Masterfully carved alabaster stone by twelfth grader, VivIan.
The will to work. The will to persevere at discarding the superfluous. The will to develop the skills, and the will to use them diligently without interruption or distraction is a noteworthy undertaking these days…for anyone, especially a teenager. Not just any adolescent but those who are about to take what might be considered a first (nearly completely) self-directed step toward adulthood; high school seniors who are busy getting ready to embark on their post high school path toward their yet to be revealed futures.
Carving stone to wrest free a satisfactory three-dimensional form is a perfect task for flexing valuable capacities, not least of which is to sustain work with rigor. The work of reductive carving: to hold a form in the mind’s eye and manifest it by laboriously removing what isn’t it. Sounds simple; it’s not. Nor is developing the hammer and chisel coordination and strength of hand to get the task done until what was grasped in the mind’s eye is manifest in substance and held in the very hands that pound it into existence.
We never have enough session hours for such an undertaking, but undertake it the students do nonetheless. Whether or not it is managed to completion (it is such a joy when it is), the journey of application is a worthy and important one. The ability to sustain work through one’s own self-discipline and self-directed will is invaluable. Effort to cultivate this ability is well worth the time. Practicing by attempting to manifest some of the aesthetics of three-dimensional form via stone carving is not only the perfect metaphor, it is truly the perfect medium. Striving at developing capacities to perceive what is hidden, to initiate and sustain work, and to manifest one’s goals will serve the students well. It strengthens their wings as they prepare to fly forward.
Setting up for high school blacksmithing classes, although still a hefty chore, is rolling along with a bit more ease this year as the anvil stands were upgraded this summer. A number of “stumps” were crafted at varying heights by laminating alternating layers of 2- by 6- inch fir lumber. Steel frames were fabricated using pieces of 1/8″ and 1/4″ thick hot-rolled mild-steel flat bars and square tubes that were cut with our new 4×7 horizontal bandsaw. (Thank you dear donor!) Step bits helped make “quick” work drilling numerous holes. Loops for holding tools and custom anvil anchor brackets were hand forged. Everything was welded up using 6013 electrodes with reverse DC polarity on a Lincoln AC/DC 225 Stick Welder. (Isn’t science in action grand?!) A removable handle converts each stump into a hand-truck enabling the anvils to “lightly” roll along while riding a fulcrum balanced on two heavy casters (thank you Archimedes). Efficient set-up and take-down of the smithy affords the young “apprentices”more time to forge artifacts from red hot iron in tandem with the crafting of their very selves. Thank you to everyone who helps make life transforming courses like this possible!
This year, the 12th Grade Economics Main Lesson became an Economics AND Environmental Studies Main Lesson. Seniors are ready to be challenged to think about problems and propose solutions from two distinct fields. The field trip to Shoreway Environmental Center (Public Recycling Center) in San Mateo was the perfect culminating experience for the class.
Inside the transfer facility, students saw the massive pile of waste destined for the landfill and the massive pile destined for industrial composting. It was both a reality check and a dose of hope. Because the content of the Main Lesson both addressed how markets function and the limitations of our earth’s systems, students were able to apply the theoretical concepts they learned to the waste management business.
Students came back inspired to improve the waste management system on the Mountain View Campus by redirecting waste destined for the landfill. Fueled with specific knowledge about proper recycling (did you know black plastics cannot be recycled?) and the SB 1383 Composting Law, expect to see some changes MV Campus.
