Woodworking

So, I've started getting into woodworking. Been putting together a few projects here and there over the past year, learning some techniques and joinery as I go. This weekend, I put together this console table:

This got me thinking: What is it draws me, as an educator to this hobby? Between having a couple of jobs at Durant, being a student at App State, and being a father, I have very little spare time. Why would I choose to spend ~8 hours putting something like this together?

Perhaps part of it comes down to control. When I'm building something, I am (more or less) in control. I'm in control of how/when/where I'm working with the materials. And, even more so, I'm in control of the results. If this table turns out decent, that's due to me. If it ends up shoddy, that's also up to me. And I'll probably know either way once I put a little weight on it. This is not the case with education. We are just one drop of influence in the ocean of their future. And even if we do have an impact, often times we don't realize it till years later, when students return for a visit and update us on their life. But most of the time, we put in the work day-in/day-out unaware of what impact it will have on them. This table was a weekend project.; by the time I placed that last coat of stain on it, I could take a step back and assess my work. We rarely get a chance to do that with education.

This may sound critical of education, but that couldn't be further from the truth. There's something self-indulgent about my woodworking projects. They exist in this imaginary world where I can pretend I'm in control. Where I immediately can set my sights on the fruits of my labor. They are meant for my family and no one else. Yet, our job as educators is so much more selfless. We do what we do because it's the right thing to do. Sometimes we get the reward of a student's gratitude, but most of the time we don't. Yet, we still show up, bright and early, every weekday.

So, if you're as self-absorbed as I am, find yourself a good hobby that will provide the instant-gratification that we often lack in our job. Do whatever you need to do in order to keep showing up at school. You might not always see the difference you make in that classroom, but know that you are building, bit by bit, a better future for each and every kid that walks through your door.