John Amos Comenius 1592-1670:

What has to be done must be learned by practice.

Artisans do not detain their apprentices with theories, but set them to do practical work at an early stage; thus they learn to forge by forging, to carve by carving, to paint by painting, and to dance by dancing. In schools, therefore, let the students learn to write by writing, to talk by talking, to sing by singing, and to reason by reasoning. In this way schools will become work-shops humming with work, and students whose efforts prove successful will experience the truth of the proverb: "We give form to ourselves and to our materials at the same time."

In the wood shop of Clear Spring School today, the 5th and 6th grade students worked on bookends from quartersawn white oak. I prepared the stock and precut the mortises that hold the parts together. The students designed the end panels to reflect their study of earth transformation. In the finished work, you will see volcanoes, earthquakes, waves, weather, and fire. Some are working with negative space within the borders of the panels and some are shaping the outlines. The photo above is from today's lesson.