the wall between

Parents have been sold a bill of goods by the insistence by educational policy makers (and society at large) that college is the only pathway to success. Parents drum into their kids, "You are going to college, you are going to college," and it may not be what every student needs. In some cases they are engineered into situations in which massive debt is accrued for degrees they do not receive and do not use.

For example, I have a college degree in political science, but it was pottery class that offered the greater impact in my life.

This article suggests that parents should overcome their resistance and understand that a son or daughter choosing trade school over college would not be such a bad thing. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/03/choosing-trade-school-over-college/584275/

I go a step farther forward. The artificial wall constructed between academic pursuits and hand skills at all levels of education should be torn down. The Froebel play ground  I've made at the Clear Spring School can serve as an example. It is constantly being rearranged to serve student desires.

The rearrangements seem limitless, even with only 8 large blocks and three plastic barrels. On Wednesday I watched students lifting and rearranging blocks. The blocks are large enough to require two or three children to lift and move, so each arrangement is a creative collaboration. I made the point of adding only a few components at a time to give them time to exhaust possibilities before growing on, and have watched as the students have taught each other.

"Help me do this," asked of one student by another is an invitation to consciousness. With that question, one admits humility: that he or she is not strong enough to act alone, but is also put in a position in which he or she can share observations and intent. The request, "help me do this," can also be from an adult to a child, and is thereby an invitation into adult responsibility. It is quietly instructional, for real purpose. All education, in an active school is like that. The learning comes as much from the doing as from instruction.

Imagine if all schools were like that. All academic work would be done at deeper levels and  learning would be retained to greater lasting effect.

Yesterday, being off from school for conferences and not being needed, and the weather being just right, I went to House Handle Factory in Cassville, Missouri to get scraps for using in woodturning and making wheels. I hit the jackpot, loaded my truck with a two year supply and left plenty for others to enjoy.

Make, fix and create...