Penland was the Penultimate

The week at the Penland School of Crafts workshop on poetry, print and letter press was an intensive learning experience that tested my energy level. Could I still stay up 'til midnight and later, learn new things, be creative, and still walk? Yes, we can! We had two marvelous instructors who skillfully divided their time between poetry and print. They didn't lecture, they led. I learned a great deal about the way poetry can be constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed. Enjoyed returning to letter press and typesetting. I foolishly chose the longest poem I had written to be included in the class poetry book, so it took a long time to set the type. And, as always, I remembered the printers that I had worked with in the past and grimaced as I recalled my constant changes ordered on the stone. (At least they were getting union wages.)

I'm recommitted to experiential learning and yearn for the day when young people will be able to commit to a study or craft or reading without the constraints of bells that direct them from one period to another. I hope all schools will one day be like Penland.

I'm Going Back to Penland

I'm so very excited about the combination poetry, letterpress and printmaking class I'm going to take. Two interesting instructors, intensive 24 hour work in the shop (if you have the stamina) and the beautiful, beautiful North Carolina mountains. Check out these photos from the penland.org web site. http://penland.org/about/classes_gallery.html

Dan and I have agreed to be on a committee to restore the craft house at Penland -- a wonderful historic building created by the mountain community in the earliest days of Penland. Anyone interested in making a contribution to our personal goal of $2500. please let us know.

Teaching to the Test

What do we lose when schools teach to the test? Aside from the obvious loss of meaning and debasement of content, we lose the chance to tap into the joys and engagement of experiential learning.

In the past I learned that from attending The Penland School of Crafts and absorbing printmaking techniques from the students around me. How did I learn printmaking there? I learned by failure, success, stumbling, and striving, and often by frustration.

Sometimes activities, like scuba diving, seem so technical at first that it seems impossible to achieve the required skill. Even after I had my scuba certification I had my difficulties. But as one of my diving buddies told me, "Getting your certification is just a license to learn."

Why can't we see that our children need a "license to learn".