Today several of my high school students worked on the lathe making various things. Clayton wanted to make a small ball bat which he says is to whack his older brother on the leg. Others practiced their skills with far less malicious intent. Samantha advised that there is a significant difference between karma and revenge. When you take matters into your own hands, like with a small ball bat, it's revenge and not karma. The small ball bat is not exactly the Clear Spring way to solve problems, but perhaps with a bit of skill demonstrated, big brother will back off without the need for whacking, and the ball bat is no more dangerous than other things an older brother might pick up.
I saved a .pdf file of the article about Clear Spring School from yesterday's Democrat-Gazette. You can download it Here,"EUREKA SPRINGS Private school fosters diverse learning styles."
One of the things not mentioned in the article is the CSS focus on conflict resolution, and skills in interpersonal relationships are probably the most important skills that children can learn in school. We routinely drop everything to help children learn how to get along with each other and resolve their differences, with justice and peace.
I hope Clayton and his brother find some way to settle their differences.
ReplyDeleteMario