I first learned about the Temescal Tool Lending Library through a friend. He was in the process of making a didgeridoo out of PVC pipe, and needed to return a saw and get a new tool.
A library where they trust you to check out power tools for free?! I was amazed!
Soon thereafter I moved into an old craftsman home with a huge back yard. With the help of shears and weed whackers from the lending library, my roommates and I performed major surgery on overgrown shrubs and droopy tree limbs.
This weekend it was time for spring clean up. Twenty minutes in, the weed whacker ran out of thread!
Luckily, I’m a resourceful woman. An hour later I’d found a video online about how to string weed whackers, purchased new thread at Orchard Supply Hardware, and asked the friendly worker to help me re-thread it. I felt so proud, empowered — an independent woman in command of her power tools!
Imagine my surprise when several minutes later I smelled melting plastic. Something had gone drastically wrong! Despite my best intentions, I’d broken the weed whacker.
Today, with my head hung low, I crept into the Tool Lending Library to find out what my punishment would be–
Wait! Stop right here!
“Shame”?! “Punishment”!? I’m sad just reading those words. Talk about a needlessly self-critical response to making a simple mistake!? Pardon me while I take a moment to reprogram myself:
Isn’t it amazing that I actually took a risk and tried to fix the weed whacker on my own?! What persistence to have stuck with it, even though I don’t often feel mechanically inclined! This is SUCCESS we’re talking about! This is an ORGANIC LEARNING PROCESS! Yay me!!
Phew. That’s better. Now let’s get back to our regularly scheduled blog post.
Luckily, the guys at the lending library were incredibly sweet. We took the weed whacker apart and tried to figure out what went wrong. Evidently I had threaded it correctly (woohoo!), although they did point out the string was too small (bummer). We developed several theories about what could have gone wrong, but they also acknowledged that these things happen. No punishment necessary.
However, they did ask: “Would you be willing to write us a review on Yelp?“ You betcha, and here it is.
I walked away from the library feeling supported, proud of flexing my mechanical muscles, and with a heckuva lot more knowledge about how weed whackers are put together. Plus the yard looks great!
Perhaps you’ve been wondering: “What does this story have to do with schools?”
I’ve been thinking a lot about what it would be like if schools (and the students they serve) thought of themselves as tool lending libraries.
What tools would be lended? What form would they take?
What role would students, teachers & administrators play in this context?
To what ends would these tools be used?
As an educator interested in shifting the current paradigm, this seems like a useful metaphor. I’ll share more of my thoughts in the next post. For now… I’d love to know if you, thoughtful for reader, have thoughts on the subject?
What do you think?!
P.S. Remember the didgeridoo playing friend? He is an aerial dancer, and was exploring how to curve the pipe around his head so that he could play the didge upside-down and hands-free. Wacky idea, huh?! To me, this additional detail seems relevant to the whole question about schools…I’ll explain why later.
