Journal Entry

Journal

As we build Thoreau’s house with our hands a few primitive tools, we are building a house for Pingree Stickers. It is a symbol of our permanent love and appreciation for the woods, fresh air, and slightly unconventional learning. We’re motivated by the students and faculty’s (Ms. Steinert in particular) engagement in Thoreau’s message.

Thoreau loved nature and cared deeply about preserving it. His house on Walden pond and houses like it reflect the virtue of the minds which built them. It doesn’t matter if the blueprints call for a square box, the hard work that goes into such habitations ultimately shine through. This explains why the mentality of modern generations, whom Berry would say mostly consists of “Boomers”,  is reflected in the ugliness of our mass produced, architecturally boring buildings. The U.S., being a relatively young country, is actually home to a lot of “bigger-the-better”, unsustainable architecture. We have acquired the vulgar mind that Forster refers to in Howard’s End, one that is “thrilled by bigness.”

It’s hard to see this in a beautiful town like South Hamilton, MA, but no more than a twenty minute drive and you’ll run into a massive “space-heater” building that brings into question the environmental consciousness of the architect and the rich man who hired him.

A journal entry:

Today, we carried the second part of the tree out of the woods. It weighed probably around
800 pounds, twice the weight of the first part that we carried out. With fourteen of us, it still
felt impossible to lift. We soon realized that the back was heavier and harder to carry than the front of the log, so we tried out different strategies to make it easier on ourselves. For a little while, we picked it up and carried it for probably about fifteen feet, and then took a break. But that did not work very well. We were all tired, and we all thought that our fingers were going to fall off. After a little while, we figured out that if we rotate positions, moving the log would get easier. Also, subbing in and out for the tired people worked well too. One of the most important parts of carrying this tree out of the forest has been the building of teamwork. As a class, I think that we are learning more and more about each other, our strengths and weaknesses as individuals and as a whole, and how we can work as one functioning ‘machine’ to get things done efficiently. One of the great things about our class, I feel, is that we work together easily, and understand one another. We are humorous, fun, determined, and excited, and I love that. But I also feel like when you feel like your fingers and arms are going to give in, our class is really encouraging.  Everyone has to be willing and encouraging in order to keep a positive attitude. And as we all know, hard work is not nearly as hard when you are working with a group of people that has an uplifting spirit. Not only are we learning a lot about how to build a house, but we are also learning about each other which is a really valuable part of class dynamic, which is often lost in the classroom setting.

Humility and Modesty Journal Entry

"At the hewing site, we work together in a way that fosters success through trial and error.  If we fail to draw a straight line using chalk, we accept the failure. Instead of being discouraged by failure, however, we are motivated to perfect the line.  We use intuitive, collaborative thinking to work around minor challenges.  Our class is filled with people who are willing to learn from their mistakes, whether it is adjusting a grip around a broad ax or conducting precise measurements.  Through inquiry and the desire to learn, humility forms.  Through humility, we quietly listen to our teacher, an educator who enjoys hewing in his free time. Mr. Esty’s experiences can help us better understand Thoreau’s connection to nature as we seek to create our own experiences.  We obediently listen to instructions and follow Mr. Esty’s lead.  Through humility and modesty, we have acquired basic skills that enable us to work in a manner than welcomes failure and encourages unconventional thinking, which also enhances our creativity."

Journal Entry About Hewing

This is a part of a journal entry that I had written about working at the hewing site.

"Through the daily work we perform in the woods or at the hewing site, many of us have developed a sense of empathy towards workers that used to work without machinery.  Performing this labor has given me a deeper understanding of the struggles associated with this labor and the dangers that workers were exposed to.  Men carrying large axes around you and striking the wood the wrong way can make you very susceptible to physical harm.  This laborious job required several hours of work a day at a relatively low wage. People were working in unsafe conditions and performing strenuous activity throughout the day but received salaries that could barely support one person.

Although this work is somewhat relaxing and peaceful for me, the amount of pain associated with performing this job every day is unimaginable.  By experiencing this type of work, I have obtained sympathy for those who severely struggled to perform this labor.  It requires complete attentiveness and being situationally aware of my surroundings.  I am slowly becoming more appreciative of the work that people do without judging its level of difficulty.  Although a job may seem easy from afar, actually doing the work may not always be as easy as the skilled employees make it seem.  I shy away from judging people based on the type of work they do because the level of difficulty involved will remain unknown unless I experience it myself."

Our class will attend the Boston Do The Math Tour event at the Orpheum Theater in Boston on November 15, 2012.  We'll learn steps we need to take to move away from harmful, CO2-creating fossil fuels, and how to influence governments to do the same.  We're active and engaged.

http://climatecounts.org/

http://climatecounts.org/scorecard_overview.php

^On the scorecard you can check out a bunch of well-known things from food services to electronics

Corporate CEO's taking advantage of position

This is the opposite of productive. David Siegel is one of several different CEO's who told the employees in their company through email that if Obama were to be elected, that their would be major reform in the company. Reform in the sense that he would make decisions that would cripple the company in a way to preserve his own net profit. He would fire many people, cut benefits and lower salaries just to make sure he's earning as much as possible. I have never seen such a selfish act in my life, especially at this level. What exactly does the phrase "be a professional" mean anymore?