Measuring growth (and other things)

When my daughter was small we would mark with a pencil on the inside of a door frame how tall she had grown. It was a ritual in which she found pleasure, comparing how tall she was now, in comparison to how tall she was then. The early marks were painted over years ago when we neglected to tell the painter, not to paint in that spot. But the ritual of marking resumed and now there are marks for the growth of our niece Olivia when she comes to visit as well as Lucy's markings into her adult years.

Measuring growth is a good thing. Standardized testing is not. It doesn't measure the things that matter most—the ability and inclination to be of service to others. And the measurement should not be in some kind of abstract form, decipherable only to those with a certain level of expertise.

Last week  I thought I would present an example of finer workmanship to lead the students to attend more deeply to the quality of their work... On the lathe you can take wood to a very fine finish and polish, so I made a cane handle, and polished it a bit more toward perfection. I was hoping to inspire and persuade my students to take their workmanship to a higher level. But they asked, "How did you make it feel like plastic?" 

It's odd that feeling like plastic would be considered a compliment or that it might be considered a good thing, but it points out how little experience the students have in handling real wood outside the shop and how little experience the students have with the levels to which work can be taken. It also suggests that wood is a material that can be appreciated without reaching a level of finish emulating plastic. There are too many things made from plastic already, and things made from real wood may have characteristics and values beyond those expressed through modern manufacturing techniques.

The photos are of Wednesday's work in the Clear Spring School wood shop. Kindergarten students finished making their wooden treasure boxes and the outdoor studies class made bird sculptures, having so much fun that they want to resume the project next week.

Make, fix and create...