oiling boxes

I've worked for days to reach the point at which I spend a quiet day out of doors applying Danish oil to boxes. The weather is lovely. The autumn colors in the woods surrounding my home are sublime. One more coat on a few boxes and they will be ready to ship on Monday morning.

I've continued reading Milton Bradley's 1907 Quarter Century edition of the Paradise of Childhood, that includes a large section on the life of Friedrich Froebel. It helps to understand his method if you see it in context to his life, just as it helps a beginning teacher to come to terms with teaching through an understanding of the history and evolution of the theories that have shaped modern education.

On the other hand, I can understand why universities don't teach the history of education, for if they were to do so, teachers would be inclined toward adopting progressive methods and become radicals and thorns in the side of administrators who are concerned only for test scores and not about releasing the natural enthusiasm children have for learning.

Frank Lloyd Wright was one of those who attested to the value of Kindergarten. He said, referring to Milton Bradley Kindergarten Blocks his mother purchased for him in the 1876 Philadelphia Worlds Fair Kindergarten exhibit: "The maple-wood blocks...are in my fingers to this day,"

Maya Angelou addressed standardized testing on MSNBC, in an interview with Andrea Mitchell. Our current educational culture is killing our children's interest in reading and in learning. Wood shops can help to put that love back. Our fixation on standardized testing is making a mockery of education. All Americans should see this interview.

Make, fix and create...