Be Amazed...

Be Amazed???

Here in Northwest Arkansas, a group of corporate benefactors including Walmart and theWalton Family Foundation, have invested in a new children's musuem called the Amazeum. The idea of it is as follows:

From their earliest days, people inquire, explore, and soak up ideas, and they thrive in environments rich with stimulation. From childhood, they gather information that will guide them throughout their lives; they never stop asking questions, and they depend on everyone around - parents, friends, community-to join them in this amazing adventure. The Amazeum, a hands-on museum for children and families coming to Northwest Arkansas, is the dream of a community - to educate people in the best ways possible for whatever lies ahead and to engage the entire family in exploration, learning, and fun.

Should that form of education be the exclusive domain of museums, while schools are left the most boring places in the world? I say no.

Yesterday our head of school attended his usual Wednesday morning Rotary meeting and found that the guest speaker was from the Amazeum, telling of the wonders of their new children's museum. Our head of schools had to bite his tongue and sit on his hands to refrain from asking "What's so new about that?" We teach this way every day at the Clear Spring School. Hand-on, experiential learning should not be limited to those whose parents are able to take them to museums on the weekends, while most children are left disengaged from real life.

Today, I am still moving small things from my old woodshop to the new and have yet to organize my new space for the new year. I am also in the process of writing a second chapter for my book on Friedrich Froebel.

Make, fix and create...