Mario Nunez in Buffalo, NY was kind enough to respond with his observations of teachers. Mario is a teacher himself. He teaches computers for ESL students at Erie Community college and also saved the wood working program from elimination. He says:

"Now that was a tough question. There was my eighth grade teacher (Portland, Oregon), a nun who had us all compose the Christmas music for a class project, rather than just play the usual stuff. A biology teacher in 10th grade (Moscow, Idaho) who told me I was in charge of the class hamster. A physics teacher in 12th grade (Buffalo) who made science seem like fun, doing things like bringing a Slinkie to class to teach wave motion. He ended up being my son Raul's physics teacher toward the end of his career.

What has made the job of teaching easier for me, and I suspect easier for the students, has been my absolute refusal to take myself too seriously, to ever believe that I am somehow important *because* I'm a teacher. And I try to do what the teachers I remembered did for me, which was to reach out, to communicate, to take an interest. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes I do it well and sometimes I don't."

I think Mario has given some good pointers for effective teaching: Stretch things beyond the usual stuff, making it fun. Challenge your students with responsibility. Maintain a sense of humor. Reach out and take an interest in students. "Try" is a magic word, because we know that things don't always work. As The Courage To Teach by Parker Palmer suggests, there is no perfect teacher. Each may have days that leave him or her feeling much less than adequate, and days when for incomprehensible causes, things just work. Thanks Mario.

The photo above is of Mario at work as my teaching assistant in a box making class at Arrowmont in 2002. That brings up another important quality found in good teachers. They never get tired of learning.

In the wood shop today at Clear Spring School, the 7th and 8th graders worked on canes to give to the needy at our local free medical clinic. At left is Reid, doing the final sanding on his cane. Also at left is Dylan, putting the finishing touches on his archery bow. The limbs for the bow were vacuum laminated using Roarockit Skateboard laminating kits.

I'm going to ask my small group of readers to share a bit with others on the blog. You can send your notes to me, or leave them using the comments function. You can email me directly through the link at right or click the comments link below. The questions are: Who was your favorite teacher and why? What qualities did he or she bring to the job of teaching that made him or her stand out? Was that teacher in school, or before or after?

This may be a bust. Who knows whether there will be anyone in the small group of readers willing to take time to respond. Or it may be too much! I have so many teachers in and out of school that could be discussed at length. They were all different. There seems to be no exacting formula. One thing I did notice was that they did let me know very clearly that they cared deeply me and my life and about something the regarded as important in theirs.

Mrs. Mummert was my 6th grade teacher. I moved with my family to Omaha, Nebraska when my father was transfered by the company he worked for. I had a thick southern accent, having grown up to that point in Memphis, Tennessee and deep southern Mississippi, so it was a challenge to fit in. Omaha is that place on earth where the English language is spoken without distinct accent. Mrs. Mummert noticed that I could write. She encouraged me to think of myself as a skilled writer and encouraged my mother to see my abilities. I don't have a clear mental image of her, but I know that her presence left a very strong imprint on my life. Anyone dare to go next? I think we can narrow down in a very short time the qualities most important for effective teaching. I'm curious also if we can draw a clear link to the hands.

Here are a few of the things teachers are expected to do: Plan activities for students in advance, written as lesson plans that can be followed by substitutes in the event of their absence. Deliver those lessons. Prepare tests and other means of measuring performance, then submit reports on student performance. Protect the students from harm, injury, hurt feelings, bullying, and the consequences of poor judgment. Serve as a role model for reasonable (if not inspirational) adult behavior.

Some of these tasks are administrative, and some involve actual delivery of instruction. Some teachers are good at the administrative end, and may not be so hot in the rest of it. Some teachers are energetic, creative and enthusiastic with a classroom of students, conveying a great love of learning, and may be faulty at their administrative duties.

Are familiar with the Myers-Briggs personality index? It provides insight into personality types and is useful in developing greater understanding of ourselves and each other. If you place credence in such things your realize that it takes a variety of personality types to make the world work and to make our civilization interesting and successful. From an administrative standpoint, the best teachers are the ones who get their grades in on time and fulfill their administrative duties on time and without complaint. From the standpoint of a student, looking for excitement, enthusiasm and engagement in learning, the best teacher may be someone else, entirely.

Just as all teachers are different, most teaching environments are different as well. Some have a higher tolerance than others for a creative curriculum that may risk occasional disruption or even failure. How about teaching the kids to carve with knives? That would create panic in most schools.

If you look at schools in a simplistic manner, you might see them as roughly spaced along a line stretching from cold administrative order to an extreme of creativity bordering on chaos. Along that line, most schools are clustered tightly at the cold end. There is little room in those schools for the kinds of teachers who come to school unprepared, but fully engaged through their creative imaginations to motivate, inspire, and model the kinds of enthusiastic engagement that students will need to live inspired lives.

I became interested in Myers-Briggs when I went through a episode of depression and sought help from a therapist. I have a tendency to live my life on the edge of creative chaos and I'm married to a librarian. One of my wife's major talents is to push chaos into the far reaches of life. Do you know about the Dewey Decimal System?

One of the things you learn from Myers-Briggs is that we are different within a range and that we have different strengths and what I'm hesitant to call weaknesses. They are natural to us and are part of what makes humanity interesting and diverse. Allowance for diversity energizes the school environment. It makes a school more like real life and opens the doors for real life to become a much greater part of the learning experience.

My point here is to speak on behalf of the messy artist type (no that is not one of the named Myers-Briggs types). Messy artists enliven the school atmosphere, infect the children with creative notions and confidence. They may not be the best at getting report cards done on time. They may seem scattered and ill prepared. They may push buttons and push limits. But make way, remember Myers-Briggs and let yourself be surprised by the results... Having been a part of Clear Spring School, I can tell you what happens. The students love learning, and love of learning travels with them as they move through life.

Joe Novak had asked that I post some comments for students, but I would also like to post some comments for teachers. Teachers come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Some people are even teachers without knowing it. I'm reminded of a friend's father, who at the age of 92 would go out to the yard and exchange his walker for the lawn mower. He needed something to keep from losing his balance, but he wasn't going to give up on caring for his lawn. He taught countless others through his example. In fact, some regarded him as an inspiration.

There are many factors involved in teaching, and while some administrators and politicians would like to think of teachers as one size fits all and easily adaptable to the delivery of a scripted and rigidly controlled curriculum, each teacher is in fact unique. Each comes to the job with life-learned skills, interests and expectations. Each has a deeply ingrained personality type which will make him or her better at certain jobs than others. The diversity of teaching styles and personality types can make a more creative and meaningful school life, and have greater potential to serve a wide range of students. A good school will help to engage students in more than just books, passing tests and getting on to college or a career. It should interest and empower them to become citizens capable of understanding diverse personalities, and help create in them a better understanding of themselves.

Tomorrow, or later today, I hope to go discuss some of the various aspects of teaching, and the diverse and important qualities that teachers bring to their schools.

I feel a deep sense of gratitude to a friend in Sweden, Hans Thorbjörnsson, who is the curator of Otto Salomon's letters and library in Nääs, Sweden. We began corresponding in late 2001, and he was my host when I visited in Nääs last May. He has been a wonderful resource in helping me to gain a better understanding of Educational Sloyd. The following is from personal correspondence from Hans:

Otto Salomon and the knife:
80 percent of the Swedish people were living in the countryside about 1880, mostly farmers or farm workers and their families. Almost every farmer and worker wore a knife and used it daily. The boys took part in the farm work from 8-10 years of age, going to school a few hours a day or every other day. Even these young boys used the knife in a natural way; they could handle it and were seldom injured. Of course Salomon was aware of this – and he is using this knowledge already in his early articles and books. (And he knew that the knife was the most common and most important tool of homesloyd.)

It was an old tradition in Swedish farm homes sitting around the stove making utensils to be used in the kitchen or the farm work. This tradition was weakened from about 1860 (the growing industry made these utensils faster and cheaper) – perhaps the most important reason why sloyd was introduced in the elementary school (the “folkskola”).

Translated from ”Om slöjden såsom uppfostringsmedel” i Ur vår tids forskning, 1884. p. 86-87
(The knife) can be looked upon as the fundamental tool in Sloyd, especially as its usefulness is so manifold. With the knife alone many pieces of work can be completed. The knife is so easy to obtain and convenient to carry. From simple objects made with a knife, it is advisable to proceed to more difficult works through step by step introduction of new tools, new hand-operations, new kinds of joints, woods more difficult to work, and more complicated shapes.”

Salomon was very fond of quoting the Norwegian Christian Jacobsen from his book I slöidsagen. Et indlaeg (Oslo ,1892) (not an exact translation)

When using the knife the child is learning to use the muscles of the hand and the forearm with elastic capacity (proficiency?). The child learns to plan in advance the form he is going to bring about. The knife demands total attention and permits no mechanical work. Furthermore the knife can produce – unlike the plane as an example – curved surfaces in form work. This makes the knife superior when it comes to development of sense of form and beauty.

I realize that knives aren't allowed in most schools, and even during the early days of Sloyd, knives were controversial outside Sweden. It is a shame, though that instead of allowing children to know it as a useful and creative tool, Hollywood and the gaming industry implant images in children's minds of dreadful things. Students of today would do better for themselves and their development by putting down the video and computer games that occupy their spare time and picking up a knife. Learn to whittle and carve. You will learn more about wood and its interesting qualities with a knife than with any power tool. You will need to learn to keep it sharp, but you will never need batteries. The photo above and below is of sloyd knives I bought in flea markets in Sweden. Both were made in Mora, a city still famous for its knives.

Making Crooked Knives

This article first appeared in the April 2006 Woodwork Magazine No. 98

Crooked knives are small knives with bent blades, handy for hollowing spoons or other small wooden items. I first became familiar with crooked knives when I attended a yurt-building workshop taught by Bill Coperthwaite from Maine. Bill, who is head of the Yurt Institute has been actively involved in education for many years, teaching yurt building but also sharing a philosophy of life based on voluntary simplicity, profound respect for human cultures and passionate regard for nature. I noticed during the workshop that whenever Bill wasn’t busy sawing or actively instructing the work of others, and whenever there was a pause for conversation, Bill was busy carving something in his hands. When I asked what he was doing, he showed me a small precisely carved spoon he was making from a persimmon branch and the small crooked knife he was using to hollow its bowl. He explained that many native cultures had a version of the crooked knife and that his travels and studies had led him to the far north where he learned to make crooked knives from an Eskimo boat maker.

Inspired by Bill’s crooked knives, we made knives at Clear Spring School, but we made them out of solid scrap blanks of tool steel given me by a plane maker friend and while they turned out well, they also were time consuming and complicated to make. In the fall of 2004, I attended a New England Association of Woodworking Teachers meeting at Moses Brown School in Providence Rhode Island. Among the activities planned for the meeting, was making crooked knives. Having some prior experience in making and using crooked knives; I looked forward to the chance to see how another teacher would approach this challenge. It was an activity I really didn’t want to miss.

Ironically, Bob Elliot, middle school shop teacher at Moses Brown had also learned about crooked knives from Bill Coperthwaite, but he had obviously paid more attention to his lessons. The simplicity of his design allowed all the teachers to make knives and begin carving in less than an hour. This inspired me to once again involve my students in the making of knives, but using the additional knowledge gained from Bob. While Bob Elliot used an old hand saw as a source for the blade stock, At Clear Spring, we used an old 1” wide band saw blade with the teeth dulled on the belt sander, and while we used thin bungee cord to wrap the knives in Providence, at Clear Spring we used leather scraps. While our crooked knives were not as beautiful as the one I first saw in Bill Coperthwaite’s hand, ours, being made from a worn out band saw blade by students who then turned them to the carving of wood, carried a sense of practical beauty that I’m sure Bill will understand.

You can learn more about Bill Coperthwaite from his book, A Handmade Life

Today was a busy day at the Eureka Springs Post Office for the Stowe family. Lucy got an acceptance packet from Wesleyan in Connecticut. It is a good school. Not her top choice, but it is nice to know that there are others who recognize the value of her hard work. It is one more important bit of information that will bring Lucy closer to a final decision.

I got a contract in the mail for an article in Fine Woodworking. I wrote it last week and most of the photography was done last month when editor, Tom Begnal was here.

I got royalty statements from Taunton for my books and DVD. It is nice to see that things are selling, making them money, (and me money) and that I will have a check coming.

The 4th good thing was a flyer from the Woodworker's Book Club which I've scanned as an image above. It shows my new book and DVD as the main selection. This will be great for sales. The book and DVD are listed together for a package price of $29.95 and if you send in your payment at the time the order is placed, shipping is free.

I spent the evening cheering for Lucy's soccer team. It is one sport where you are penalized for using your hands and your head is used mainly as a blunt instrument for bashing the ball. Is there something to be discovered in this?

When you work with cherry, you will find that it burns very easily from just a bit too much friction. Like many fruit woods, it has a high sugar content, and the sugars carmelize when exposed to heat. Even a very sharp router bit can cause burn if the speed isn't just right, or if it lingers too long in one spot, and it is a particular problem on end grain where it is hardest to sand.

I've been working this morning on custom cherry pulls for some bathroom cabinets. To make them, I used a combination of techniques on the table saw and router table, and now I'm down to the hard part... sanding the burn. I tried hand sanding with sand paper wrapped around a dowel. It was taking far too long. I finally had to re-rout for a cleaner surface and then set up with a sandpaper wrapped dowel in the drill press. And this is just step one. They will have to be sanded again after being firmly attached to the drawers.

Much of the pleasure I find in woodworking is the discovery of new ways to do old things, and nearly every piece of furniture I've made has challenged my creativity and led to the refinement of techniques toward greater efficiency and quality.

So today as in most days, I get to do things I've never done before. I learned years ago that things don't always go right, but never wrong enough that I can't fix them or start over. When I discover new things, I remember them, refine them and at some point am able to use them to teach others. It can be frustrating at times, but frustration beats boredom, hands down.

The photo above is of the cherry drawer pulls.

Heaven and Hell

There was a samurai who asked his master, "What is the difference between heaven and hell?" The master took the samurai’s sword, turned it to the flat of the blade, and struck the samurai on the head. The samurai was surprised at this but chose to ignore it. He thought that the master had failed to understand his question. He again asked, "What is the difference between heaven and hell?" Again the master struck the samurai on the head. The samurai staggered back puzzled over this. He approached with his question for a third time and before he could utter a word, the master struck him again. The samurai was so enraged that he grabbed his sword from the master, raised it over his head and was prepared to strike when the master raised one finger and the samurai paused.

"That is hell," said the master.

The samurai was overcome by the courage of this frail old man - to have risked his life for the sake of his question - that he fell to his knees and bowed before the master.

"That is heaven," said the master.

Make a fist. Are you ready to protect your home or your honor? Do you sense a change in yourself as your fingers curl and tighten into a hard object, useful for striking, hammering and nothing more? Now, extend your hand open and outward, palm upwards. Do you feel as if you might receive a gift? There are energies flowing in the hands that some are sensitive to and that some are not. The Chinese call these energies Chi and the energies and what we choose to do with them defines us as human beings.

Geoffrey Canada, founder of the Harlem Children's Zone, wrote a book called Fist Stick Knife Gun. about the way these objects impact our relationship to ourselves, our communities, and lead the tragic escalation of violence in America. Canada's book is relevant to the earlier discussion of the impact of our choice of tools on our essential human qualities.

Can you see how our choice of tools may define us? This is a complex subject that enters into the essence of our humanity. There are tools that scream of expedience, and even anger, that leave tragic markings. They may be large tools with no sensitivity to the earth or the wild and precious things that the thoughtful gardener, armed only with a trowel would notice, cherish and preserve. There are tools that deliver violence whether on purpose or by grave mistake. The wisdom of the hands calls us to take notice and make choices. Through very simple choices, we, through the use of our hands re-create ourselves for greater purpose.

Tools are instruments by which the hands give expression to thought. - Gustaf Larsson

If you begin looking at tools, you will notice they come in all sizes. I have a friend Arlie who has the big ones. If you need to move a mountain of dirt, call Arlie. He has large trucks, back hoes, track hoes, cranes, bulldozers and a very large road grader. He is an expert in the use of each, and can do some really amazing and rather sensitive work with his tools. If his tools aren't large enough or powerful enough, he knows how to use dynamite. But please don't invite Arlie to your flower garden. The results would be disastrous. Even his smallest back hoe takes too large a bite.

It has been said that every tool leaves it mark. This is true until more subtle tools remove the marks of those used before. If you cut an edge with the band saw, the markings are rough. A hand plane will remove those marks and leave more subtle markings of its own. A table saw will leave markings on the edge of the wood. A sanding block will remove those, and by moving through a progression of sanding grits, the markings are reduced to microscopic proportions. Pretty obvious, right? We move in a progression of tools from coarse to fine, each in turn to "give expression to thought."

There are more subtle things going on at the same time. It is obvious that the man uses the tool to shape the wood. It may be less obvious that the tool shapes the man. If you want to check this out, buy a back hoe. You can find a good one for about $80,000. Spend enough time on it to get good at its operation. You will find yourself digging ditches and foundations to offset the capital investment. You will be very busy. Take care of business and treat people with respect and like my friend Arlie, you will be respected in your community. But people won't ask you to garden.

Tomorrow, or later today, I hope to talk about chisels and the hand.

At this moment, I'm at the new library in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This is my first visit and it is a beautiful facility. I brought my laptop and am logged in to the wireless system.

There are wonderful things that being married and having a family bring to a guy. First off, I married into a love of libraries. My wife Jean has been the director of our Carnegie Library for many years, and is now both director of that library and director of the two county library system. So, while the Fayetteville library is kind of a cold, new place in comparison with our very much loved and incomparable Carnegie in Eureka Springs, it is a library, and libraries are the best man-made places on earth.

I came to Fayetteville this morning because this is one of the last trips I'll make as a "ballet dad." I'm a "soccer dad," too, but my daughter Lucy has been a dancer from the time she was three and demonstrated for me how she could spell her name by moving quickly, shape to shape through the letters of her name. We have logged thousands of car miles taking Lucy to lessons in Berryville, Fayetteville and Rogers as she has moved through a progression of teachers and performances. Today I am here as Lucy has her dress rehearsal. The performances are tonight and tomorrow.

I guess I should be talking today about the "wisdom of the feet." Or maybe I should be talking about "the wisdom of the body," as described in poetry by former United States Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz. It was Stanley Kunitz's writings that led me to the title of our Wisdom of the Hands program at Clear Spring School.

Kunitz once said poems are "born of the wisdom of the body." And he deliberately kept his tools simple. Physical. Pencils, paper and an old manual typewriter. "I usually start with notes and keep pushing ahead in my notebook, working with pencil or pen," he said. "And at a certain point when I feel the poem is beginning to roll, I turn to my trusty old Hermes 3000 and I start to type."

We hear so much about the brain these days. There is a great deal of excitement as researchers are enabled for the first time to view the inner workings of this mysterious organ.

But it is always a mistake to look too closely at the parts without the essential understanding of the whole. I am reminded of some of my first efforts at investigating the mechanical world. When I was 4 or 5 years old and for several years after, my father would give me anything that stopped working, along with a screw driver and whatever wrenches were required to take it apart. I found great pleasure in the discovery of the inner workings of things, in the same way that scientists now are discovering the inner workings of the human brain. My own enthusiasm got the best of me when I decided to take my sister's sewing machine apart. I wanted to see how it worked and what was going on inside, but not having any knowledge of the whole of it, my efforts had a devastating outcome. I couldn't for the life of me put the darned thing back together so that it would work.

Have you been to car dealers to look at the latest models? They are burying the working parts under shrouds of plastic, barring the consumer from the discovery of complexity and depriving him or her from even a glimpse of the inner workings of the machine. The effort, no doubt, is to give the buyer a sense of simplicity. Simplicity can be re-assuring in a complex world. But, in the meantime, we are building a world of simpletons... mechanical morons who have no sense of the inner workings of things, and who lack confidence in their abilities to take apart, to fix and maintain and are doomed to the endless cycle of unsustainable earth-wracking consumption.

There is something wonderful about ballet. It engages the feet and the hands and the body in the creation of form and movement that uplifts the spirit. I have to say that Lucy's love of ballet opened that world for me. Today, she is performing a dance choreographed by her favorite ballet teacher. It is a simple story told on stage of a simpler time. Having seen it in the past, I can hardly write this moment without the tears forming in my eyes from the remembrance of incredible beauty. I will get to see it again this evening, and then again tomorrow afternoon. The brain is a wonderful organ, but it is nothing without the body, and the brain without the dance of the heart, or the wisdom of the hand might just as well be pickled in a jar. It is what Stanley Kunitz brings to mind in the Wisdom of the Body, and what I hope comes to mind in your reading of this blog.

My time as a ballet dad is drawing to a close. I am thankful to have had one more chance to bring Lucy to her dance... I am thankful also to be sitting in the Fayetteville Public library, watching the Saturday morning parade of fathers, mothers, daughters and sons in their weekly pilgrimage to the joy of reading. What the heart desires, the feet proceed toward without a moment of hesitation. As I close here on my laptop, my fingers still on the keys, I observe through the corners of my eyes the parade of feet. Large and small, driven by the heart toward the engagement of the mind and spirit. Do we call it wisdom, or knowledge, or wisdom of the feet? Or of the whole person... Mr. Kunitz' wisdom of the body? Is it all covered by a plastic shroud, beyond the comprehension of the human spirit? I'll just sit here and watch a few moments more. If I discover something, I'll let you know. The photo above is our Carnegie Public Library in Eureka Springs.

Just a bit more for students...It is interesting that young men and women will spend hours practicing their free throws. There is a meditative quality to dribbling the ball, aligning the posture and putting the ball through the hoop. It feels good even if you aren't part of a team. If you are on a team you may work extra hard preparing for the game, knowing that you wouldn't want to let the team down in a close one, and knowing that the cheers of the crowd would feel great if you sink it.

It may seem a stretch to compare basketball with the hours spent in the wood shop developing skill to do beautiful work. But the interior mental "zone" is the same. The state of "flow" is the same. You know in the wood shop when you sink it. There are rim shots and swishers, and some shots that miss. The thing you don't have is the crowd. Those who appreciate your work the most will do so when you aren't around. They may enjoy it in the privacy of their homes, when a detail or a surface catches the attention of a hand or eye. In basketball, when the game is over and your team has won or lost, the cheering or sadness fades quickly.

When you make something out of wood, if it is beautifully made, and useful enough to gain a sheltered place in someone's home, it will last for generations. Long after the game has passed, and even after the players have gone from the earth, the well crafted object will live on and carry with it, the attention and devotion of its maker. What you make in the wood shop can be an expression of your highest aspirations and abilities and be treasured far beyond your own times. You may never hear the applause. You may never even know those who most treasure your work. But that should never stop you from taking the shot.

The photo above is of a redbud taken this morning in the woods outside my home.

This is just a bit more for students, Joe... There is a thing that happens to those who know too much. It is the SawZen equivalent of the full cup. For instance, if you've grown up listening to Andre Segovia play the guitar or listened carefully to each of his albums, and then pick up a guitar for the first time and try to play, you will be disappointed. No matter what you do in your first efforts, you won't come within miles of your expectations, and you may lose heart. You would be better off playing as a beginner with no preconceived notions, and let the instrument steal your attention and hook you deeply in the gills. Later, you can take lessons, or listen to albums and learn even greater potentials for yourself and the instrument.

It is the same with woodworking. You can spend too many months reading the magazines and end up disappointed in your own work. It is better to start as a beginner, unconstrained by knowing too much. Just do it. Decide on a plan and follow through. Make something. I guarantee that it won't be your finest work (that is yet to come). But it will hook you on the process. Growth is always a process. It takes time. It may take all your attention for a time. It is a choice. We invest in something, or we slide. If great things came easy everyone else would have done it first. When you get a few pieces of woodworking done, and think that you are quite the master, look at the pages of Woodwork magazine or Fine Woodworking or attend a craft show. You will see work that will challenge you and inspire your next round of growth. Then go for it. Do some more. At some point, your work will offer challenge, inspiration and encouragement to others.

The secret of growth...

Prince Wen Hu's cook was carving up an ox. Every touch of his hand, every heave of his shoulder, every step of his foot, every thrust of his knee, with the slicing and parting of the flesh, and the zinging of the knife- all was in perfect rhythm...

Prince Wen Hui remarked,"How wonderfully have you mastered your art."

The cook laid down his knife and said, "What your servant really cares for is Tao, which goes beyond mere art. When I first began to cut up oxen, I saw nothing but oxen. After three years of practicing, I no longer saw the ox as a whole. I now work with my spirit, not with my eyes. My senses stop functioning and my spirit takes over. I follow the natural grain, letting the knife find its way through the many hidden openings, taking advantage of what is there, never touching a ligament or a tendon, much less a main joint.

"A good cook changes his knife once a year because he cuts, while a mediocre cook has to change his every month because he hacks. I've had this knife of mine for nineteen years and have cut up thousands of oxen with it, and yet the edge is as if it were fresh from the grindstone. There are spaces between the joints. The blade of the knife has no thickness. That which has no thickness has plenty of room to pass through these spaces. Therefore, after nineteen years, my blade is as sharp as ever. However, when I come to a difficulty, I size up the joint, look carefully, and work slowly. Then with a very slight movement of the knife, I cut the whole ox wide open. It falls apart like a clod of earth, crumbling to the ground. I stand there with the knife in my hand, looking about me with a feeling of accomplishment and delight. Then I wipe the knife clean and put it away."

"Well done!" said the Prince. "From the words of my cook, I have learned the secret of growth."

Source: Gia-fu Feng, Jane English, Chuang-tsu. Inner Chapters. New York, Random House 1974, p. 55.

There is a thing that can happen when you are thoroughly engaged in the task at hand. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is a book dedicated to the experience described by Chuang-tsu. The same experience has also been described as being in the "zone." Most craftsmen and artists know that space. In it, time stands still. You have to work to arrive in the zone, but once there, it pulls you in and invites your return, but the development of an ever increasing level of skill is the price of admission. At some point you awaken to see the wonderful work you have accomplished. People will ask how you did it. It is just as the cook describes. Csikszentmihalyi's book is a popular one because anyone who has ever worked hard for something has encountered the "flow" experience at some point and can relate.

Today is a big day for my daughter Lucy and for many high school seniors throughout the US. She will hear today from various schools we've been waiting on for the decision of where she will go to college. Will she be accepted is one question. Another is can we afford it? The schools she would like to attend cost more per year than either I or my wife make in annual salary, so financial assistance will be part of the package we will have to consider. My wife, Jean and I are pleased that Lucy has worked hard and has ambitions about where to go with her life. But, as a friend of mine once said, "It's a doggie-dog world." There are no magic wands that mothers and fathers can wave to bring children to their happiest moments and fulfillment of dreams. And we know that dealing with disappointment can be a more important lesson than success.

We heard this morning from a friend in Norway whose son has been admitted to an asylum in Amsterdam for drug addiction. Our hearts go out to Kari, her son and her family.

It is all enough to make me wonder. As Kari said, "It is time for prayers, I'm just a mother. I've done all that a mother can do." Don't we all wish at times like this that there was more that we could do? And don't we also hope that inherent in the human soul is the seed of something larger that grows and triumphs over our moments of disappointment, anguish or despair?

Lucy wore brown this morning in hopes of her acceptance at her school of choice. She is bound for success and has the world by the tail, whatever the world of colleges and universities presents. We have our fingers crossed that she gets the educational opportunities she needs and has worked very hard to deserve. And there are children in the world that need more than crossed fingers... how about hands in prayer?

And I have to say, I'm not a praying man... I would prefer practical action to change society and change values so that all people can gain the insight and wisdom that comes through the creative efforts of their own hands. I have seen the value of creativity and the arts in my own life. So put your hands in prayer for just a moment. It may help. Then put your hands to work... putting hands-on education back in all schools. It would help. The photo above is of new leaves on the Japanese maple in our front yard.

John Grossbohlin sent me the photo at left of his son Jesse cutting dovetails as a demonstration in the Northeastern Woodworker's Association's Woodworker's Showcase this last weekend. The photo is from the Saratoga County Post Star newspaper. His sons took 2nd place in competition with 16 year olds. John claimed an honorable mention. The most important thing was the amount of interest Jesse and Joshua gathered for woodworking with kids. In addition to Jesse being featured in the Post Star, Joshua was in the Gazette. It sounds like it was a great weekend. The photo below is of Jesse and Joshua demonstrating hand-cut dovetails.

A woodworking teacher friend, Joe Novak suggested that I, every once in a while write something in the blog for students. And as Joe rightly points out, "we are all students," so it is hard for me to know what to say, except to talk to myself, which is what writing in a blog tends to be like. You really don't know if anyone is out there except when someone like Joe Novak, or Joe Barry, or Mario Nunez takes the time to write.

When you are a student in school, there are some perceived barriers. There are old guys (and gals) running around that seem to have lost their cool years ago. In many schools, students look right past these old guys (and gals) without noticing. You may learn not to jump on top of the bookcases when they are in the room or throw stuff in the hallways when they are in sight... if they notice you they might send you to the office where you'll have to endure stern looks and lectures, sidelining you from the action with friends. So you do keep an eye out for them just to avoid trouble, but you don't take much time to look close. So, here goes, something for students from an old guy. Don't worry, I won't try to be cool. Just real.

Something you may notice about learning. It can be fun to learn new things. Most people love learning if they give it a chance. Learning is why human beings have survived as a species and why we have music and iPods. We have the music because people learned how to play, how to sing, and arrange and record. Surprisingly, most learned through long hours of practice. We have iPods because other people learned about the fundamental nature of reality and then how electrons move through circuit boards and chips, and memory cards. Surprisingly, this started back with Ben Franklin and a bunch of other goofy intellectuals in the 18th century and has been building every day ever since. Human beings learned how to make things, starting with stone tools and wood starting way back at the dawn of human time. The funny thing that you may not know is that most learning doesn't happen in school. Even when you are not in school, you are learning important things. So you can see that what Joe said about us all being students is an important thing, and it never stops.

One of the things you will notice about learning is that learning is more fun than being taught. So if you have an interest in having a fun life, plan a life in which you are challenged to learn something new each day, even if it is in school. I'm not talking about getting the facts or forming an opinion. Facts will help you win a game of trivial pursuit, and that might impress your friends for a minute or so, but the real challenge is in learning a skill. The difference between learning facts and learning a skill is that a fact might make you feel smart, but a skill will enable you to do smart things that make your life better, improve the lives of others in your community, build a career, and change the world. To make the world a better place means we have to work to get better and then better and better at something.

Schools these days seem to be much more about knowledge than about skill, which is a shame, but there are still important skills you can learn there...simple things that will pay off big in life. Reading with precise understanding is a skill. Doing math is a skill. Doing anything with accuracy involves skill, whether it involves lab work in chemistry, or shaping a clay pot on a wheel. Some skills are inside the head and involve the clear processing of information. Some skills are equally in the hand, like the cutting of a dovetail joint. Skill only arises in a person's life if he or she cares enough about things to work and develop over time. In other words, skill is all about caring. And the very sad thing about schools is that caring doesn't seem to be regarded as cool.

Have you ever noticed how teens will joke and kid each other? Have you noticed that sometimes things can get carried away, leading to fights or hurt feelings? Have you noticed that sometimes people just hurt other people on purpose because it somehow makes them feel more powerful? One of the scary things about caring about something is that it can become the point at which you express your vulnerability. If you are cool and don't care, the mean ones don't have a place against which to launch their attack. But if you care and openly express your caring, they can tease, they can taunt, and they can torment. It is like wearing a target for the oppressors. So the life of a teen in America is not an easy one.

A quality life, which is what all teachers hope for all students, all comes down to care. You've got to care to make it, whether in debate class, on the sports field, or in the wood shop. Life is only a bit about knowledge. It is much more about skill, and skill only comes through taking a chance on being teased and tormented and caring even when it isn't cool.

Now, I would like to explain an important thing about teachers. This applies to teachers in general, and much more to woodworking teachers. Teachers have the responsibility to keep students safe in their learning. In the wood shop, we have sharp blades and chisels and things spinning at high speeds that can sever fingers or poke eyes. Parents get really mad if they think that their children are in danger. When you are a parent, you will understand this. But for now, just take my word for it. In addition, teachers have some responsibilities to the people that hired them. In our school, for instance we have a sprinkler system and for some reason the sprinklers don't have protective cages over them. If they were hit by a soccer ball inside during lunch, the sprinkler heads could go off and flood the building. Being an adult, I see the possibilities. I've been around long enough to see some awful things happen. Having dealt in the past with a flooded building, it is the kind of incident I don't want to repeat. So, despite my being kind of a nice guy at the core, I get tired of having to repeat the same thing over and over again... and I get just as bored having to stop impulsive, thoughtless or dangerous behavior as some of the students I have to talk to must feel about hearing me. So cut your teachers a bit of slack. Notice them sometimes. Thank them if you get a chance. They've worked and learned and practiced their skills to get their chance to take part in your life and your education.

That's all for now. I didn't intend to write so much. This is way too long for any student in his right mind to read at one sitting. Sorry, Joe, you did ask for it.

Johan Amos Comenius, (1592-1671): "Let nothing be prescribed as a memory-task that has not previously been impressed by means of the ear, the eye, the tongue, the hand. Let nothing be learned by authority, but by demonstration, sensible and rational. Above all, never teach words without things, even in the vernacular; and whatever the pupils see, hear, taste, or touch, let them name. The tongue and the intelligence should advance on parallel lines. For the beginning of knowledge is from pure sense, not from words; and truth and certitude are testified to by the evidence of the senses. The senses are the most faithful stewards of the memory. The study of language should run parallel with the study of things, especially in youth, for we desire to form men, not parrots."

Friedrich Froebel, (1782-1852): "Man only understands thoroughly that which he is able to produce."

Sir James Chrichton Browne (1840-1938): "It is plain that the highest functional activity of these motor centres is a thing to be aimed at with a view to general mental power as well as with a view to muscular expertness; and as the hand centres hold a prominent place among the motor centres, and are in relation with an organ in which prehension, in touch and in a thousand different combinations of movement, adds enormously to our intellectual resources, thought,and sentiments, it is plain that the highest possible functional activity of these hand centres is of paramount importance not less to mental grasp than to industrial success." "Depend upon it that much of the confusion of thought... in highly educated men and women is dependent on defective or misdirected muscular training, and that the thoughtful and diligent cultivation of (the hand) is conducive to breadth of mind as well as to breadth of shoulders."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

One more from Gustaf Larsson: "Tools are instruments by which the hands give expression to thought."