• Curriculum Overview
• After School
• Events and Celebrations
• Service Learning and Partnerships
• Special Assemblies
• Mini Courses

by Mike Nowell, Woodshop Teacher

A quick perusal of the dictionary yields rich and nuanced definitions of the adjective responsible and the noun responsibility. These are words that we as parents and teachers direct at our children and students with great regularity, "I need you to be more responsible about not leaving your skateboard on the stairs," "While Mommy's in the hospital with her broken leg, splitting the firewood will be your responsibility."

Our frequent use of the word is meant to help our children grow up to make choices that are good not only for themselves, but for those around them, to hold themselves mentally and morally accountable, to prepare them to hold up their end of the social bargain, both capable and invested in answering for their conduct and obligations. A child's time spent woodworking at SRV supports their development of these critical skills and understandings as well.

Engaging in the Shop program involves learning to take on age-appropriate responsibilities while acting responsibly in an environment that by its very nature demands it. Preschoolers are first taught how to keep themselves and their classmates safe while they work, lessons that provide the foundation for all others. The stated expectations provide a guide for responsible action as these youngsters confront the reality that if they want to take a "birdhouse" or "spaceship" back to their cubbies, the responsibility for driving the nails that will hold their selected pieces together lies entirely with them. Learning to determine the right length of nail to use begins the kind of independent thinking that they will be called upon to expand as new situations and projects demand. Telling me about their work before leaving begins exercising the ability to reflect on choices, successes and setbacks.

Kindergarteners are given the responsibility of getting out their own tools and supplies, of putting them away at the end of the class and, like their older schoolmates, enter into verbal contracts with me to finish whatever they begin. Phrases like, "The nail bent" and "The coping saw blade broke" are replaced with "I bent the nail" and "I broke the coping saw blade" as they learn to take ownership of the results of their actions, replacing a sense of frustration or guilt with requests to learn how to avoid these outcomes.

As the children continue through the program, early external supports around time management, determining next logical steps and selecting among joinery options fall away as questions of "What do I do next?" move from "What do you have and what do you need" to the response, "Think." Likewise, requests for aesthetic feedback such as "Is this sanded enough?" shift from "Feel it," to "What do you think?" As children move towards complete ownership of the process, I reflect their new steps in independent thought and action back to them regularly. The fact that they are working on projects that they have chosen for themselves eliminates one of the key hurdles to developing a sense of responsibility at a young age. The standard vehicle of "chores" pales in comparison to this kind of authentic, intrinsically motivated work.

When the combined lessons and experiences of the program are internalized by children, there is no doubt who is responsible for both getting the work done and for the quality of that work, nor any question of who is in the best position to fully appreciate the effort involved. Their actions speak to me, "This is my project. I chose it. I learned the skills I needed to build it and will remember them. I worked hard and safely to get it done. I am proud of my project and proud of myself." Some speak more briefly, "You can trust me. You can count on me. I am responsible."

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