Saturday, April 22, 2017

Happy Earth Day...

Scott Bultman has a new trailer for the History of Kindergarten project, and it now includes short b roll views of some of my students at work. https://vimeo.com/214080852/5b3a212cdf

I found it lovely to see some of my student's working represented in this important project.

One of the questions that Scott asked me to answer in my interview had to do with the relationship between Educational Sloyd and the rising maker movement. My point was that the maker movement is a wonderful turn of events that would be enriched by an understanding of its place in the history of manual arts education. Makers have a sense that they've arrived here fresh, that they present something new and vital, and that manual arts training is something old and no longer essential. From that narrow view a rich history and depth of purpose may be missed.

This being Earth Day brings part of that important story to mind. Woodworking in particular, working with very basic tools, as simple as a knife, can provide an intersection between personal creativity and the natural world that surrounds us and upon which we depend. In a maker space, the student is surrounded by manufactured materials and processes that tend to be far greater than arms length from the natural world.

A simple way to think about Educational Sloyd, comparing it to the maker movement would be to think of organic and natural vs. inorganic and chock full of artificial ingredients. Woodworking is one of the ways that students engage in an exploration of materials drawn directly from the natural world. As children spend  more time on the artifice presented by their high tech digital devices, an exploration of the natural world through the child's personal manipulation of natural materials and expressions of personal creativity are far more essential, not less so.

My youngest students love to give me things, and the image above is what Joe called "organic wood." It has a nail carefully driven home at each end. Evidently, the term organic (for Joe) refers to wholesome materials, simple and pure to which no bad things have been done.

Today, scientists are gathering in Washington, DC in a march for science. Some scientists have been concerned that speaking out will cause them to lose voice. The following is from the organizers of the march, with whom I agree.
“In the face of an alarming trend toward discrediting scientific consensus and restricting scientific discovery, we might ask instead: can we afford not to speak out in its defense? There is no Planet B.”
Donald Trump will no doubt celebrate Earth Day by removing more of the carefully crafted regulations designed to protect our environment. As we near the 100th day of his presidency, he can lay claim to having destroyed more of the regulations intended to protect the planet, and put more of the environment at risk than any other president to date.

Happy Earth Day. May we all work toward living in a world in which no bad things have been done.

Make, fix, create and increase the likelihood that others learn likewise.


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