Sunday, January 03, 2021

Kappan Online

You'll find me mentioned in this article by Matthew Crawford. https://kappanonline.org/learn-a-trade-crawford/ Phi Delta Kappan is an extremely influential journal for educators, and Matthew Crawford is the author of best selling Shop Class as Soulcraft.

When we are able to get back to normal schooling, it should be based on a new/old model from Educational Sloyd. I repeat myself over and over in the hopes that some will hear and help to forge a path forward. Start with the interests of the child. Move from the known to the unknown, from the easy to more difficult, from the simple to the complex and from the concrete to the abstract.

Jerome Bruner proposed something similar though not so explicit in his concept "scaffolding." But scaffolding is an external structure that provides support and that when removed we hope allows the children to succeed. 

I'm reminded of all the wonderful boxes my students are able to make when I teach at Marc Adams School of Woodworking when I'm there to demonstrate and problem solve with three assistants to do likewise, with wonderful wood provided by the school and with all the equipment set up for student success. Can they all go home and do what they've just done? That's an example of scaffolding. In Educational Sloyd the scaffolding was not external, but inside the child, having started from a firm foundation, the child's interests and concrete experiences granted by doing real things.

Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.



 

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