city streets hands and feets

We are here in NYC on our 2009 Thanksgiving adventure, and we went last night to buy a 26 pound turkey. Thankfully some of us are vegetarian, as with over 30 guests, the turkey may be stretched to the bone. And that is a good thing.

I went out this morning to Absolute Bagels to get our fresh morning supply. And of course each bagel is hand shaped, hand made. The city is a celebration of hands and feet. People walking to whatever. Mothers and fathers holding hands with their kids leading them off to school. Pet owners holding leashes. At the market, fast skilled hands arrange fruit. On the side streets, repairmen carry tools into apartment buildings, and while you cannot witness the work, or observe the consequences of the work, it is vital and necessary to the city.

Back here at the apartment, I cut fresh strawberries while my Thanksgiving co-conspirators warm bagels on the grill, set the table and plan for the day. I will be headed off to a meeting at Teachers College where we will talk about the hands, the role of Teachers College in the start of the manual training movement. The point of course, is that while we are largely unconscious of the ways through which our hands give shape and meaning to our lives, they are the vibrant irrepressible force in learning. By making conscious effort to engage our children's hands in schools, we have the potential of enlisting our greatest resource in shaping our future.

Chop, cook, serve, make, find conscious delight in the workings of the human hand.