tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post5743822511489747932..comments2024-03-26T07:00:11.620-05:00Comments on Wisdom of the Hands: disdain vs. careDoug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-42821154572259792972010-05-04T16:48:08.201-05:002010-05-04T16:48:08.201-05:00>>That disdain may also be a direct reflecti...>>That disdain may also be a direct reflection of the disdain served upon the workers making the toys and the disdain of the corporate consumer economy served upon all real people involved...<<<br /><br />So what you suggest, John, is that children have a means through which to grasp aspects of the object that can't be seen or even described... qualities of feeling that are present despite the object having been perfectly made almost entirely by machine.<br /><br />I'll offer a 15 year old quote from NPR... "(even) dogs have a way of knowing things"... suggesting that there are ways through which we sense aspects that are outside that which can be observed or explained.Doug Stowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-84378640243267277512010-05-04T15:52:19.852-05:002010-05-04T15:52:19.852-05:00>>Tools for what though? How many kids today...>>Tools for what though? How many kids today have ever held an honest piece of wood; <<<br /><br />Then it is up to each of use to also put a piece of real wood in those young hands. I do it myself at every opportunity.<br /><br />--John<br /> www.HistoricHomeWorks.comjohnleekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14728049151745239568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-57803381547652402022010-05-04T15:50:50.556-05:002010-05-04T15:50:50.556-05:00>>Chinese toys break because they receive ab...>>Chinese toys break because they receive abuse inspired by a quiet disdain from an absence of qualities they fail to represent?<<<br /><br />That disdain may also be a direct reflection of the disdain served upon the workers making the toys and the disdain of the corporate consumer economy served upon all real people involved, judging by some reports I have read about workers' conditions in Chinese factories and the greed of corporate owners.johnleekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14728049151745239568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-74654973227664385152010-05-02T14:23:52.231-05:002010-05-02T14:23:52.231-05:00You've done good work if your students can see...You've done good work if your students can see the value in the wooden things they've made.<br /><br />MarioAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-76493085602030157532010-04-29T22:14:16.671-05:002010-04-29T22:14:16.671-05:00Any kind of tool would do. Mechanics tools would b...Any kind of tool would do. Mechanics tools would be useful. Matt suggested sliderules in an earlier comment. I am particularly drawn to tools that shape wood. Spoon carving knives would be useful, and you would have an extremely hard time stabbing anyone with it if you went postal.<br /><br />Even scissors are getting to be rare implements in children's lives. Can you believe that? We are so focused on putting high tech devices in our children's hands, that we have nearly completely forgotten the basics. I'll look at Kubb, Blocks and Pegs.. Thanks for the suggestion.Doug Stowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-40917517029891520582010-04-29T22:02:29.182-05:002010-04-29T22:02:29.182-05:00Tools for what though? How many kids today have ev...Tools for what though? How many kids today have ever held an honest piece of wood; not plywood or mdf or chipboard. How many women have you seen that can't cook with any knife bigger than a paring knife? <br /><br />Hey, while you're looking at shop projects check out the lawn game Kubb. Blocks and pegs and it's harder than it looks.Pangolinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18369503994505817789noreply@blogger.com