Wisdom of the Hands
Since 2001, Clear Spring School has developed its nationally recognized woodworking program called Wisdom of the Hands. The program was initiated by two-time Golden Hammer Recipient, Doug Stowe, and has been featured in Woodwork and Woodcraft Magazines.
Classroom teachers work with Wisdom of the Hands instructors to design weekly woodworking projects that integrate and support other areas of study, such as geography, economics, history, biology, ecology, literature, and math.
For example, high school students employed three-dimensional design and precision measuring to construct sculptural forms based on age-old techniques of using half-hull models in boat design. First and second grade students created bird houses as part of their nature study, and abacuses to re-enforce basic math skills. Third and fourth grade students, investigating basic economics, expanded an idea to build toy cars for a fundraiser to include creation of a cost analysis, development of a marketing plan, and experimentation with Henry Ford’s assembly line theories.
In addition to utilizing tactile learning to bring core subjects to life, Wisdom of the Hands students develop skill in planning, spatial visualization and design, as well as further developing concentration, perseverance, flexibility, patience, problem-solving and self-assessment. These are substantial building blocks in the foundation of continued learning and personal success.
Through the Wisdom of the Hands Program
Clear Spring School has established a sister school relationship
with the Shinrin Takumi Juku school in Japan. Clear Spring
High School students built a byobu, a box that unfolds on
wood hinges into a decorative screen. One side displayed
colorful milk paint handprints and the other haikus written
in humanities class decorated with dried leaves from the
botany class.