travel school

April is the month that Clear Spring School students and teachers are involved in travel school. The entire CSS High School is in Washington, DC. In addition to all the usual things students do in DC, they hope they can arrange a visit with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who as a young lawyer, wrote the papers of incorporation for Clear Spring School about 35 years ago. On Monday the 5th through 8th grade classes will travel the state of Arkansas, following the White River from source to mouth, and later in the week the 3rd and 4th grade students will go to Springfield, Missouri on what has become an annual trip.

Travel is always full of surprises. You think you may have an academic understanding of something, and when you arrive at the real deal, there are things that blow you away.

I had that kind of experience when I traveled to Nääs, Sweden in May, 2006. You can find Nääs using google earth at the coordinates: 57°48'59.39"N, 12°23'18.5"E

Nääs is beautifully preserved and in visiting what becomes clear is that educational sloyd was not just about woodworking education. There was a gymnasium where gymnastics, dance, and a variety of indoor physical fitness educational methods were taught. There were indoor and outdoor meeting areas for lectures and discussion of progressive education. You just can't get a full 360 degree view until you are standing in the midst of it.

When you learn something from a book, the lesson is often over as soon as the book is closed, but the experience of visiting significant places is processed over a period of time. Just as I am still processing and exploring what I learned at Nääs, Clear Spring School students are having travel experiences that will provide a lifetime of reflection and provide the foundation for further growth.

Photos at top: behind the Nääs Slott and the gymnasium and athletic field at Nääs. Photos below: Of me in the original sloyd wood shop building, and August Abrahamson's desk in his "castle" or slott.