Student absenteeism

Letters from educational experts to the New York Times were written in response to a report about post pandemic absenteeism in schools.  

Of course part of the solution as one letter pointed out is that students need to be engaged in doing real things. That's a no brainer. And the reason kids are determined to use digital devices in schools, even when they're not allowed, is that connection to the internet provides a bit of escape from boredom. Student time ought to be valued more than to subject them to endless hours sitting at desks doing mind numbing stuff.

In my shop, I'm nearly ready to carve the backs for the toddler sized rocking chairs I'm making. Clamping them together took a great deal of pressure, concerning me that I don't have all the angles of the various parts just right. Fortunately I'm not going into production full time, but simply revisiting a project from the past.

In the photo, the assembled chair, not yet with back and slats is resting on the rockers, with the mortises for the legs to fit yet to be cut.

Assembly

I'm at the stage in making tiny rocking chairs where the parts are sanded and assembly can begin. With a variety of parts to wrangle,  it's best to go slow, making certain each fits in its proper place.

I've been waking up at night, and in addition to hearing barred owls calling to each other, I think about American education.

 After Kindergarten was introduced in the US, many educators gravitated toward the notion that the upper grades of elementary school should be modeled on the same ideas. That's definitely not the case now.

Before Friedrich Froebel became a teacher, he worked with Christian Samuel Weiss, a pioneer in the study of crystallography and its relationship to math. There were a couple important things in Froebel's philosophy and teaching method that came directly from those early years. On was that crystals grow in their  own unique manner from a pattern inherent in the material, just as a child might grow from a unique pattern embedded within. 

The other was the development of Froebel's gifts, a system of blocks and objects that were used to help the child understand the patterns inherent in the universe. I discuss this and more in my book, Making Classic Toys that Teach. 

The thing that makes me think most of Froebel was what he saw as a primary goal of education— to develop in each child a sense of interconnectedness, from that pattern embedded within stretching out to embrace the whole of life. That is a far cry from the general purpose of education today, but one we'd best keep in mind. As I  lay awake at night, thoughts circling in my own mind, there are greater things afoot. Ask the owl.

box projects

 I discovered that some of my box projects are available on Woodcraft.com. For instance this laminated box is one of my favorites from when I was doing some writing for Woodcraft Magazine.

 https://www.woodcraft.com/blogs/small-projects/affordable-amazing-veneered-box

I hope you enjoy it.

Make, fix and create...

Making a mini woodworking bench

 

flipper vise handles

Inspired by experiments by Mike Taylor at taytools.com, I've made flipper vise handles for opening and closing a shop made vise. They resemble bird sculptures as they're standing up, waiting for the epoxy glue to set. More will come shortly.

Make, fix and create...  

Moxon benchette

In the shop I've taking a brief break from rocking chair parts to make a very small work bench inspired by experimental benches made by Mike Taylor at TayTools.com. This can be clamped easily to a desk or table and is based on the Moxon vise. The Moxon vise design, however, has the rods that are always in the way at the front of the vise.  On this the threaded rods are arranged so they bury themselves under the bench. You will see more of its features when it's complete.

Is it goofy to call it a benchette? Let me know. It is small and portable and drilled to accept bench dogs and other holdfasts. An outrigger will be made that will extend its length. That, too, is inspired by Mike Taylor and you'll see it later as my work progresses. 

Tomorrow is solar eclipse day in Arkansas, as a large swath of the state is in the zone of totality. Here in Eureka Springs, we're on the fringe with our eclipse being in the 93-95 percent range. There's a range of 2 degrees due to the fact we really don't know how big the sun will be tomorrow. It swells and shrinks, altering how much the moon will be able to block.

Make, fix and create... 

Addressing the teacher shortage crisis

There's a widely acknowledged teacher shortage in the US. Teaching has become uncomfortable, made so by over-emphasis on standards and to some degree by hostility from politicians, parents and students. Politicians want to use teaching our kids as a wedge issue. Parent are confused and disoriented by the pace of societal change, and students raised on do-whatever-you-want internet engagements are bored and simply don't like being taught. So can we understand why teachers might leave the profession looking for more emotionally satisfying work? Add to that the crisis with guns and the fact that school shootings have generated fear throughout the US, and we have serious trouble.

Dale Dougherty from Make Magazine had asked me for my prescription for fixing American education.

“The first thing to recognize is that the brain, even among college students is good for only a very few minutes of lecture. Even the best minds wander, and must, for in best cases, minds are connecting what they're taking in and associating it with what they already know to be true.

The second thing to recognize is that activities that are by nature real, and therefore engage all the senses (this was noted by Comenius,) create a better network of remembrance, connection and utility in the brain. This has been proven by research… Learning that takes place hands-on, meaning it was accomplished by being physically present thus engaging all the senses has much deeper and longer lasting effect. You can think of this as real estate, hands-on activities are noted in the full sensory and motor cortexes.

The third point, as emphasized by educational sloyd, is the relationship between the concrete and abstract. All abstract studies should be accompanied by concrete learning. We make a huge mistake starting kids to read before they’re doing real things…. reading is abstract, doing is concrete, and reading should always build upon what's known in the senses

 The fourth point is that teachers need to be drawn at least partly from the pool of those who didn’t necessarily do so well in school. Late bloomers are particularly important. A reason for this is that when faced with stress, as happens in many or most schools, teachers tend to fall back into positions most comfortable to them, often meaning the ways they themselves were taught. And those who go to college are generally the ones who learn best by rote, rather than by doing. We need doers in schools whose most comfortable fall  back positions are getting things done rather than talking about it.

 Fifth point, we need to rethink the place of manual arts in schools and make certain that administrators, school boards and parents know the value of the arts, including wood shop.

We desperately need to replenish the number of teachers in the US as some retire and others simply move on from an unpleasant situation. Where can new teachers come from? I suggest artists and musicians be considered. We need doers in school. Not talkers.  And doers would regenerate and renew American education.

Make, fix and create...