Kindergarten at St. Mary's

I went to kindergarten at St. Mary's Episcopal School in Memphis and then attended 1st grade at Snowden Elementary, a public school. My teacher at Snowden was a lovely young woman, but there was no way that public school could possibly compete for glory and fun with St. Mary's Kindergarten. At Snowden, I had to learn to sit still in a desk. At St. Mary's they had an indoor swing set and sand box and more play stuff than you could imagine. And so the question is raised, "Why is 1st grade so different from Kindergarten?" How can Kindergarten be so dedicated to learning through play while 1st grade takes so much of the fun out of it? Those were the same questions asked at the University of Chicago in the early 1920's. And so I'm reading the book, "Unified Kindergarten and First-Grade Teaching" by Parker and Temple, both of the University of Chicago. The photo above is scanned from the 1925 publication.

I know I may be one of the very few people in the world still interested in such things. After all, what could we possibly learn from the educators of the such distant past? I am reminded of the man who went to the Zen master for advice. The master poured his tea, and kept overfilling the cup. When the visitor protested he asked, "How can I give you any advice? Your cup is too full. It must be empty first." With humility we discover that we have a great deal to learn from those who preceded us in the classroom. The photo below is of the recommended outdoor play. Prescribed for each and every day of the year.

starting to make books

Today in the CSS wood shop we began making hand bound journals for the spring travel. This is the first time for these students to make bound books. We did what the kids thought was an unbelievable amount of paper tearing, and are not done yet. Next week we should be able to begin stitching the sections and binding them into a books. One student asked, are we only making one for all to share? But no, each will make his or her own. Making the covers will be the fun part, but you will have to stick around for a few weeks to see the finished work. The photos show the students preparing their sheets, and the simple shop-made device and template for positioning the holes for stitching the books together.

over time....

As we invest in new technologies the thrust is toward ease of use and ease of access. So they present their value to producers for a limited time as the products and methods are gradually refined. Over time, those who are employed in implementation of new technologies require less education and skill to do so, which in the case of computers, has opened the entire world as our competition.

We have been able to witness this effect in nearly every industry as we moved from skilled to unskilled labor with the mechanics taking the place of skill and thus marginalizing the role of worker. So there is an inverse relationship between ease of use and development of skill, and an inverse relationship between range of access and value. Why pay anyone to do something that you can do so effortlessly for yourself?

So this morning I made these charts to try and explain it. Let me know if these mean anything to you.

As parents, thinking of what children most need to know for success, most would place computer skills as top of the list, but parents most often run a generation late in their thoughts. With computers being made to make things easy, and as they become more widely accessible to all, many of those skills have become commonplace in the marketplace. Of far greater use would be creative problem solving and the kinds of people skills that enable successful team participation. Allowing your kid to hide out in the land of computer games is contraindicated.

I hate learning...

Shawn had bounced back and forth between schools, not finding a suitable fit. In the wood shop, he would have worked hours on the lathe but he could hardly wait to escape school. Outside of school he was producing his own video. He was master of a wide range of computer games. In a fit of frustration he informed me, "I hate learning." But I knew he just didn't like being taught. Self-directed learning is instinctive, natural and one of the most basic, unavoidable, hard-wired components of our humanity. It provides pleasure that can engage one endless hours to the point of exhaustion while also laying the foundations of community and cultural growth. Put a guitar in a young man's hands and watch what happens. Put a young man in a classroom and watch him watch the clock. When the bell rings, watch his escape. Are these circumstances telling us something?

There is something that happens when we create structured learning environments, forcing a young man's or a young woman's hands to stillness. It isn't good. Still the hands, stifle the spirit.

Procrustes was a Greek monster whose guest bed would fit each guest perfectly though you would not have wanted to be invited overnight. The bed was equipped to chop off the feet of those who were too long, and with rack and chains to stretch those who were too short. Years ago, when I had my first job working with kids at a children's center in Memphis, my supervisor John, told me the story of Procrustes as an allegory related to what happens in schools. Is Procrustes just a myth? Or does the story really fit in the most unfortunate sense? Can we take steps that encourage self-directed learning and further engage a child's natural passion for learning and for growth? How do we do that? It isn't always easy. We're working on it.

"my daughter loves school"

Nothing new here today. The image at left is John Amos Comenius. I am simply using today's blog post to collect and organize my thoughts.

“My daughter loves school,” my friend confided. “She does well, she works hard. The problem is with my son.” And so it is that school works well for some, and less well for others. The problems are sometimes reversed with school being easier for sons, or for one son or daughter than another, but psychologists and educators have noted what some have described as an epidemic of underperformance by boys. It is nothing exactly new. Going to school in the fifties and sixties I was one of those boys myself. My grades were average. My test scores indicated I should have done better, and I can describe from my own experience what it means to be trapped in school, bored and disinterested. I graduated from college only due to the pottery class which provided a desperately needed dose of hands-on sanity.

Boys Adrift: the Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men, by Leonard Sax notes that boys naturally mature at a slower rate than girls, and are often less ready for sedentary classroom activities. He also notes that the rapid increase in the effect of video gaming lessens the physical activities that facilitate reading readiness. There are other environmental factors as well, having to do with chemicals in the environment that accelerate physical maturity for girls and retard the development of boys. Overall, the issues are complex. But what they add up to is that boys are often ill-served by the current model of education. And the effects are enormous. Major universities are admitting boys at a lower level of tested intelligence and college preparation in order attempt to maintain a gender balance. An article in a New England newspaper wondered aloud where young women would be able to find mates with an equivalent level of education and earning capacity.

And so, the question must be asked, "How do we create schools that will benefit all children?" Is there a formula for it? These questions are nothing new. John Amos Comenius, considered the father of modern pedagogy (the science of education) observed:

Boys ever delight in being occupied in something for the youthful blood does not allow them to be at rest. Now as this is very useful, it ought not to be restrained, but provision made that they may always have something to do. Let them be like ants, continually occupied in doing something, carrying, drawing, construction and transporting, provided always that whatever they do be done prudently. They ought to be assisted by showing them the forms of all things, even of playthings; for they cannot yet be occupied in real work, and we should play with them.

There is a rapid rise in the use of Ritalin and Adderall to control classroom behavior and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Certainly some girls are diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed medication for it. But the the largest number affected are male. If Comenius were making his observations today, in watching boys, he would note the same qualities in them now as then, and suggest that we make use of their natural inclinations to their educational advantage. One cannot help but wonder if the structured learning in our schools is at least partially to blame for ADHD and the underperformance of boys. That schooling works for some may justify its existence, but that it doesn't work for others should call into question its methods. Howard Gardner popularized the notion that we learn in a variety of ways, that we each are smart in some ways and not others, and yet, there has been no direct implementation of his concepts in American classrooms. So, how do you go about such needed change? I call it the "strategic implementation of the hands" and create my own acronym "SITH." Make everything children learn "hands-on" meaning of course that it must engage the real world, the child's physical senses, and the opportunity to respond to learning through the arts. Simple enough. But it will take work, and it will take change.

an example

According to the NPD report, Children between the ages of 4-14 went from 6 percent using personal digital music players (PDMP) in 2005 to 37 percent in 2009. That is growth in excess of 600 percent over a 4 year period. In addition, the age at which kids are introduced to these devices is in steady decline, meaning that younger and younger children are using them. PDMP's include iPods and other mp3 players. Do these seemingly harmless and fun devices encourage or discourage the kinds of activities that we know kids need? Is there a reason why many schools, including Clear Spring School discourage their use during class time? Do we know how they will affect such issues as child hood obesity and lack of ability to pay attention? Do they increase or decrease social engagement? Do we have any idea what we are doing? Do not expect the consumer electronics industry to take the place of parental guidance and good judgment.

near random housecleaning thoughts

I hope this also happens to you... as I do less mindful tasks, my mind wanders. While I might regard these occasions as meditation opportunities--the attempt to control and empty the mind for spiritual purposes, I spent enough time on the banks of the Mississippi River to know that while a single drop from a faucet might keep you awake all night, a huge river of billions of gallons can flow in near silence. So the objective of meditation may not be emptiness but fullness, and at times my mind is full bank to bank, even though my hands may be involved in sweeping and mopping the floor.

Today's random thoughts sent me to Wikipedia to explore Evolutionary Psychology. How is it that intermittent reinforcement of behavior is so much more powerful than direct reinforcement? Can it be that we are genetically and evolutionarily predisposed to risk, development of skill, and behaviors that require us to closely examine and attune to our surroundings rather than taking the easiest way out? Anyway, I'm thinking about it.

We have a lot to learn from computer gaming. The first thing is that kids like things that are difficult and challenging, that increase in difficulty at a manageable rate. They don't want every effort to be successful, as that would deprive their efforts of meaning. If we make things easy for them in school we have deprived them of the value of their educations.

To build on this thought: We want things that we understand to be difficult and challenging so as to provide a sense of accomplishment, and so we welcome a degree of intermittent reinforcement, a blending of success and failure. In stark contrast, unpredictable behavior by our consumer electronics products can create a disproportionate level of anger in response. When the internal workings of such things fail in ways we can't fix we don't take such failings in easy stride. I propose that because we know so little about the inner workings of such objects, and their works are hidden from view, our complete lack of confidence leaves us feeling particularly vulnerable and insecure and prone to anger as a result.

And so, in light of this, I wonder why so much anger is directed toward schools in America. Why are they so often the targets of vandalism and violence? It is not that we have made them too hard for anyone, but perhaps because their workings are hidden from view. Has its purpose become too abstract? Has education itself become inexplicable as it has become more and more associated with standardized testing rather than filled with the experience of doing real things for home and community? Have I mopped myself into a corner? Or am I revealing something important, a river's full breadth?

Grab a mop, and help me with this one. Comment below.

An interesting experiment with the lives of our children

The following is a brief report on what's happening in the consumer marketing world, having to do with our kids. There is an explosion of marketing directed toward children. Parents "buy" into it thinking it will prepare their children for increasing world wide competition for high tech jobs. In the meantime, we know that the increasing use of TV in children's homes has had disastrous effects. Childhood obesity, lack of ability to pay attention, lack of social engagement, poor grades are each linked as directly proportional to the amount of time spent watching TV. Will the march of progress in making childhood consumer goods more available remedy their adverse effects? Fat chance. But we will wish, hope and pray that computers and gaming won't be quite as bad for children as TV has been.

NPD: Kids' Consumer Electronics Use High, Growing

By age 7, a surprisingly high number of kids use personal music devices, digital cameras and DVD players on a daily basis, according to NPD Group's new "Kids and Consumer Electronics Report," writes AdAge (via MediaBuyerPlanner). The category has undergone astonishing growth among youth: Twice as many children age 4-14 now own personal music devices and digital cameras than in 2005.

The study also found that just over 40 percent of kids personally own videogame systems; just less than 40 percent own CD players, and 31 percent own a TV. In households with kids age 4-14, 94 percent have a desktop computer, followed by a little less than 90 percent that own DVD players and TVs.

According to NPD analyst and study author Anita Frazier, marketers "have to take into account this new digital reality of kids' lives and consider it in all product design and marketing plans. From the kinds of products that appeal to kids to the way you talk to them on packages and in advertising - it has to be a consideration."

What would happen if we were to spend more time with children engaged in crafts and in the wood shop? The results would be more certain, far less experimental, and of greater importance. Kids don't get fat from woodworking. It can be good exercise. They learn to focus their attention on specific tasks. If their minds wander, the tools and materials call them back. It is a social engagement increasing verbal skills as they learn from directions, ask questions, and formulate requests. Woodworking and other crafts actually lead to better grades, providing students with direct opportunities to connect what they do with what they learn.

It is interesting to note that the world's smartest teens are in Finland where sloyd in schools originated and is compulsory still.

Breakdown in communication

There is a distinct divergence in acceptable terminology between science and the arts. And yet we know that science and the arts are entwined like strands of DNA in the soul of human culture. For instance, if I were to talk poetically of the heart and soul of learners, the scientific eyes start to roll. They might want facts and statistics to ascertain that learners have hearts in the first place and that they matter. Those in the arts, know without question, when one speaks of the heart, or from the heart, that the essence of human creativity is being addressed.

Science is often set to work ascertaining what any artistic human being knew in his or her heart without question. From the standpoint of the arts, we are often led by muse to create lines of poetry or prose that while touching, escape reason.

Throughout history there have been those who've abused and misused the arts in the formation of religious institutions and authoritarian states. Often what is done in the arts is inexplicable in the realm of science which demands rigid adherence to meaning and procedure. And so on one hand, what is gobbledegook to one and faith to another forms the backbone of human culture, and precision in our understanding of the universe leads us ever onward toward overcoming tyranny and irrationality in human affairs.

Recently on Fox News, a major commentator said that our current cold temperatures in the US are clear evidence that Global warming is a myth and a lie. It is a complete shame when people in such positions are so out of touch from real science. It is an even greater shame that what we have been doing in schools allows people to be so ignorant and gullible and so easily manipulated and misled. Our separation of art from science, belief from evidence is tragic for the future of our planet.

When the hands are put at their rightful place in the education of our children, and every aspect of education is measured on the basis of whether or not it reflects the strategic implementation of the hands in learning, both science and the arts are brought to unified presence in the lives of our children. Each school must become both laboratory and workshop in order to meet the needs of our children, our culture and our planet. On the art side, our children's hands must be creatively engaged to engage their hearts and souls as learners. From the science side, students hands must be engaged in personal exploration in order for them to grasp the big picture and have the underlying intellectual capacity to understand it.

If you want to see joy in schools, visit Clear Spring School on Monday as children return following Christmas break and a week off due to snow and cold. If you want to get a handle on education, then you must first understand the strategic value of the hands. Like left and right, science and the arts. It is as simple as the left hand knowing what the right hand is doing.

The drawing above is Francis Crick's first sketch of the deoxyribonucleic acid double-helix pattern. For today, let it symbolize what happens when the arts and science intersect in the formation of human culture. Let it also symbolize what can happen when the hands are restored to their rightful place in education.

Isolation of the head from hand in learning...

Nothing new here. Today I will be working in the shop, doing some continued prep work for classes next week. I'll also be working on an article for Woodcraft magazine, and reflecting on the hands.

If you were to visit one of the many big mega-churches being built in the US, you would likely find an important part of Christian heritage missing and forgotten. As I learned from a blog, Domesticated Theology in a post by "Jeremy", Paul was a tent maker, an itinerant craftsman, who earned his keep through the efforts of his own hands as he built the Christian church. From that point, responsibility to skilled manual service was an important element in Christian life and faith. It conferred humility to its practitioners, self reliance, a sense of service to others, and no doubt provided the opportunity for early Christians to exercise and develop the moral values that arise through craftsmanship.

This early Christian principle of integration of hand and spirit was an important component in all the early Christian monasteries. The same principles were carried forward by the Benedictines. In the US, the first schools to consciously integrate hand work as a component of intellectual education were schools of theology. The rationale was presented by Theordore D. Weld of the Oneida Institute in 1832 as follows:

(1) The present system of education makes fearful havoc of health and life; (2) it effeminates the mind; (3) it is perilous to morals; (4) it produces indisposition to effort and destroys habits of activity and industry; (5) it is so expensive that its practical effects are anti-republican.

In contrast:

(1) The manual labor system furnishes exercise natural to man. (2) It furnishes exercise adapted to interest the mind. (3) Its moral effect would be peculiarly happy. (4) It would furnish the student with important practical acquisitions. (5) It would promote habits of industry. (6) It would promote independence of character. (7) It would promote originality. (8) It is adapted to render permanent all the manlier features of character. (9) It would afford facilities to the student in acquiring a knowledge of human nature. (10) It would greatly diminish the expense of education. (11) It would increase the wealth of the country. (12) It would tend to do away with those absurd distinctions in society which make the occupation of an individual the standard of his worth. (13) It would have a tendency to render permanent our republican institutions.

And so, how do we restore the just and proper role of the hands in American society and in education? I would think that a year's worth of sermons could be written on this topic. But that would not be enough. It requires action as well as the exercise of language. Perhaps reading Paul would offer some important inspiration.

making awls

One of the great pleasures in starting new projects in the woodshop is that of making the necessary tools. In this case, the students will begin making books next week, and I have been making bookbinding tools for them to use. It is far better to not have money to buy what is required. Working on the cheap provides the incentive to find pleasure and satisfaction in one's own work.

Skill imparts pleasure. These are quickly made. I turn the ash handles on the lathe from scraps left over from a handle factory, and size the ends to fit copper plumbing caps. Drill a hole about 1 inch deep in the end for a 10 penny finishing nail and drive it in place with about 2/3's the length of the nail still sticking out. The size of the hole should be just slightly smaller than the diameter of the nail. The copper cap prevents splitting, but also gives the tool a more "professional" look. Use the belt sander or grinder to shape the tip to a point. These can be made at a rate of about 8 per hour, so that is much more economical than buying them from an art supply catalog, and you can size these to best fit children's hands.

Besides book binding, these can be used in the woodshop. Make one. Your first foray into making your own tools might become addictive, and working with tools you have made yourself can provide a level of satisfaction unmatched by even the finest tools your money can buy.

The economic news is bleak...

In Time Magazine this week, there was an article about micro loans being used in New York and now Omaha, Nebraska to create small scale entrepreneurs. This is a technique that has been used successfully in third world countries, and perhaps with the mortgage and bankruptcy crises, we are now becoming one. Certainly, the way the Bush administration treated New Orleans after Katrina, and Detroit leading up to the collapse of the auto industry, would make us wonder where we rank in the scheme of things. Wall Street and the big banks are now a recession success story. Due to huge amounts of capital thrown into the system by American taxpayers, they are thriving... but only at the long term expense of the nation as a whole which will be faced with paying the bill. Too bad there aren't many lobbyists working for the average person on the street.

So far, very little has been done by either the banks or by the federal government to restore the economic health of the average American tax payer. The mortgage crisis is getting decidedly worse. Food stamps are sustaining our nation's children. Trickle down has become less than a drip, but then it never actually worked in the first place. The very idea... that people would take their earnings from investments and put them to work in the employment of people making things and serving the public was an absurdity. People no longer know what it means to invest in the lives of each other. That idea seemed to have evaporated long before Ron Reagan chiseled the trickle down theory in stone for our conservative brethren.

When you ask someone to make something, you do more than simply set hands in motion toward the delivery of a product. You launch someone on a path of growth, leading to greater skill, economic capacity and citizenship. But we don't seem to understand that. We send our best and brightest off to ivory towers where they are educated in such things as banking and hedge fund management, and are kept isolated from the practices of tangible human creativity.

In the meantime, the media is wondering where Tiger Woods is hiding. I would suggest that that may not be all that important. Who cares? There are things of greater significance, hands down. Again, I will suggest that the nation's major universities consider an affirmative action program for the hands. Those who are to become our highly educated elite should not be kept out of touch. It is a disastrous notion that the hands and brain can be educated apart from each other. Look back over the last 20 years as we have eliminated wood shop from our nation's schools, and the current effect... economic collapse, the decline of manufacturing, the shipping of our brightest enterprises to other shores. These things describe a nation out of touch with basic human developmental principles.

It can all be fixed, but take a deep breath and don't hold back. It won't be fixed easily or soon. Talk about it with your friends. Introduce your friends to this blog and the ideas we share. And tonight, cook. Tomorrow make something and invest your own resources in the creative powers within your community. Call it a micro-loan. Something we invest in each other. The payback will be enormous.

Augustus Herman Niemeyer (1754-1828)

Augustus Herman Niemeyer was a professor of Theology at the University of Halle who proposed that education should promote the harmonious development of all the faculties with which man is endowed. For this he recommended the use of manual arts:

"Aptitude in various handicrafts strengthens the body, and, at the same time, provides a useful form of activity, and serves to occupy the weary, idle hours, especially in the monotonous existence of the household... Carpentry is acknowledged to be the most suitable of all, on account of the complexity of the work and the tools, and because it does not put too great strain upon the strength of the young... Above all, it is well that the young should become familiar with the ordinary tools of a household, of which, moreover, one has such constant need -- for example, the saw, axe, gimlet and hammer, etc. To keep these things anxiously out of the children's reach is the most certain way to reduce to helplessness, and, in the time of need to make them more liable to injury."

Today Clear Spring School and all the area schools are closed due to snow and extreme cold. That gives me a much needed extra day in my own shop and the chance to be even better prepared when school resumes.

Readers of Wooden Boat will enjoy David Kasanof's monthly column Fo'c's'le entitled "Hooks, Rags and Sticks." He points out that when you see photos in Wooden Boat, everyone seems to be doing all the right stuff, which indicates they are probably neophytes... "no one is spitting to windward or stepping on a line or bleeding on the teak." and "Only neophytes always do stuff right." It takes a bit of experience at something, confidence perhaps, to do things in a manner that a neophyte would consider wrong. In order to be creative at something and to express mastery, generally requires us to be breaking somebody's hard and fast never to be broken rules. I can tell you that my success as a woodworker and teacher is as much dependent on breaking as many rules in number as I have tried to follow. There are some hard and fast rules concerning nature, but those having to do with man's response to nature are a bit more on the loose side. And there are more things to be done with a table saw than a straight line rip.

But Kasanof's title for his article is really about what we do with language. As one who grew up in my dad's hardware store, I can quickly discern the meaning of thingamajig, and whatsit. It is a matter of acute listening to what the mouth and hands say in unison. And it seems in my mind at least, if not in the column, that there is an inverse relationship between doing things the right way and calling things with the right terminology... which leads me to share a lingering question... What impact are computers having on the ways we learn, the ways we teach? As we poke around on our own, googling what we think we may need to know, I have this suspicion that learning is becoming far less social and as a result, we may be on the verge of losing a clear and concise useage of nomenclature. That thing we used to call "the mast", will become that "sticky up thing," and the propeller, the "spinny around thingy," and the rest "whatsits" for as we become less versed in the verbal sharing of information... common terminology falls out of common useage. We run the danger of knowing things which we are incapable of sharing with others... except for those of like mind and interest, whom we stumble upon on the world-wide-web.

As far as Kasonof's observation, however that neophytes do things right. I have been sailing enough to know that isn't true. It's just that photographers don't take pictures of the dumb-assed things we do. It is like the messy shop that you never see in woodworking magazines. And yet, when you happen to see a messy shop, you know that more is done in it than in most, and it is likely the kind of creative environment that few clean shops can come close to approaching. To David, I thank you for your reflections, and urge you to keep steering with your feet.

History of the Royal Society of London

The following is from from Thomas Sprat's 1667 History of the Royal Society of London and suggests the value of the Royal Society in overcoming the deficiencies of education.

...though the Society entertains very many of particular professions, yet the far greater number are gentlemen, free and unconfin'd. By the help of this there was hopeful provision made against two corruptions of learning, which have been long complain'd of, but never remov’d: The one that knowledge degenerates to consult present profit too soon; the other, that philosophers have been always Masters and Scholars; some imposing, and all the other submitting; and not as equal observers without dependence.

The first of these may be call'd, the marrying of arts the too soon; and putting them to generation before they come to be of age; and has been the cause of much inconvenience. It weakens their strength; it makes an unhappy disproportion in their increase; while not the best, but the most gainful of them flourish: But above all, it diminishes that very profit for which men strive. It busies them about possessing some petty prize; while nature itself, with all its mighty Treasures, slips from them; and so they are served like some foolish guards; who, while they were earnest in picking up some small money, that the prisoner drop'd out of his pocket, let the prisoner himself escape, from whom they might have got a great ransom. This is easily declaim’d against, but most difficult to be hindred. If any caution will serve, it must be this; to commit the work to the care of such men, who, by the freedom of their education, the plenty of their estates, and the usual generosity, of noble blood, may be well suppos'd to be most averse from such sordid considerations.

The second error, which is hereby endeavour'd to be remedied, is, that the seats of knowledge have been for the most part heretofore, not laboratories, as they ought to be; but only schools, where some have taught, and all the rest subscrib'd. The consequences of this are very mischievous. For first, as many learners as there are, so many hands and brains may still be reckon'd upon as useless. It being only the master's part to examine, and observe and the disciples, to submit with silence to what they conclude. But besides this, the very inequality of the titles of teachers and scholars does very much suppress and tame men's spirits which though it should be proper for discipline and education; yet is by no means confident with a free philosophical consultation. It is undoubtedly true that scarce any man's mind is so capable of thinking strongly in the presence of one whom he fears and reverences, as he is when that restraint is taken off. And this is to be found, not only in these weightier matters; but also to give a lighter instance in the arts of discourse and raillery themselves. For we have often seen men of bold tempers, that have over-aw'd and govern'd the wit of most companies; to have been disturb'd and dumb, and bashful as children, when some other man has been near, who us'd to out-talk them. Such a kind of natural sovereignty there is in some men's minds over others; which must needs be far greater, when it is advanc'd by long use, and the venerable name of a master. I shall only mention one prejudice more, and that is this: that from this only teaching, and learning, there does not only follow a continuance, but an increase of the yoak upon our reasons: For those who take their opinions from others rules, are commonly stricter imposers upon their scholars, than their own authors were on them, or than the first inventors of things themselves are upon others. Whatever the cause of this be: whether the first men are made meek and gentle by their long search, and by better understanding all the difficulties of knowledge; while those that learn afterwards, only hastily catching things in small systems, are soon satisfy'd, before they have broken their pride, and so become more imperious; or whether it arises from hence, that the same meanness of soul, which made them bound their thoughts by other precepts, makes them also insolent to their inferiors; as we always find cowards the most cruel; or whatever other cause may be alledg'd, the observation is certain, that the succesors are usually more positive and tyrannical, than the beginners of sects.

Colorfully written, an interesting insight into human nature and tells us that too little has changed since the 17th century.

Thomas Sprat (1635 – 20 May 1713)

Thomas Sprat was one of the founders of the Royal Society of London, an important organization for the advancement of science. He was the author of the History of the Royal Society, published in 1667. At the time, science and the manual arts were inseparable. "It would not be amiss, if before young Scholars be far ingag'd in the beaten tracks of the Scholes, the Mysteries of Manual Arts, the names of their Instruments, the secrets of the Operations, the effects of Natural causes... were propos'd to be the subjects of their first thoughts and observations." In addition he wrote:

"I will venture to propose to the considerations of wise men, whether this way of Teaching by Practise and Experiments, would not least be as beneficial as the other by Universal Rules? Whether it were not as profitable to apply the eyes and the hands of Children, to see, and to touch all the several kinds of sensible things, as to oblige them to learn and remember the difficult Doctrines of general Arts?"

And so, in the early days of science, it was understood that the explorations of the hands in the making of objects was a necessary foundation for scientific exploration. Is that hard for anyone to understand? Is there a reasonable explanation for why educators no longer grasp that which was so clear in the 17th century? Help me if you can to understand this interesting shortcoming. Is it just that no one has ever explained it to them before? Or am I missing something?

feminization of education?

Have we feminized the American classroom? Certainly, there is a shortage of male teachers, particularly in the lower grades. Certainly, sedentary classroom structure and restraint of natural activity places boys at risk of disengagement and disinterest. Some see in this the evil hand of radical feminism. The following is from one of many internet articles on the subject, this one by Don Closson, The Feminization of American Schools:

"...recent statistics reveal that from the elementary years and beyond, girls get better grades than boys and generally fare better in school. Although girls have all but eliminated the much-discussed math and science gap with boys, boys' scores in reading and writing have been on the decline for years. At the end of eighth grade, boys are held back 50 percent more often, and girls are twice as likely to say that they want to pursue a professional career. Boys are twice as likely to be labeled "learning disabled" and in some schools are ten times more likely to be diagnosed with learning disorders such as ADD. Boys now make up two thirds of our special education classes and account for 71 percent of all school suspensions. There is also evidence that boys suffer from low self-esteem and lack confidence as learners."

These facts aren't hard to follow, but are hard to ignore. In addition to what's happening in elementary schools and high schools,there is an equivalent under performance and under representation among boys in colleges and graduate schools.

Christina Hoff Sommers, regarded by some as an anti-feminist and a W. H. Brady Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank believes that our boys suffer from a school environment that "favors feminine traits and that attempts to squeeze boys into an androgynous mold from which they naturally rebel." Some like Sommers see boys as threatened by radical feminism... that there is a concerted effort to push young women ahead to the economic and educational status they deserve by making schools less boy friendly.

But I don't see an evil plot, but rather, a refusal by school administrations to design schools that take advantage of the child's most natural inclinations... to be actively engaged in learning. It is cheaper to put 30 desks in a room and lecture than to have small class sizes and physical activities that engage the children's hearts and souls in learning. We all, girls and boys learn better, and retain information longer when we learn hands-on. This is something you can test in your own life, but that we are ignoring in the lives of our children. Hands-on learning is neither masculine nor feminine but benefits all children.

Last night as my wife an daughter went shopping, I watched Mike Rowe's program, Dirty Jobs. He was helping in the making and repair of diesel locomotives. There is dignity in honest work, in effort and skill, and yet it is a shame that many boys gain the impression of themselves from schooling, that they don't like it, they don't fit in it, and they aren't good at it. Put the hands back in education and they will learn otherwise.

Dr. Benjamin Rush (1745-1813)

Dr. Benjamin Rush was a Philadelphia physician and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

"As the employments of agriculture cannot afford amusement at all seasons of the year, or in cities, I would propose that children should be allured to seek amusements in such of the mechanical arts as are suited to their strength and capacities. Where is the boy who does not delight in the use of a hammer, a chisel, or a saw? And who has not enjoyed a high degree of pleasure in his youth in constructing a miniature house? How amusing are the machines which are employed in the manufacturing of clothing of all kinds! And how full of various entertainment are the mixtures which take place in the chemical arts! Each of these might be contrived upon such a scale, as not only to amuse young people, but to afford a profit to their parents and masters."

repeating myself

I realize that as my wife recently pointed out to me, I repeat myself a lot in the blog. I cover the same points again and again. This really is not rocket science. So I could take a break from it and do other things for a time. But I will persist. It's practice, and perhaps in time what I say will sink in or be noticed. For centuries we have observed children as they play and learn and yet ignored what we know about them in the design of their education.

Maximilien Robespierre, one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his arrest and execution in 1794. The following was proposed by Robespierre before the National Assembly in France in 1793, proving that even the most cruel and evil people from the past were more sensitive to the needs of children than are some today:

Public education, besides giving strength and health, must instill the duty of the habit of work, because this is to all both a necessity and an advantage. I do not refer to a thorough knowledge of any particular kind of work, but rather to that energy, that activity, that industriousness and that perseverance to the end which characterizes the life of every diligent individual. Educate such men, and the Republic will see its fruits of agriculture and of industry redoubled. Instill in the child this need, this habit of work, and his future existence is secured, as he will then be entirely dependent upon himself. I consider this part of education as the most important, and therefore my plan of general instruction contains manual labor as its vital feature. Of all the sources which are apt to stimulate the average child, none will produce a greater desire for activity than physical work.

By this bill I lay before you, I hope to interest fathers, teachers, and pupils. Fathers because their taxes will be decreased; teachers, because they may hope for honor and recompense in this new field; and children, because the accomplishment of some real, material work will always be to them a source of great delight. I would desire that various kinds of handicraft be introduced.

And so we have the second day of a new year. I will work in my shop today and will spend a bit of time at school getting ready for the return of my woodworking students from their winter break.

If we watch kids at play...

You can follow the long line of educators back from Elliot Eisner, Maria Montessori, Rudolf Steiner, John Dewey, Otto Salomon, Uno Cygnaeus, Friedrich Froebel, John Henry Pestalozzi, Jean Jacques Rousseau, John Locke, Johan Amos Comenius, and Francis Bacon, and you will find a common thread. In the works of each of these educators and theorists, children were observed at play and in the act of learning, and education was proposed to take best advantage of their natural inclinations. Each was reacting to a system struggling to go against the flow, expending energies for naught, and offering the suggestion of going with the natural flow and progression of a child's life.

And yet, we decided to create schools through which to stifle children's natural inclinations. If they can't sit still as required, we administer drugs. Can you see the violence in this? We create generations of clock watchers, those waiting for escape. Can you see the violence in that? Perhaps violence will be regarded by some as too strong and offensive a term. Let me work from the other direction. Is there love in what we insist of our children as we send them into regimented classrooms in which their most natural rhythms and inclinations are restrained until after the bell?

I am just a woodworking teacher in Arkansas, and yet, in what I propose, I stand on the shoulders of the giants of education, and there is room here on the foundation of progressive education for you to stand with me.

Happy twenty ten. It is a new year and we are advocates for change.

Sir William Petty 1647

"By all which is mostly evident, that children do most naturally delight in things, and are most capable of learning them, having quick sense to receive them and unpreoccupied memories to retain them. As for other things where unto they are now-a-days set, they are altogether unfit, for want of judgment which is but weak in them, and also for want of will, which is sufficiently seen both by what we have said before, by the difficulty in keeping them at school and the punishment they will endure rather than be altogether debarred from the pleasure which they take in things."

The following is from Charles A. Bennett:

More than any of his predecessors, Sir William Petty proposed to connect handwork with the school, though he never put his plan into practice. In his suggested literary workhouse he even went so far as to suggest that industrial occupation be an integral part of the school work. He does not seem to recognize the full pedagogical significance of his proposition, yet he did grasp the idea that in learning, the object studied--the thing--should precede the symbol of the thing--the written or printed word. He saw, too, that it gave children great pleasure to make and manipulate things with their hands and with tools. He would utilize this natural impulse in the schools.

He recognized the great value of drawing as a means of expression--as a language, and in some cases considered it superior to written language. Therefore he would give drawing, also, a place in the schools.

It is noticeable that Petty's chief aim in placing things and handwork in the school was to further general education and not to produce artisans.

And so one must wonder when we will have schools that take advantage of children's most natural inclinations rather than fighting for their attentions? It looks like here in the US, we are running about 350 years late. In Finland, where children start reading at age 8 instead of 5, they far surpass us by age 15, reading better in shorter time because their children are made ready for reading through object based learning. Here we continue to apply additional pressure for reading in Kindergarten in our ill conceived plan to catch up, as though extending the amount of time in study will override the child's natural lack developmental readiness. Are we truly a nation of idiots? The natural consequence of our current course is to teach young men and some girls that they don't like school, and aren't good at it. Their heart's desire becomes that of escaping it. In case you have wondered at our nation's epidemic of underachievement by boys, and 30 percent dropout rate and are looking for cause, this single point nails it.