| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| lelasfriend |
Posted - Oct 13 2010 : 12:35:03 AM
I really recomend this book! Shop class as soul craft is subtitled an inquiry into the nature of work. Michael Crawford writes passionately about the undervalueing of real hands on work in our culture and the importance of this work. He speaks from experience as a man with advanced college degrees who worked in the corporate world and left it all behind to be a motorcycle mechanic. He writes eloquently about the intellect it takes to do hands on work, the importance of learning by doing and value of taking care and fixing our own stuff. This book is a must read for anyone who questions the educational models in this country and who are concerned with the direction our country is going with so much work outsourced overseas and the children who are being asked as square pegs to fit into round holes or those of us who love hands on projects and know that value of something handmade and cherished. I can't reommend this enough! Please share your thoughts if you have read this too. Sara |
| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| buggysmum |
Posted - Nov 06 2010 : 6:43:12 PM
I've been wanting to read this book....I think we have created a huge void in schools by eliminating woodshop class, auto shop, home ec (cooking and sewing), tech classes, and of course, the arts (including music). They are soooo important. It's on my "to read" list! |
| barnagainkristin |
Posted - Oct 30 2010 : 9:33:15 PM
Thanks for sharing this. I look forward to reading this book.
barnagainkristin
"Others Before Self" |
| lelasfriend |
Posted - Oct 30 2010 : 5:31:06 PM
Hi Sam,
Sorry it has taken me so long to reply to your post. Things have been very hectic at the farm. I have a ewe with a chronic cough and it looks like it is lung worm and she is not responding to dewormers and everytime she coughs some of her rectum shows and I have been worrying about her have a rectal prolapse. That is just one of many things I have been trying to deal with this week.
I love your idea of older people sitting in on high school classes! It would be a win win situation for everyone. Maybe the older people could really motivate the teens and also help out with explaining things to those kids who are a little behind...You may have a really great idea here to share with some schools!
Funny thing about myself though, I teach out of my home to kids who are homeschooled. Some of them are being homeschooled due to parental philosophy, others are homeschooled because they were not doing well in regular schools, some of them were in bad neighborhoods with bad schools, some have special needs etc. But some of the kids I teach moved out of town and even out of state and so they take my classes by webcam! It is often challenging to deal with the in class students as well as the students on the computer and deal with technical computer difficulties too! But it is a great bunch of kids and I enjoy all of them. I have several students who come to me full time and then others that only take a class or two. Some of them do work at the farm as well and get a lot of satisfaction out of working with their hands and working around animals, especially if they were not successful in regular schools.I started doing this because I was approached by parents who needed help for their kids.
You are right, Noah Adams is on NPR - all things considered! He is wonderful and I really enjoyed his book Far Appalachia.
One of the sources I am using with my students is the Norton Anthology of Nature writing. In addition to the novels I will be taking some selections out of that book to read and discuss with them. There is also another anthology that is very specific to the Midatlantic region that I will be using with them called From Blue Ridge to Barrier Islands. I think they will relate to what is in their own backyards.
We read aloud and studied Shakespeare's King Henry VIII and just went to see the production of the play in Washington D.C. at the Folgers theater. For many students it was the first time they ever saw a play! It was an outstanding production and made what we studied come alive for them. The play got such great newspaper reviews that it has been extended for another month! They made some amazing changes that really added to the play. One of the changes was the addition of music of the time period that was actually written by one of the actors in the play. It was in latin with tunes he composed.
I am now reading another marvelous book called The Zookeeper's wife by Diane Ackerman. It is a true story of the couple who were the directors of the zoo in Warsaw Poland during WW II and their decision to use the zoo to rescue and hide Jews from the Nazis. But it is even more than that - it describes what it was like to be zookeepers and actually live in a villa in the center of the zoo and care for the animals and all the other jobs that go along with the positions of being directors of a large zoo. The wife kept an extensive diary about her daily life and work and much of the book is based on that. The book includes their philosophy of animal care, child rearing and political feelings. They were way ahead of their time in trying to create a world class zoo that would reflect animals in their natural habitats and with as much freedom to roam as possible. This was during the 20's and 30's when most zoos were fairly inhumane and animals were seen as amusements and attractions, not as a way to preserve endangered species or as subjects of scientific studies on animal behaviour and habitats. It is beautifully written and really evokes a sense of place and time. Love, Sara |
| Sandra K. Licher |
Posted - Oct 22 2010 : 08:56:41 AM
Okay, Sara....that confirms it! We ARE book sisters evidently separated at birth! I love the fact that you have a course called The Literature of Nature. What a wonderful course. I would sign up in a heartbeat! The fact that you are an English teacher is making me a little self-conscious of my grammar and sentence structure. Please just ignore that part...but it got me to thinking, you know how they have free non-credit college classes for adult seniors? I think it would be interesting to do that for high school courses and it could potentially be very beneficial to all involved. The teenage years are so chaotic in so many ways, it might cut down on bullying and the teachers wouldn't have to spend so much time on discipline and order. The seniors (older students...retirement age) could be like air marshals in the classrooms and hallways!
As for the books you listed....heaven! Isn't Noah Adams on PBS radio? I haven't heard of that book but it is on my list now! Thank you. It sounds wonderful!
Arkansas is like Appalachia in certain parts although they don't seem to be as accepting of outsiders as the people you describe and in many ways I cannot blame them. I have read the other books except for The Unsettling of America and Never Cry Wolf. I am also a big fan of Agatha Christie and read most of her books years ago. I do enjoy a good mystery occasionally and I love English and Southern writers. I love biographies and I know I would certainly enjoy hers.
I sometimes wonder what I am doing down here (it's a long story) as the closest Barnes and Noble is 2 hours away and the closest store is a Walmart 45 minutes away. If it wasn't for the internet I would go insane. I love rural living but I also love culture. I worked and lived in Iowa before I came here and I had a little farmette 5 minutes from the airport, 1 mile from the interstate and I worked in Iowa City which is a university town with all the culture, brain stimulation, and inspiration one could ever want. I truly miss it but I am happy and peaceful here. If there was ever a time to write that book that supposedly everyone has inside them....now and here would be that time.
Please stay in touch as we ARE book sisters for sure!
fondly...Sam
Sam in AR..... "It's a great life if you don't weaken!"
Farmgirl Sister #226
www.farmgirlsam.blogspot.com |
| lelasfriend |
Posted - Oct 21 2010 : 5:11:32 PM
Sam thank you so much for your insightful comments and I look forward to hearing from you after you read the book. The women in my book group met to discuss the book last night and we really had a good conversation about his ideas. I love the idea of book sisters! I read a variety of books both fiction and non fiction. Currently I am reading a beautiful book by Noah Adams called Far Appalachia: following the New River north. It is the story of his travels the length of the New River by canoe and it interwines with his family's history and heritage in Appalachia. The writing is descriptive and poetic and he not only describes the land and animals but the people and history of this part of our country. I was inspired to read this because I have gone on several trips to West Virginia to do white water rafting on the New River and take my son rock climbing in the Senecas. It is a special area of natural beauty and charm filled with interesting characters and a way of life that has all but disappeared elsewhere. Let me tell you a couple of stories of my own about this neck of the woods. I was filling up my pickup truck at a gas station there when a young man mid twenties who was also getting gas came over and said I see you are from Mary Land - he spoke just like that and then he continued by saying he had been to Mary Land and he was so proud when he said it. Then he said he came back to work in the coal mines with his Dad and Granddad...Another time we were white water rafting and our river guide was a young man born and raised there too. My daughter was wearing very cheap water shoes that we had gotten for a few dollars. One of the shoes fell off in the water and we did not really think too much about it - they were cheap and replaceable. The guide noticed though and paddle hard upstream quite a ways to retrieve that shoe and he said someone paid good money for that shoe... I felt properly chastened. Then there was the time we were driving up the hills for a hike and this pickup Kept pulling off the road and letting us pass and then following us. I felt like maybe we were being stalked and felt a little afraid. Finally when it happened again I pulled along side and asked if he needed something. And he replied no ma'am we just believe here that women go first! Then there was the general store I visited and the people were sitting on the porch watching someone mow the lawn. It was a very small place with only the one general store. Across the street some guy was mowing his lawn with a ride on mower and I mentioned it was a beautiful day for mowing the lawn. They looked at me in all seriousness and said yes, there is always something happening in this town...
Anyway this book brings this place to life in all its many facets and reminds me of my travels there. I recommend it if you like nature writing as well.
Currently I am teaching a high school level English course that is called The literature of Nature and its impact on the environmental movement in the U.S.A. We have started the year with the classic, A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. We will be studying all the classics in this genre such as Silent Spring, Walden, The Unsettling of America, Never Cry Wolf etc. as well as excerpts from other pieces of nature writing and poetry that focuses on nature.
I also enjoy biographies and recently read Duchess of Death which is a biography about Agatha Christie the mystery writer.
Happy reading! Sara |
| patchworkpeace |
Posted - Oct 13 2010 : 09:52:07 AM
Sara,
I'm glad you posted about this book. I've looked at it a couple times and almost read it, but now I will check it out.
Sam, sounds like you could write an interesting book about your life! I think you are right about people being much happier listening to their inner voice - sometimes pressures around us to conform to the latest and greatest is screaming pretty loud.
Judy
Success is measured not by the position one reaches but by the obstacles one has to overcome to reach it. Booker T. Washington |
| Sandra K. Licher |
Posted - Oct 13 2010 : 06:52:32 AM
No, I haven't read it but I could have written it! LOL! Not really but I too was in the corporate world, and with our country screaming for people with technical skills and a degree in Computer Science and 22 years experience could not get a job! So, I retired early and very ill. I love to work with my hands and have found peace and solace in "running my own ship". I have always loved being self-sufficient although I am a far cry from it but the challenge of trying is what keeps me loving each morning to go at it again!
I have finally realized that life is an adventure and the sense of accomplishment does not come from a pay check but from putting in a full day doing what you love and falling into bed totally used up with a smile on your face and gratitude in your heart. When we don't "listen" to our inner voice I think God shoves us in the right direction whether we want to go there or not....it takes years to finally look back and say "thank you Lord!"
I am definitely going to order it NOW and can't wait to read it! I will let you know! It sounds great...I love nonfiction and real life stories of real people. What else are you reading Sara...sounds like we could be book sisters!
Sam in AR..... "It's a great life if you don't weaken!"
Farmgirl Sister #226
www.farmgirlsam.blogspot.com |
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