piece of the context:

There is a world of difference between practitioners being in control of when they move from one role to the next and being at the mercy of the children, doing little more than servicing their needs, because the planned activities all need **adult input** at much the same level at much the same time.
Stephanie Ezrol Sep 3, 2011:
@Cynthia, I don't if you have looked at the web reference I posted yet. I think that the meaning as discussed there is the one being used in your context. The important idea is in a sense pacing oneself through several tasks while at the same time not being distracted into the wrong tasks -- or with the juggler it means a sharp focus on this set of plates and not being distracted by anything else. The juggler's audience whether laughing or clapping or making random noises is analagous to the children demanding attention.
Stephen D Sep 3, 2011:
Agree Multi-tasking is usually done successfully and without too much hassle. Spinning plates requires focus on several activities and if you don't manage your time accordingly a plate will fall. I think both mine and Stephanie's answers suggest more than mere multitasking.
cynthiatesser (asker) Sep 3, 2011:
Context Thank you for your answers. I am not sure the 'multitask' interpretation fits the context, though.

Responses

53 mins
Selected

juggling the needs of the children

Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you for all the helpful references."
+1
4 mins

multi-tasking

It means doing several things at one time.

For Nikki Hyatt, there's never enough time to monitor the computer, send e-mails, field queries, schedule appointments — she’s doing it all virtually simultaneously. They call it "multi-tasking."
"I'm sure there's a limit, but you just try to juggle them all, if you can," says Hyatt, who works as a receptionist and administrative coordinator.
Juggling them all in the modeling department of a design company has turned Rich Cicarelli into a workplace whirling dervish.
"I'm always thinking about two or three things at a time," says Cicarelli, who manages the department.
Aren't we all?
Fifty-four percent of employees in one survey confess that while on the phone, they read e-mail. Eleven percent say they write to-do lists while in meetings.
"I mean, I often describe myself as the guy on the stage, spinning the plates," says Tom Burchard, vice president of the brand group. "And it feels like that some days."


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15225042/ns/nightly_news/t/myth-...
Peer comment(s):
agree Lara Barnett
8 hrs
Something went wrong...
+4
10 mins

maintaining attention on a selected list of ongoing projects

The reference seems to be to the juggling type of entertainment called spinning the plates where the performing has to keep moving in the right way and at the right pace to keep a set of plates spinning.

The following website has a good picture of this activity as well as the use of the term as a metaphor.

http://kent.posterous.com/spin-the-plates

"If you are consultant like me, you likely work on a bunch of different projects. At least, I hope you do.


It's sort of a paradox really, you don't want to work on too many projects, but you need to work on enough to make a good living. Sometimes it's hard to manage all of the projects, sometimes its hard to keep the plates spinning.

But don't let that stop you. There is nothing wrong with taking on projects, with adding another plate. As long as you can keep them spinning.

Sometimes one will wobble. That's okay.

Sometimes one will fall. That's not okay.

Your work, is to keep the plates spinning."

THE WHOLE DISCUSSION HERE SEEMS TO FIT YOUR CONTEXT QUITE WELL. LOOK AT THE WEBSITE IF YOU NEED MORE.
Peer comment(s):
agree Liz Dexter (was Broomfield) : This is the only one that mentions where the metaphor actually comes from (the circus act)
15 mins
Thanks Liz !
agree Lara Barnett
8 hrs
Thanks Lara !
agree Phong Le
9 hrs
Thanks Phong Le !
agree amarpaul : Good one Stephanie. This had me scratching my head, until you mentioned "juggling"
16 hrs
Thanks !
Something went wrong...
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