More on the Clear Spring School model...

Otto Salomon, the founder of Educational Sloyd was an incredible scholar. He lectured regularly in Swedish, German, English and French, and carried out correspondence in all these languages with students from throughout the world. In addition, he was a serious student of various educational theorists and wrote books in Swedish in which their contributions were discussed. At its heart, he insisted that Educational Sloyd must be based on sound pedagogical theory and experience.

In synthesis of his studies, Salomon outlined principles that transcend the teaching of crafts and could be broadly applied throughout general education. His simple principles were that instruction should move gradually: from the known to the unknown, from the easy to the more difficult, from the simple to the more complex, and from the concrete to the abstract. In addition, he believed that the products made in Sloyd should be practical in nature and build a positive relationship between home and school. These are the principles we try to follow in the planning of the Wisdom of the Hands program activities.

These simple principles could provide the foundation for a revolution in American education. But there is a challenge that would need to be overcome first. Each teacher would need to have direct knowledge of each child’s current understanding and experience in order to plan the next lesson as well as time available to give individualized attention to each child when required.

Imagine a classroom of twenty-five or thirty students. In such classrooms, it is extremely difficult to give any individual attention to children learning either faster or slower than the selected rate. In fact, it is often difficult for a teacher under such circumstances to even know his or her children well enough to plan for their learning needs. So, two changes must be made. One is to reduce class size, and the second is to provide to teachers the opportunity to have multiyear experience with each child.

Sadly, schools haven’t made significant progress in lifting literacy rates since the days of the one room schoolhouse. In 1850’s America, literacy was almost universal amongst free individuals. In classrooms of those times, a single teacher would have the same students for several years, getting well acquainted with the varying levels of individual advancement, and a single student, whether faster or slower in learning rate, would find lessons offered that would be appropriate to his or her needs. The one room schoolhouse may not be a practical option today. In fact, our idealized view of it may be unreasonable, but the learning experience and effectiveness at Clear Spring comes close to the one room school house of our finest dreams.

At Clear Spring, students move through classes in a two-year cycle. First and second grades are grouped together in a single classroom, and the same two year divisions are made in subsequent years. A teacher will have a student for 2 years with the class sized limited to 14. The teacher in such circumstances becomes well aware of individual learning needs and is better able to shape lessons to meet the learning needs of specific children without limiting the natural advancement of others.

If we were ever as a society to make the decision that schools would be the place to truly educate students rather than just confine them, bore them and keep them off the streets, Clear Spring would be the model of choice. Hands-on, hearts-engaged, small classes, with multiyear engagement of teachers in the lives of their children. It is a clear formula for student success.