Felix Adler on will, 1892

Felix Adler was the founder of the Society for Ethical Culture and of the Workingman's School, now one of the most prestigious independent schools in the US. The following may help to explain the concept of will:

"...let us distinguish between feeling, desiring, and willing. A person who is without food feels hunger. A person who, being hungry, calls up in his mind images of food, will experience a desire. A person who adopts means to obtain food performs an act of the will. ... will is characterized at its birth by the intellectual factor which enters into it; for the calculation of means to ends is an intellectual process, and every conscious act of volition involves such a process. If the will is thus characterized at its birth, we can at once anticipate the conclusion that any will will be strong in proportion as the intellectual factor in it predominates."

There is of course a lot more that the laptop has no power to sustain. But as you can see, learning is best accompanied by physical expression. It is in the physical expression of learning, not its presentation by teaching staff, that the intellect and will are nourished by the educational process. I don't know if this helps my readers at all, but for me, it adds to the understanding of why kids need to be actively engaged in learning, and reveals additional rationale for restoring crafts to the education of our children at all age levels. (Including university!)

On a more personal note, power has been restored to the library, so Jean is back to work. She checked out hundreds of books by flashlight on Saturday. Here on the home front, we are facing our 7th day and nigth without power. But we have confidence that our connection to the power grid and somewhat normal American life will be restored soon.