about the weather...

Winter weather is a common topic of conversation in the midwest. Last night I was at my nephew's wedding and we were talking about how mild this winter has been. An old gentleman interjected that it has nothing to do with global warming. He suggested that when the earth emerged from the last ice age, there were no automobiles in sight. I suggested that he become more acquainted with science, scientific method, etc. But in his mind, science is corrupt.

I wish good luck to us all. Education in which right and wrong answers and not scientific method are the primary fare, leaves citizenry so seriously misinformed that the world is put at serious risk.

During the turn of the century, from the 19th to the 20th, it was recognized that an informed citizenry was necessary to the safety of democracy. In order for citizens to be fully informed, students (future citizens) would require a means through which to sift and sort information to get at the truth. That meant in part that they would be engaged in learning not just what they were told by others, but through direct engagement in reality.

Charles H. Hamm had said that the mind seeks the truth but the hands find. That is only true to the degree that the hands are actively engaged in the search for truth.

Woodworking and crafts were part of the means through which aptitude would be constructed as a foundation for greater understanding. One cannot whittle a stick without observation, reflection, and the use of fundamental scientific method. But for those whose education stopped too soon, on platitudes and facts, and without reflection, the world is simply a place where you believe what-ever-you-want, with the beliefs that guide your participation in democracy are derived from your tv network of choice.

Make, fix, create and pray that others learn likewise