Sawdust News March 2025

A Message from Mike

Recently, I gave a TEDx talk called "The Thumb or the Brain" which explored why our society values a coder differently than a carpenter. In my research, I discovered the thinking of John Dewey and once again realized that we are standing on the shoulders of giants over the past two hundered years. Dewey, and more recently, Doug Stowe, Joe Youcha, Elliot Washor and many others knew and know that, as Dewey famously said, ""Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself," emphasizing that education should be an integral part of living and not just a means to an end."

A part of this is also empathy and seeking to understand others who have different viewpoints. I am hopeful about people's ability to grow and want to use our program as a way to bring different communities together using woodworking as the medium.

Whether this is done in a classroom or a community event, we will all benefit from learning from others and sharing in respectful ways. 

I ask that those of you with experience or interest in this goal reach out to me so we can find ways to build community and reverse the social trends we are seeing now. 

As always, you can reach me at mike@maplewoodshop.com

Mike

Did you know ?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for woodworkers creates around 22,000 new jobs each year.

The shortage of skilled workers, particularly carpenters, persists, with over 60% of builders reporting shortages according to the National Association of Home Builders. To attract and retain workers, many employers are raising wages, providing a favorable outlook for carpenters. Sep 8, 2024.

Tips & Tricks

When coaching your woodworkers to slow down when sawing, try this expression from Ken Zushma, a teacher in NJ, "Use every tooth in the saw". This is a great mental image to help students improve accuracy and also slow down their racing minds.

Program Updates

NEW: Design Thinking the Maplewoodshop Way. 
This new module will teach design thinking from ideation all the way to commercialization and  will use the existing STANDARD program equipment. We are working on a 10 hour and 24 hour version.

If you would like to BETA test this Summer, please reply to this email and we will have more information for a Fall roll-out in the coming months.

Welcome to the Family

Center City Charter School (DC)
Gramon Family School (NJ)
Long Island Maritime Museum (NY)
PS721K Brooklyn Occupational Training Center (NYC)
Perelman Jewish Day School (PA)
Mandel JCC Palm Beach Gardens (FL)
Bronx Charter School for the Arts (NYC)