Reimagining the Classroom

Chapter 7Hands: Practical Life, Work, and Hands‐on Learning

If a classroom is a microcosm and a space in which to prepare a child for the world they will create and inhabit, then it also is a space to prepare them for the work they will do. A child's work, as much as an adult's, is profoundly important. It can give them a sense of purpose and meaning, of ownership and agency. Moreover, children co‐create their world through work. A child's work doesn't only occur in the learning space; it can also be the way that the child co‐creates the classroom.

I've borrowed the term “practical life” from the Montessori model. This simply means that one learns not just from information or theory, but also from a variety of practices that are woven into ...