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ysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the August 6, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from fuzzyred, helgatwb, rix_scaedu, and wyld_dandelyon. It also fills the "books" square in my 8-1-24 card for the Discworld Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred and janetmiles. It belongs to the Shiv thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
Warning: Most of this poem is upbeat, but it does touch on some past issues of educational abuse.
"The Release of Human Potentialities"
[Wednesday, September 2, 2015]
Shiv stared glumly at the shelves
of colorful toys and tools, hoping
that there would be something
new and interesting to explore.
It was all old stuff, though,
that he had already used
or didn't care to try out.
"Not feeling inspired
today?" Dr. G asked.
Shiv shrugged. "I've
seen it all before."
"In that case, shall
we go shopping for
some fresh materials?"
Dr. G invited. "Edison
has been lobbying for
a new dexterity tool."
Edison's brain might
work lickety-split, but
his fingers didn't always
do what he told them.
Shiv was the other way
around -- skilled enough
with his hands, but stuff
like math and reading
just made his head hurt.
"You don't gotta spend
money on me," he said.
"First, I enjoy buying things
for the people I care about,"
said Dr. G. "Second, the tools
are here for everyone to share,
not just for one person to keep."
Shiv was still mulling over
how to respond to that when
Edison bounded into the room.
"Can we go, can we please?"
he begged. "I finished up
the hex set on Monday."
Kid didn't have much in
the way of patience yet.
"It is Shiv's choice today,
because you and I can go
any time, but he doesn't
come here as often,"
Dr. G said gently.
Edison turned to
Shiv and made
silent puppy eyes.
"Okay, fine, let's go
shopping," Shiv said.
"Where do we even go
to look for this kinda stuff?"
"Alternity Educational Goods,"
said Dr. G. "They carry a variety
of tools and toys designed for
different alternative schools. We
like to use those from Montessori
and Waldorf traditions regularly."
"You'll love it," Edison said earnestly.
"It's the best store in the whole city!"
"I've seen your HAMshack," Shiv said.
"That's a pretty high bar to clear."
"Alternity has good resources for
STEMZ if that's what you would
like to explore," said Dr. G.
"Maybe?" Shiv said. "I'm
used to school just being
old people talking at me."
"What a waste," said Dr. G.
"Education should no longer be
mostly imparting of knowledge
but must take a new path, seeking
the release of human potentialities."
Shiv wasn't sure exactly what Dr. G
meant by that, but he was sure that
he liked it better than being shoved
in a chair and told to pay attention.
They climbed into the family van
and headed toward the store.
Shiv liked riding with the Finns
because they were always
saying something interesting
and nobody bitched at him
to stop fiddling with things.
There were fidgets inside
every door pocket as well
as the organizers that hung
over all of the seat backs.
"Here we are," Dr. G said,
parking near a red brick store.
"Let's go see what we can find."
Inside, Alternity Educational Goods
had a riot of tools and toys piled
onto shelves and spinny racks,
with bigger items on the floor.
The aisles and islands seemed
to form clusters or sections, but
Shiv couldn't figure out how
they were actually organized.
That was okay, though. He
was fascinated just looking
at all the colorful stuff in
one direction and things
of plain wood in another.
Edison promptly zipped off
toward his favorite area,
and Dr. G let him go.
Curious, Shiv drifted
toward some shelves
that held metal toys.
There were trucks,
trains, farm gear, and
construction equipment
in one section along with
more shelves that held
models and building toys.
The things Shiv could do
with all of those loose parts ...
He stood there so long staring
at those racks of stuff that he
lost track of everything else,
until someone shoved into him.
Shiv startled and whirled,
expecting a little kid, but it
was a shriveled old lady with
a cart full of toys and a face
like she was sucking a lemon.
She glared at him and demanded,
"Say 'excuse me,' young man!"
"No," Shiv said as he narrowed
his eyes. "You bumped into me."
"Well, you're a rude little beast,
aren't you?" the old woman said.
"Takes one to know one," Shiv sang.
"Honestly, Graham, what were you
thinking, bringing him here?" she said.
"The boy clearly has no manners, and
just look at how he's dressed. Why, he
looks like he crawled out of a gutter."
"The store is open to everyone,
Prudence, and it always has been,"
said Dr. G. "Besides, courtesy and
etiquette are learned skills that differ
from culture to culture, and in his,
you're the one being impolite."
Shiv snickered, then tried
unsuccessfully to turn it into
a cough. That bitch wouldn't
last a day on his streets.
"Well, some things are
just common decency,
like the magic words,"
Prudence said, sniffing.
"Surely he's old enough
to manage that much."
If he felt like it, yeah,
but Shiv didn't feel now.
That kind of magic had
never worked for him
anyhow, it was just
fairytale nonsense.
"Prudence, you can't
expect someone who was
never taught manners to read
your mind and follow them,"
Dr. G said. "That's not fair."
"I just don't think you should
let a hooligan like that into
a store like this," she huffed.
"People bring their children
to shop in here, you know."
"I do know," Dr. G said evenly,
"because that's what I'm doing.
Besides, as long as Shiv is
shopping for school materials,
he's not out stirring trouble.
Consider it harm reduction."
Yeah, Shiv had seen Dr. G stop
more mayhem with a kind word
and a pat on the shoulder than
the "superheroes" ever could
with a punch in the face.
The lady grumbled again,
wrinkled her nose, and
stalked off down the aisle.
Shiv flipped her off behind
her back, then checked to see
if that would get him in trouble.
"How are you?" Dr. G asked,
looking all earnest and worried.
"It's okay to leave if you're not --"
"No," Shiv growled. "I ain't gonna let
that hag run me off when you're buying."
"Well, good," Dr. G said briskly. "Did
you like any of the building toys?"
"Kinda took the shine off 'em,"
Shiv admitted. "I'm not sure
I could sort through that now."
"Then let's go investigate
this section, it looks fun,"
Dr. G said, beckoning him
toward the nature materials.
The best thing about Dr. G,
Shiv mused, was that he
opened up new possibilities
without ever trying to make
Shiv quit being himself.
The shelves here held
children's books and rows
of realistic stuffed animals.
"Little young for me," Shiv said.
"Besides, most of these books
are about California critters."
"Good point," Dr. G said.
"We'll try down here instead."
There were wildlife feeders, kits
for building birdhouses, benches,
or other outdoor features, and
books that looked way too hard.
"I don't think I could read these,"
Shiv said, shaking his head.
"You can't go wrong with
Golden Guides," Dr. G said.
"Look, here's one about
Birds of North America."
Shiv looked, and yeah, it
had pictures and diagrams
along with the words. He
could see using this as
a reference for artwork.
"What's the budget?"
Shiv asked, flicking
a finger on the corner
of the pages to make
a soft buzzing sound.
Dr. G waved him off.
"I'll buy you any books
that appeal to you."
He sounded a lot
like Tolli and Simon.
"Okay, I like this one,"
Shiv said. "What else
do they have here?"
"Mammals," said Dr. G.
"It includes everything from
arctic foxes to woodchucks."
Shiv snickered. "Yeah, I
also like drawing animals."
"Okay, what about plants?"
said Dr. G. "This one covers
Wildflowers of North America."
"Pretty," Shiv said, leafing
through it. "I like this too."
"Put it in the cart," said Dr. G,
and Shiv did. "I suggest that
you start with these, and if you
want more detail, then look for
Nebraska guides. They should
have some for all ages, so you
can pick whatever's comfortable."
"Thanks," Shiv whispered. "I
wouldn't have thought of these."
"That's what a native guide
is for," Dr. G said with a wink.
"Now let's go find Edison."
He was in the Montessori area,
poking at a row of boards that
each had different pieces of
real hardware to play with.
"Have you found anything
appealing yet?" said Dr. G.
"Yes, I like this workboard,"
Edison said. "This one has
more variety than the old ones."
He held up something that
had a ton of different screws
and tools attached to it.
"That's a lot of new things,"
Dr. G pointed out. "Are
you quite sure you want
that much challenge?"
Edison lifted his chin.
"I'm sure," he said. "I'm
done with the singles, so
some of these are familiar.
It's this or the other one
with different bolt sizes."
Dr. G looked at that one,
then shook his head. "No,
I think the tiny ones would
be too hard for you still,"
he said. "You chose well."
Edison found a boxed one
to match the sample board,
and put the box in the cart.
"Yeah, I hope so," he said.
"Be patient with your fingers,"
Dr. G reminded him. "I know
it's frustrating, but some things
just take longer to grow in."
Shiv was frowning over
a wooden tray that held
rows of locks and keys.
"Uh ... what is something
like this doing in a store?"
he asked, cocking his head.
"Dexterity practice," Edison said.
"I can show you how it works."
He picked up the first key and
tried it in the first lock. When
it didn't fit into the keyhole,
he put down the first key
and tried the second key.
That opened the lock,
so he put the lock back
in its place and moved
on to the second lock.
After opening all of
the locks, Edison
relocked them and
put the tray back.
"You have to practice
until you can go through
the whole row without
fumbling," he said.
"Do you like that set?"
Dr. G asked Shiv.
"I was, um, expecting
different pieces than
those," Shiv muttered.
Specifically, lockpicks.
"I'm sure we could find
any missing pieces,"
said Dr. G. "Of course,
you're not limited to hands."
Shiv shook his head. "It's fine.
I don't really need lock practice."
"Okay," said Dr. G. "Look around
and see if you find anything you like."
"Can we check the literacy shelves?"
Edison asked. "Those usually
have something good to try."
"You already read better
than me," Shiv said
as he rolled his eyes.
"For writing," Edison said,
looking down at his shoes.
"We can check," said Dr. G.
"The beauty of Montessori
is that every student gets
to learn at their own speed."
That might be ... nice.
There were lots of things
in that section. Some of
them Shiv recognized from
the Finn shelves, while
others were new to him.
He wasn't really interested
in reading or writing, but
the almost-art-stuff might
be worth looking into.
Shiv frowned, trying
to read the price tags.
Dr. G covered them
with his hand. "Don't
worry about the cost,"
he said gently. "Today
is my treat, after all."
"Uh huh," Shiv said,
looking at a stack
of tracing boards.
The designs were
cool, but they would
probably get boring
too fast to bother.
"You have enjoyed
the sandpaper letters,"
Dr. G said. "Perhaps
a sand board and cards
of designs to trace? It's
not just good for writing,
it also helps for art."
"Hmm," Shiv said as
he looked at the sample.
There was a frame that
held sand, with a scraper
to smooth it, as well as
a slot to hold tracing cards.
A man popped out from
behind the wall of shelves.
"Hi, Graham," he said.
"Looking for prewriting
and art stuff today?"
"Shiv didn't get a lot
of writing instruction in
school," Dr. G explained,
without going into detail.
"Or at all," Shiv muttered.
"Shiv, this is Monroe Knowles,
he's a metallurgist and inventor.
His family is friends with ours,
so you might have seen them at
parties," said Dr. G. "Monroe,
this is my nephew Shiv."
The guy was tall and
sturdy, middle-aged,
and didn't look like
the kind of person
to smack you around.
Shiv wasn't sure whether
he'd seen Monroe before,
but the older man did look
vaguely familiar, so maybe
he really had been around
some of the Finn parties.
"Pleased to meet you,"
said Monroe. "Allow
me to recommend
the metal insets."
He pointed to a set
of shelves that held
two pink-and-blue rows
of geometric shapes.
"You can trace inside
the frame or around
the shape of each,
and make designs,"
Monroe continued.
"My older kids enjoy
making paper robots."
"I like metal," Shiv said,
daring to touch a fingertip
to one of the square frames.
It felt surprisingly sturdy.
Then a woman came
around the corner with
a whole train of kids like
a mama duck with ducklings.
"My family," said Monroe. "Meet
my wife Cora, our oldest son Harris,
then Noelle, Gage, Timmy, and
that's Paulina in the baby sling.
Folks, this is Shiv, a Finn cousin."
"Hello," the children chorused, and
Cora added, "It's nice to meet you."
Shiv balanced on the balls of his feet,
but nobody tried to grab him. "Uh, hi."
"Fudge Guy!" crowed Gage, bouncing
on his toes so his curls went like springs.
Well, even if Shiv didn't recognize them
from the Finn house parties, the kids
certainly seemed to remember him.
Timmy looked at the toy shelves,
looked Shiv, and said. "I'm a lefty.
Writing is hard. You hard too?"
"... I'm better at drawing than
writing," Shiv said slowly.
"These are good," Timmy said,
pointing at the metal insets.
"So are these." He pointed
at the wooden tracing boards.
"But not the sand board?"
Shiv blurted. "Uh, nevermind."
"I spill sand," Timmy said.
"Wood doesn't spill."
"Sand everywhere,"
Cora agreed, "so we
do that outside where
a little spill won't matter."
Yeah, Shiv wouldn't want
to sweep sand off a floor,
let alone try to get that
out of a rug or carpet.
"If you're looking at
the metal insets, we
have them at home and
all of us work with them,"
Cora said. "I'm an artist
and a Montessori teacher."
Shiv perked up a little. "I uh,
I like doing art," he replied.
He was distracted by the kids,
though, because they weren't
running around like hooligans.
They were browsing the shelves
and discussing which things they
liked, had at home, or wanted.
They reminded him of the Finnlings,
but these kids were a lot calmer.
Now and then, one of them
would offer him something
they'd picked up to play with.
Shiv really wasn't used
to being ... included.
It didn't suck much at all.
He kept drifting back to
that rack of metal frames,
though. It was so cool.
"Yeah, that's a favorite
of ours too," said Harris.
"We don't have that one
at home now," said Dr. G.
"Shiv, what do you think?"
"I like it," Shiv said softly.
"The shapes feel good."
Then Edison bounded over
with a wobbling stack of books
piled on top of two -- no, three --
different boxes of electronics.
"What did you pick out?"
he asked Shiv as he
dumped his load into
the shopping cart.
"This," Shiv said,
putting a hand on
the metal insets.
Then he noticed
that there wasn't
a boxed one for
sale and sighed.
"But they're out."
"They probably don't
leave boxes that big
out here," said Dr. G.
"I'll ask them to send
it from the back room."
"If you like, we could
show you some things
that our family enjoys
doing with that set,"
Cora offered. "There
are so many options!"
"I know some too,"
said Edison. "Harris
and I make robots, but
the starbursts are also fun."
"I do those a lot," said Noelle.
"I like mixing different shapes."
That did sound interesting. Shiv
liked the Montessori materials.
"Would you like to invite
some friends over to
the house for a visit?"
Dr. G asked quietly.
"I guess so?" Shiv said.
Then he remembered
the Finn insistence
on clear consent and
added, "Yes. Please."
"You're welcome to join
us," Dr. G said to Cora.
"I could use extra hands
for assembling the parts."
"We'd be happy to visit,"
Cora said with a smile.
"All right, kids, last call,"
said Monroe. "Pick out
one thing each, if you
haven't already done so."
"That goes for you too,"
Dr. G said as he turned
toward Shiv and Edison.
"Finish up, please."
Shiv was about to say
that he didn't need
any more when he
spied the spinny rack
full of 3-part card sets.
Quickly he snatched up
packets of flowers, birds,
animals, and sea life.
"Could I ...?" he asked,
hopefully holding them up.
"Sure, those look fun,"
said Dr. G. "I bet you
can think of many ways
to use those materials."
"I was gonna put them on
my word wall," Shiv said.
"That's a good start,"
said Dr. G. "You could
also use them for art --
pick a random card and
draw the thing it shows."
"Oh, that's a good idea,"
Shiv said. "I'll try that."
Edison piled more books
into the cart, and then
they headed to checkout.
Waiting for them there
was a big bundle of boxes
that held the metal insets
and their slanted stands,
a wooden tray, a case of
paper squares, a set of
the colored pencils that
went in matching cups,
and the shelving unit.
Dr. G emptied the cart
onto the checkout counter.
Uneasy with numbers
in general and prices
in particular, Shiv drifted
away to look at other things.
"All done," Dr. G said. "We've
got the new work materials and
some fun stuff. Also, here."
He handed Shiv a bucket.
"What's this?" Shiv said.
It was thick plastic with
a secure lid, but he could
sense tangled metal inside.
"You liked the first section
of metal items, but you didn't
pick out anything," said Dr. G.
"So I just got you a bucket of
loose parts from the bulk bin.
Erector Set bits seemed like
they would suit your tastes."
Shiv needed both hands
to pry the lid off the bucket.
Inside lay a riot of metal struts,
plates, wheels, gears, nuts and
bolts for assembly, a hex wrench,
even a few of the scarcer things
like real motors and winches.
The struts and plates had
holes all over them so you
could bolt them together
in any way you wanted.
Most were plain silver, but
others were bright shades
of red, yellow, or blue.
"Woah," Shiv said softly.
"I could do a lot with this."
"I'm happy to hear that,"
said Graham. "You're
welcome to add those
to your junk drawer in
the kitchen, take them
home, or some of each."
Shiv stirred the pieces
with his finger. "Thanks."
He snapped the lid back on,
then slung the handle of
the bucket over his wrist.
It only took a few minutes
to load all the packages
into the family van so
they could head home.
Shiv rode with his bucket
tucked between his knees.
He wasn't ... exactly ... playing
with his parts in the van, but he
kept running his superpower
over them to see what he had.
He couldn't really keep track
without sorting them out on
a table, but he enjoyed just
fondling them a little bit.
When they reached
the house, Shiv helped
carry in all of their loot.
The Knowles family
pulled in behind them.
With so many people
eager to help, it didn't
take very long for them
to set up the shelving unit
with the metal insets and
their supporting supplies.
"Well, that looks good,"
Dr. G said. "Sometimes
it's easier to get new shelves,
especially when folks aren't
done with all of the materials
on the old shelves yet."
"Some materials have
special containers, too,"
Edison said. "The beads
are easier to use with
their proper boxes and
the Bead Cabinet."
"Yeah, I like those,"
Shiv said. The beads
made counting easier,
even though he still
didn't care for math.
"Shiv, would you like
me to show you some
of the lessons that use
metal insets?" Cora said.
He fidgeted. "Could I ...
maybe just watch first?"
"Of course," Cora said,
like it was perfectly okay.
"That's often a wise idea."
She unslung the baby and
put Paulina on a blanket.
Then she brought over
a flat workboard, the frame
of the circle, a square of
paper, and a red pencil.
"This is a circle," Cora said.
"Paulina, can you say circle?"
"Kuh! Kuh!" the baby squealed,
waving her fat little hands.
Cora put a square of paper
on the workboard, then
placed the frame over it.
"I am tracing the circle,"
Cora said as she did so.
She lifted the frame up,
then offered Paulina
a red crayon egg.
"Would you like
to draw on the circle?"
Cora asked Paulina.
The baby grabbed
the red egg, and well ...
It wasn't really drawing.
It was more a matter of
enthusiastically banging
a hunk of wax on the paper.
Paulina seemed to love making
little dots and streaks, though.
"Is that normal?" Shiv wondered.
"She seems awful young for coloring,
and no way she can color in the lines."
Adults cared way too much about
that, and it made him ... nervous.
"It's normal for artistic babies to start
mark-making as soon as they can
hold things in their hands," said Cora.
"She takes after me. We don't expect
her to stay in the lines. The circle
is just there to give her a target."
"Oh," Shiv said. "That makes
a lot more sense than ... yeah."
Than pretty much anything
he'd ever seen in school.
Montessori was so better.
"Now, we're not limited
to just the metal insets,"
Cora continued. "Timmy
likes to branch out more."
This time she picked up
a workboard, a square frame,
paper, and an orange pencil.
"This is a square," Cora said.
"Timmy, can you say square?"
"Square," the toddler replied.
"I am tracing the shape,"
Cora said. "What is this?"
"Square!" Timmy said,
clearly proud of himself.
"Look on the work shelves,"
Cora said, pointing. "Can
you find some small things
to make the shape of a square?"
Teddy obviously knew his way
around those shelves. He nabbed
a basket of loose parts that held
nature stuff like twigs, pinecones,
and seashells. In the other hand he
took the basket of knobless cylinders.
Then he started laying out lines of
objects to make square shapes,
using the trace as an example.
That was ... pretty clever, actually,
showing that a square was more
than just a bent line on paper.
Paulina got tired of coloring and
tossed her crayon across the room.
Shiv flinched. That never ended well.
He tried to sidle between Paulina
and all of the adults in the room.
"Uh oh!" Cora said cheerfully.
"Crayons are not for throwing.
We must not throw crayons,
or else they might go on strike."
"Wait, what?" Shiv said, confused.
Cora picked up the egg crayon
and put it back in its carton.
"If you want to practice throwing,
Paulina, let's find a soft toy for that."
Cora stood in front of the shelves.
"I am looking for the kind of toys
that are safe for us to throw."
She picked up two balls and
offered them to her daughter.
"Paulina, would you like to throw
the rainbow ball or the grasping ball?"
Paulina grabbed the grasping ball,
bashed it against the floor a few times,
then hurled it against the nearest wall.
It bounced off harmlessly, rolled a bit,
then Harris brought it back to his sister.
Monroe sat down beside Paulina so he
could play a game of catch with his kids.
Shiv felt like his head was going to explode.
All the times that he had gotten smacked
for throwing things, he'd never had anyone
offer him something that was safe to throw.
Could it really be that ... simple?
Just pick out a different toy?
Bizarre as it seemed to him,
nobody else acted surprised.
Maybe this was what normal
was supposed to look like.
Shiv liked it better than his life.
"Are you doing okay?" Dr. G said.
"Unexpected things can get twitchy."
"I'm fine," Shiv insisted as he tried
to stuff his past back down in
the basement where it belonged.
He didn't want to miss any of
the other lessons. The insets
were proving really interesting.
Then he thought of something.
"Um ... what did Cora mean
about crayons going on strike?"
"It's a children's book," said Dr. G.
"When the Crayons Went on Strike
is about how they don't want folks
to be mean to them, so they go
on strike as a way to demand
better working conditions."
"If we throw crayons, then
they go back in the box
and up on a high shelf,
until we show that we can
play peacefully," said Noelle.
That made more sense to Shiv.
Next, Cora invited Gage to
a lesson. "This is an ellipse,"
she said. "Can you say ellipse?"
"That's an ellipse," Gage replied.
"It has the same kind of ends."
"I am tracing the ellipse with
a purple pencil," said Cora.
"What color of pencil will you
use to trace your ellipse?"
"I want green." Gage
grabbed the green pencil
and then started tracing
a somewhat wobbly line
inside the metal frame.
"It's the same lesson,
only not," Shiv blurted.
"I'm glad you can see that,
because we're going to skip
a few steps here," said Cora.
She asked Noelle. "What shape
would you like to work with now?"
"Triangle, please," said Noelle.
She fetched her own materials.
"What work will you do with
the triangle?" her mother asked.
"I'm going to trace the frame
in black, trace the triangle in
pink, then color in the triangle
with pink too," said Noelle.
Shiv watched her work as
she made a double triangle,
and then carefully colored
just inside the inner line.
"Hey, that's like some of
my art worksheets," he said.
"I use them for shading practice."
"That's good," said Cora. "It's
easier to work with familiar things."
"Yeah, with the insets, I could
make like my own worksheets,
big enough to use paintbrushes
or pastel sticks instead of just
pen or colored pencil," said Shiv.
"Always think of more ways you
can use the same materials, and
you'll save money," said Dr. G.
Cora asked Harris, "Are you and
Edison still working on robots?"
"Yes, they're fun," said Harris.
"It's good practice on scissors too."
"You may choose two shapes from
the set to start with," said Cora.
"Rectangle and trapezoid, please,"
said Harris. He fetched his materials.
He traced each shape, and then
carefully cut them out of the paper.
Different rectangles or squares
could be made by cutting across
the paper, instead of always
reusing the same shapes.
"You can use brads to fasten
the shapes together," said Edison.
"We have all kinds on the craft shelf."
He brought out a plastic box shaped
like a flower that opened to show
lots of little cups holding brads
in different colors and shapes.
Shiv was rather fascinated
by Harris pinning together
the pieces to make a robot.
Edison turned to Shiv.
"There's another exercise
I really like with insets, but
I'm not very good at it yet."
"You're still learning,"
Dr. G reminded him.
"You'll get the hang of it.
Go ahead and show Shiv."
Edison took the rectangle inset.
He traced the frame, then the inset,
making a narrow rectangular stripe.
"Rotate the frame, then trace it again."
He started tracing, then said, "Stop
here. We must not cross the lines."
He skipped over the lines, then
continued tracing until he had
another narrow stripe that looked
like it was behind the first one,
but set at a different angle.
"If you want, you can change
the lines so that they go over
and under each other, like
Celtic knotwork," said Edison.
Instantly Shiv could see how
it would work. "Cool," he said.
"Could I maybe ... try that?"
"Of course," said Dr. G.
"Choose a shape to trace."
"I like the cloverleaf," Shiv said.
"I think I'll start with that one."
"That shape is also called
a quatrefoil," said Cora.
"Yeah no, I'm never gonna
remember that," said Shiv.
He took some paper and
a few pencils, then tried
tracing both the frame
and the curved inset.
It was harder than it
looked at first glance,
but he managed to get
the lines overlapping so
the shapes wove together.
"There is another whole set
of exercises where you rotate
shapes, or use different shapes,
to make more complex designs,"
said Cora. "That's a fun way
to practice your drawing
and coloring skills, too."
She demonstrated a few
of those for Shiv, first
tracing one shape and
then rotating it to trace
just the parts that didn't
overlap the earlier lines.
Then she did ones that
used two or three shapes.
"See how I use a new color
to trace each shape?" she said.
"Always color the parts to match
the line with which they are traced."
She colored one example, quickly
but carefully enough that she
never slopped over the lines.
Shiv was impressed. He knew
his handwriting was horrible,
because it was so hard to get
the letters going the right way.
He did a lot better with art,
but it was still easier to paint
with a brush or a can than to get
the pen or pencil lines perfect.
Maybe this would help him
improve his art skills, and not
just mess around for fun.
Shiv picked up the egg
and the bent triangle
to make stacked shapes.
"You've chosen the oval
and the curvilinear triangle,"
said Cora. "Those will make
some interesting stacks."
They really did. Shiv
enjoyed weaving them
together in different ways,
or tracing just the bits that
stuck out of an earlier shape.
He also experimented with
coloring them in different ways,
some shaded, others hatched,
stippled, or even scumbled.
Yeah, he'd be doing this
a lot. It was way more fun
than just doing little boxes.
"My favorite exercise
is a bit off the books,
but I think you'll like it,"
Monroe said to Shiv.
Then he picked up
the ellipse inset that
Gage wasn't using
and traced around
the outside of it.
Next he drew in
a few little details.
"Hey, it's a bug!"
Shiv exclaimed.
"Yep," said Monroe.
"See, you can use
the shapes to create
many different animals,
plants, or other things.
It makes drawing easier."
"That's great practice for
seeing how complex objects
are made of simple shapes,
if you like that approach
to artwork," Cora added.
"Oh yeah," said Shiv.
"I've seen instructions
for that, and workshops --
it really seems to work."
He used the cloverleaf
to make a tree, and then
the ellipse to draw a penguin.
This definitely worked for
seeing the shapes in things,
and seeing things in shapes.
"If you like these materials,
there are more sets that fit
the same shelves," said Dr. G.
"That includes solid shapes
like stars or hexagons."
"That could be interesting,
once I've gone through all of
these shapes," Shiv agreed.
"There are also circles, squares,
and triangles cut into fractions,
plus concentric circles or squares,"
said Dr. G. "Then you could do
more things by combining those."
"Like a color wheel," Shiv said,
quickly realizing the potential.
"Or a bullseye, or a tunnel that
shows perspective," Cora added.
"I use those sets for teaching art
as much as I do for mathematics."
"I just like to play with the things,"
Monroe said. "They're fun, even if
they don't turn out as I expected."
"That's the importance of being
willing to learn new stuff at any age,
and how crucial play is to learning,"
said Dr. G. "You have to understand
that it's not a failure to make a mistake
or to have a piece not turn out the way
you hoped it would, because those
are things you can learn stuff from."
Monroe laughed. "I work as
an innovative metallurgist and
materials scientist," he said. "I
have to be comfortable with failure.
Besides, sometimes failures just
lead to unexpected discoveries."
"I like messing around with metal
too," said Shiv. He glanced at
Dr. G for help reassurance.
"It's safe," said Dr. G.
"You don't have to share,
but you can if you want to."
Shiv pulled his play-putty
out of his pocket and shaped
that into a stylized horse.
Concentrating, he pushed
his superpower into the metal,
trying to make it move like
it was liquid, like it was alive.
The horse sculpture took
a few halting steps.
Shiv shook his head.
"I'm still working out
how to animate it."
"Well, I'm already
impressed by that,"
said Monroe. "Maybe
we could play with metal
together some time."
"Monroe's work lab
is the stuff of dreams,"
said Dr. G. "Sometimes
Halley and Edison visit
on Junior Genius Days."
Shiv snorted. "I ain't
a genius," he said.
"A matter of opinion,"
Monroe said, waving
it away. "If I bring you
in as a consultant, then
we can explore the lab
and the various metals
or other materials I have."
"Just to play around with?"
Shiv said. "I don't know how
to do any fancy science shit."
"Play around," said Monroe.
"You like Montessori materials,
and a development lab really
isn't that different -- you have
tools, supplies, standard steps,
and then it's up to your creativity."
"In Montessori tradition, we present
materials in a certain way that works,"
said Cora. "Then we let students
explore and find whole new ways
to use the things available to them."
"As long as you don't break things,
there isn't really a wrong way
to use them," Edison added. "I
like being able to experiment."
Shiv thought about how much fun
it was to fool around in the kitchen,
trying different blends of ingredients.
The results didn't always taste good,
and he had baked up more than
one batch of hockey pucks.
Without that experimentation,
though, he would never have
discovered avocado fudge.
"Yeah," Shiv said. "This
has a lot of possibilities."
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character (Part 1, Part 2), location, and content notes appear separately.
fuzzyred, helgatwb, rix_scaedu, and wyld_dandelyon. It also fills the "books" square in my 8-1-24 card for the Discworld Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred and janetmiles. It belongs to the Shiv thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.Warning: Most of this poem is upbeat, but it does touch on some past issues of educational abuse.
"The Release of Human Potentialities"
[Wednesday, September 2, 2015]
Shiv stared glumly at the shelves
of colorful toys and tools, hoping
that there would be something
new and interesting to explore.
It was all old stuff, though,
that he had already used
or didn't care to try out.
"Not feeling inspired
today?" Dr. G asked.
Shiv shrugged. "I've
seen it all before."
"In that case, shall
we go shopping for
some fresh materials?"
Dr. G invited. "Edison
has been lobbying for
a new dexterity tool."
Edison's brain might
work lickety-split, but
his fingers didn't always
do what he told them.
Shiv was the other way
around -- skilled enough
with his hands, but stuff
like math and reading
just made his head hurt.
"You don't gotta spend
money on me," he said.
"First, I enjoy buying things
for the people I care about,"
said Dr. G. "Second, the tools
are here for everyone to share,
not just for one person to keep."
Shiv was still mulling over
how to respond to that when
Edison bounded into the room.
"Can we go, can we please?"
he begged. "I finished up
the hex set on Monday."
Kid didn't have much in
the way of patience yet.
"It is Shiv's choice today,
because you and I can go
any time, but he doesn't
come here as often,"
Dr. G said gently.
Edison turned to
Shiv and made
silent puppy eyes.
"Okay, fine, let's go
shopping," Shiv said.
"Where do we even go
to look for this kinda stuff?"
"Alternity Educational Goods,"
said Dr. G. "They carry a variety
of tools and toys designed for
different alternative schools. We
like to use those from Montessori
and Waldorf traditions regularly."
"You'll love it," Edison said earnestly.
"It's the best store in the whole city!"
"I've seen your HAMshack," Shiv said.
"That's a pretty high bar to clear."
"Alternity has good resources for
STEMZ if that's what you would
like to explore," said Dr. G.
"Maybe?" Shiv said. "I'm
used to school just being
old people talking at me."
"What a waste," said Dr. G.
"Education should no longer be
mostly imparting of knowledge
but must take a new path, seeking
the release of human potentialities."
Shiv wasn't sure exactly what Dr. G
meant by that, but he was sure that
he liked it better than being shoved
in a chair and told to pay attention.
They climbed into the family van
and headed toward the store.
Shiv liked riding with the Finns
because they were always
saying something interesting
and nobody bitched at him
to stop fiddling with things.
There were fidgets inside
every door pocket as well
as the organizers that hung
over all of the seat backs.
"Here we are," Dr. G said,
parking near a red brick store.
"Let's go see what we can find."
Inside, Alternity Educational Goods
had a riot of tools and toys piled
onto shelves and spinny racks,
with bigger items on the floor.
The aisles and islands seemed
to form clusters or sections, but
Shiv couldn't figure out how
they were actually organized.
That was okay, though. He
was fascinated just looking
at all the colorful stuff in
one direction and things
of plain wood in another.
Edison promptly zipped off
toward his favorite area,
and Dr. G let him go.
Curious, Shiv drifted
toward some shelves
that held metal toys.
There were trucks,
trains, farm gear, and
construction equipment
in one section along with
more shelves that held
models and building toys.
The things Shiv could do
with all of those loose parts ...
He stood there so long staring
at those racks of stuff that he
lost track of everything else,
until someone shoved into him.
Shiv startled and whirled,
expecting a little kid, but it
was a shriveled old lady with
a cart full of toys and a face
like she was sucking a lemon.
She glared at him and demanded,
"Say 'excuse me,' young man!"
"No," Shiv said as he narrowed
his eyes. "You bumped into me."
"Well, you're a rude little beast,
aren't you?" the old woman said.
"Takes one to know one," Shiv sang.
"Honestly, Graham, what were you
thinking, bringing him here?" she said.
"The boy clearly has no manners, and
just look at how he's dressed. Why, he
looks like he crawled out of a gutter."
"The store is open to everyone,
Prudence, and it always has been,"
said Dr. G. "Besides, courtesy and
etiquette are learned skills that differ
from culture to culture, and in his,
you're the one being impolite."
Shiv snickered, then tried
unsuccessfully to turn it into
a cough. That bitch wouldn't
last a day on his streets.
"Well, some things are
just common decency,
like the magic words,"
Prudence said, sniffing.
"Surely he's old enough
to manage that much."
If he felt like it, yeah,
but Shiv didn't feel now.
That kind of magic had
never worked for him
anyhow, it was just
fairytale nonsense.
"Prudence, you can't
expect someone who was
never taught manners to read
your mind and follow them,"
Dr. G said. "That's not fair."
"I just don't think you should
let a hooligan like that into
a store like this," she huffed.
"People bring their children
to shop in here, you know."
"I do know," Dr. G said evenly,
"because that's what I'm doing.
Besides, as long as Shiv is
shopping for school materials,
he's not out stirring trouble.
Consider it harm reduction."
Yeah, Shiv had seen Dr. G stop
more mayhem with a kind word
and a pat on the shoulder than
the "superheroes" ever could
with a punch in the face.
The lady grumbled again,
wrinkled her nose, and
stalked off down the aisle.
Shiv flipped her off behind
her back, then checked to see
if that would get him in trouble.
"How are you?" Dr. G asked,
looking all earnest and worried.
"It's okay to leave if you're not --"
"No," Shiv growled. "I ain't gonna let
that hag run me off when you're buying."
"Well, good," Dr. G said briskly. "Did
you like any of the building toys?"
"Kinda took the shine off 'em,"
Shiv admitted. "I'm not sure
I could sort through that now."
"Then let's go investigate
this section, it looks fun,"
Dr. G said, beckoning him
toward the nature materials.
The best thing about Dr. G,
Shiv mused, was that he
opened up new possibilities
without ever trying to make
Shiv quit being himself.
The shelves here held
children's books and rows
of realistic stuffed animals.
"Little young for me," Shiv said.
"Besides, most of these books
are about California critters."
"Good point," Dr. G said.
"We'll try down here instead."
There were wildlife feeders, kits
for building birdhouses, benches,
or other outdoor features, and
books that looked way too hard.
"I don't think I could read these,"
Shiv said, shaking his head.
"You can't go wrong with
Golden Guides," Dr. G said.
"Look, here's one about
Birds of North America."
Shiv looked, and yeah, it
had pictures and diagrams
along with the words. He
could see using this as
a reference for artwork.
"What's the budget?"
Shiv asked, flicking
a finger on the corner
of the pages to make
a soft buzzing sound.
Dr. G waved him off.
"I'll buy you any books
that appeal to you."
He sounded a lot
like Tolli and Simon.
"Okay, I like this one,"
Shiv said. "What else
do they have here?"
"Mammals," said Dr. G.
"It includes everything from
arctic foxes to woodchucks."
Shiv snickered. "Yeah, I
also like drawing animals."
"Okay, what about plants?"
said Dr. G. "This one covers
Wildflowers of North America."
"Pretty," Shiv said, leafing
through it. "I like this too."
"Put it in the cart," said Dr. G,
and Shiv did. "I suggest that
you start with these, and if you
want more detail, then look for
Nebraska guides. They should
have some for all ages, so you
can pick whatever's comfortable."
"Thanks," Shiv whispered. "I
wouldn't have thought of these."
"That's what a native guide
is for," Dr. G said with a wink.
"Now let's go find Edison."
He was in the Montessori area,
poking at a row of boards that
each had different pieces of
real hardware to play with.
"Have you found anything
appealing yet?" said Dr. G.
"Yes, I like this workboard,"
Edison said. "This one has
more variety than the old ones."
He held up something that
had a ton of different screws
and tools attached to it.
"That's a lot of new things,"
Dr. G pointed out. "Are
you quite sure you want
that much challenge?"
Edison lifted his chin.
"I'm sure," he said. "I'm
done with the singles, so
some of these are familiar.
It's this or the other one
with different bolt sizes."
Dr. G looked at that one,
then shook his head. "No,
I think the tiny ones would
be too hard for you still,"
he said. "You chose well."
Edison found a boxed one
to match the sample board,
and put the box in the cart.
"Yeah, I hope so," he said.
"Be patient with your fingers,"
Dr. G reminded him. "I know
it's frustrating, but some things
just take longer to grow in."
Shiv was frowning over
a wooden tray that held
rows of locks and keys.
"Uh ... what is something
like this doing in a store?"
he asked, cocking his head.
"Dexterity practice," Edison said.
"I can show you how it works."
He picked up the first key and
tried it in the first lock. When
it didn't fit into the keyhole,
he put down the first key
and tried the second key.
That opened the lock,
so he put the lock back
in its place and moved
on to the second lock.
After opening all of
the locks, Edison
relocked them and
put the tray back.
"You have to practice
until you can go through
the whole row without
fumbling," he said.
"Do you like that set?"
Dr. G asked Shiv.
"I was, um, expecting
different pieces than
those," Shiv muttered.
Specifically, lockpicks.
"I'm sure we could find
any missing pieces,"
said Dr. G. "Of course,
you're not limited to hands."
Shiv shook his head. "It's fine.
I don't really need lock practice."
"Okay," said Dr. G. "Look around
and see if you find anything you like."
"Can we check the literacy shelves?"
Edison asked. "Those usually
have something good to try."
"You already read better
than me," Shiv said
as he rolled his eyes.
"For writing," Edison said,
looking down at his shoes.
"We can check," said Dr. G.
"The beauty of Montessori
is that every student gets
to learn at their own speed."
That might be ... nice.
There were lots of things
in that section. Some of
them Shiv recognized from
the Finn shelves, while
others were new to him.
He wasn't really interested
in reading or writing, but
the almost-art-stuff might
be worth looking into.
Shiv frowned, trying
to read the price tags.
Dr. G covered them
with his hand. "Don't
worry about the cost,"
he said gently. "Today
is my treat, after all."
"Uh huh," Shiv said,
looking at a stack
of tracing boards.
The designs were
cool, but they would
probably get boring
too fast to bother.
"You have enjoyed
the sandpaper letters,"
Dr. G said. "Perhaps
a sand board and cards
of designs to trace? It's
not just good for writing,
it also helps for art."
"Hmm," Shiv said as
he looked at the sample.
There was a frame that
held sand, with a scraper
to smooth it, as well as
a slot to hold tracing cards.
A man popped out from
behind the wall of shelves.
"Hi, Graham," he said.
"Looking for prewriting
and art stuff today?"
"Shiv didn't get a lot
of writing instruction in
school," Dr. G explained,
without going into detail.
"Or at all," Shiv muttered.
"Shiv, this is Monroe Knowles,
he's a metallurgist and inventor.
His family is friends with ours,
so you might have seen them at
parties," said Dr. G. "Monroe,
this is my nephew Shiv."
The guy was tall and
sturdy, middle-aged,
and didn't look like
the kind of person
to smack you around.
Shiv wasn't sure whether
he'd seen Monroe before,
but the older man did look
vaguely familiar, so maybe
he really had been around
some of the Finn parties.
"Pleased to meet you,"
said Monroe. "Allow
me to recommend
the metal insets."
He pointed to a set
of shelves that held
two pink-and-blue rows
of geometric shapes.
"You can trace inside
the frame or around
the shape of each,
and make designs,"
Monroe continued.
"My older kids enjoy
making paper robots."
"I like metal," Shiv said,
daring to touch a fingertip
to one of the square frames.
It felt surprisingly sturdy.
Then a woman came
around the corner with
a whole train of kids like
a mama duck with ducklings.
"My family," said Monroe. "Meet
my wife Cora, our oldest son Harris,
then Noelle, Gage, Timmy, and
that's Paulina in the baby sling.
Folks, this is Shiv, a Finn cousin."
"Hello," the children chorused, and
Cora added, "It's nice to meet you."
Shiv balanced on the balls of his feet,
but nobody tried to grab him. "Uh, hi."
"Fudge Guy!" crowed Gage, bouncing
on his toes so his curls went like springs.
Well, even if Shiv didn't recognize them
from the Finn house parties, the kids
certainly seemed to remember him.
Timmy looked at the toy shelves,
looked Shiv, and said. "I'm a lefty.
Writing is hard. You hard too?"
"... I'm better at drawing than
writing," Shiv said slowly.
"These are good," Timmy said,
pointing at the metal insets.
"So are these." He pointed
at the wooden tracing boards.
"But not the sand board?"
Shiv blurted. "Uh, nevermind."
"I spill sand," Timmy said.
"Wood doesn't spill."
"Sand everywhere,"
Cora agreed, "so we
do that outside where
a little spill won't matter."
Yeah, Shiv wouldn't want
to sweep sand off a floor,
let alone try to get that
out of a rug or carpet.
"If you're looking at
the metal insets, we
have them at home and
all of us work with them,"
Cora said. "I'm an artist
and a Montessori teacher."
Shiv perked up a little. "I uh,
I like doing art," he replied.
He was distracted by the kids,
though, because they weren't
running around like hooligans.
They were browsing the shelves
and discussing which things they
liked, had at home, or wanted.
They reminded him of the Finnlings,
but these kids were a lot calmer.
Now and then, one of them
would offer him something
they'd picked up to play with.
Shiv really wasn't used
to being ... included.
It didn't suck much at all.
He kept drifting back to
that rack of metal frames,
though. It was so cool.
"Yeah, that's a favorite
of ours too," said Harris.
"We don't have that one
at home now," said Dr. G.
"Shiv, what do you think?"
"I like it," Shiv said softly.
"The shapes feel good."
Then Edison bounded over
with a wobbling stack of books
piled on top of two -- no, three --
different boxes of electronics.
"What did you pick out?"
he asked Shiv as he
dumped his load into
the shopping cart.
"This," Shiv said,
putting a hand on
the metal insets.
Then he noticed
that there wasn't
a boxed one for
sale and sighed.
"But they're out."
"They probably don't
leave boxes that big
out here," said Dr. G.
"I'll ask them to send
it from the back room."
"If you like, we could
show you some things
that our family enjoys
doing with that set,"
Cora offered. "There
are so many options!"
"I know some too,"
said Edison. "Harris
and I make robots, but
the starbursts are also fun."
"I do those a lot," said Noelle.
"I like mixing different shapes."
That did sound interesting. Shiv
liked the Montessori materials.
"Would you like to invite
some friends over to
the house for a visit?"
Dr. G asked quietly.
"I guess so?" Shiv said.
Then he remembered
the Finn insistence
on clear consent and
added, "Yes. Please."
"You're welcome to join
us," Dr. G said to Cora.
"I could use extra hands
for assembling the parts."
"We'd be happy to visit,"
Cora said with a smile.
"All right, kids, last call,"
said Monroe. "Pick out
one thing each, if you
haven't already done so."
"That goes for you too,"
Dr. G said as he turned
toward Shiv and Edison.
"Finish up, please."
Shiv was about to say
that he didn't need
any more when he
spied the spinny rack
full of 3-part card sets.
Quickly he snatched up
packets of flowers, birds,
animals, and sea life.
"Could I ...?" he asked,
hopefully holding them up.
"Sure, those look fun,"
said Dr. G. "I bet you
can think of many ways
to use those materials."
"I was gonna put them on
my word wall," Shiv said.
"That's a good start,"
said Dr. G. "You could
also use them for art --
pick a random card and
draw the thing it shows."
"Oh, that's a good idea,"
Shiv said. "I'll try that."
Edison piled more books
into the cart, and then
they headed to checkout.
Waiting for them there
was a big bundle of boxes
that held the metal insets
and their slanted stands,
a wooden tray, a case of
paper squares, a set of
the colored pencils that
went in matching cups,
and the shelving unit.
Dr. G emptied the cart
onto the checkout counter.
Uneasy with numbers
in general and prices
in particular, Shiv drifted
away to look at other things.
"All done," Dr. G said. "We've
got the new work materials and
some fun stuff. Also, here."
He handed Shiv a bucket.
"What's this?" Shiv said.
It was thick plastic with
a secure lid, but he could
sense tangled metal inside.
"You liked the first section
of metal items, but you didn't
pick out anything," said Dr. G.
"So I just got you a bucket of
loose parts from the bulk bin.
Erector Set bits seemed like
they would suit your tastes."
Shiv needed both hands
to pry the lid off the bucket.
Inside lay a riot of metal struts,
plates, wheels, gears, nuts and
bolts for assembly, a hex wrench,
even a few of the scarcer things
like real motors and winches.
The struts and plates had
holes all over them so you
could bolt them together
in any way you wanted.
Most were plain silver, but
others were bright shades
of red, yellow, or blue.
"Woah," Shiv said softly.
"I could do a lot with this."
"I'm happy to hear that,"
said Graham. "You're
welcome to add those
to your junk drawer in
the kitchen, take them
home, or some of each."
Shiv stirred the pieces
with his finger. "Thanks."
He snapped the lid back on,
then slung the handle of
the bucket over his wrist.
It only took a few minutes
to load all the packages
into the family van so
they could head home.
Shiv rode with his bucket
tucked between his knees.
He wasn't ... exactly ... playing
with his parts in the van, but he
kept running his superpower
over them to see what he had.
He couldn't really keep track
without sorting them out on
a table, but he enjoyed just
fondling them a little bit.
When they reached
the house, Shiv helped
carry in all of their loot.
The Knowles family
pulled in behind them.
With so many people
eager to help, it didn't
take very long for them
to set up the shelving unit
with the metal insets and
their supporting supplies.
"Well, that looks good,"
Dr. G said. "Sometimes
it's easier to get new shelves,
especially when folks aren't
done with all of the materials
on the old shelves yet."
"Some materials have
special containers, too,"
Edison said. "The beads
are easier to use with
their proper boxes and
the Bead Cabinet."
"Yeah, I like those,"
Shiv said. The beads
made counting easier,
even though he still
didn't care for math.
"Shiv, would you like
me to show you some
of the lessons that use
metal insets?" Cora said.
He fidgeted. "Could I ...
maybe just watch first?"
"Of course," Cora said,
like it was perfectly okay.
"That's often a wise idea."
She unslung the baby and
put Paulina on a blanket.
Then she brought over
a flat workboard, the frame
of the circle, a square of
paper, and a red pencil.
"This is a circle," Cora said.
"Paulina, can you say circle?"
"Kuh! Kuh!" the baby squealed,
waving her fat little hands.
Cora put a square of paper
on the workboard, then
placed the frame over it.
"I am tracing the circle,"
Cora said as she did so.
She lifted the frame up,
then offered Paulina
a red crayon egg.
"Would you like
to draw on the circle?"
Cora asked Paulina.
The baby grabbed
the red egg, and well ...
It wasn't really drawing.
It was more a matter of
enthusiastically banging
a hunk of wax on the paper.
Paulina seemed to love making
little dots and streaks, though.
"Is that normal?" Shiv wondered.
"She seems awful young for coloring,
and no way she can color in the lines."
Adults cared way too much about
that, and it made him ... nervous.
"It's normal for artistic babies to start
mark-making as soon as they can
hold things in their hands," said Cora.
"She takes after me. We don't expect
her to stay in the lines. The circle
is just there to give her a target."
"Oh," Shiv said. "That makes
a lot more sense than ... yeah."
Than pretty much anything
he'd ever seen in school.
Montessori was so better.
"Now, we're not limited
to just the metal insets,"
Cora continued. "Timmy
likes to branch out more."
This time she picked up
a workboard, a square frame,
paper, and an orange pencil.
"This is a square," Cora said.
"Timmy, can you say square?"
"Square," the toddler replied.
"I am tracing the shape,"
Cora said. "What is this?"
"Square!" Timmy said,
clearly proud of himself.
"Look on the work shelves,"
Cora said, pointing. "Can
you find some small things
to make the shape of a square?"
Teddy obviously knew his way
around those shelves. He nabbed
a basket of loose parts that held
nature stuff like twigs, pinecones,
and seashells. In the other hand he
took the basket of knobless cylinders.
Then he started laying out lines of
objects to make square shapes,
using the trace as an example.
That was ... pretty clever, actually,
showing that a square was more
than just a bent line on paper.
Paulina got tired of coloring and
tossed her crayon across the room.
Shiv flinched. That never ended well.
He tried to sidle between Paulina
and all of the adults in the room.
"Uh oh!" Cora said cheerfully.
"Crayons are not for throwing.
We must not throw crayons,
or else they might go on strike."
"Wait, what?" Shiv said, confused.
Cora picked up the egg crayon
and put it back in its carton.
"If you want to practice throwing,
Paulina, let's find a soft toy for that."
Cora stood in front of the shelves.
"I am looking for the kind of toys
that are safe for us to throw."
She picked up two balls and
offered them to her daughter.
"Paulina, would you like to throw
the rainbow ball or the grasping ball?"
Paulina grabbed the grasping ball,
bashed it against the floor a few times,
then hurled it against the nearest wall.
It bounced off harmlessly, rolled a bit,
then Harris brought it back to his sister.
Monroe sat down beside Paulina so he
could play a game of catch with his kids.
Shiv felt like his head was going to explode.
All the times that he had gotten smacked
for throwing things, he'd never had anyone
offer him something that was safe to throw.
Could it really be that ... simple?
Just pick out a different toy?
Bizarre as it seemed to him,
nobody else acted surprised.
Maybe this was what normal
was supposed to look like.
Shiv liked it better than his life.
"Are you doing okay?" Dr. G said.
"Unexpected things can get twitchy."
"I'm fine," Shiv insisted as he tried
to stuff his past back down in
the basement where it belonged.
He didn't want to miss any of
the other lessons. The insets
were proving really interesting.
Then he thought of something.
"Um ... what did Cora mean
about crayons going on strike?"
"It's a children's book," said Dr. G.
"When the Crayons Went on Strike
is about how they don't want folks
to be mean to them, so they go
on strike as a way to demand
better working conditions."
"If we throw crayons, then
they go back in the box
and up on a high shelf,
until we show that we can
play peacefully," said Noelle.
That made more sense to Shiv.
Next, Cora invited Gage to
a lesson. "This is an ellipse,"
she said. "Can you say ellipse?"
"That's an ellipse," Gage replied.
"It has the same kind of ends."
"I am tracing the ellipse with
a purple pencil," said Cora.
"What color of pencil will you
use to trace your ellipse?"
"I want green." Gage
grabbed the green pencil
and then started tracing
a somewhat wobbly line
inside the metal frame.
"It's the same lesson,
only not," Shiv blurted.
"I'm glad you can see that,
because we're going to skip
a few steps here," said Cora.
She asked Noelle. "What shape
would you like to work with now?"
"Triangle, please," said Noelle.
She fetched her own materials.
"What work will you do with
the triangle?" her mother asked.
"I'm going to trace the frame
in black, trace the triangle in
pink, then color in the triangle
with pink too," said Noelle.
Shiv watched her work as
she made a double triangle,
and then carefully colored
just inside the inner line.
"Hey, that's like some of
my art worksheets," he said.
"I use them for shading practice."
"That's good," said Cora. "It's
easier to work with familiar things."
"Yeah, with the insets, I could
make like my own worksheets,
big enough to use paintbrushes
or pastel sticks instead of just
pen or colored pencil," said Shiv.
"Always think of more ways you
can use the same materials, and
you'll save money," said Dr. G.
Cora asked Harris, "Are you and
Edison still working on robots?"
"Yes, they're fun," said Harris.
"It's good practice on scissors too."
"You may choose two shapes from
the set to start with," said Cora.
"Rectangle and trapezoid, please,"
said Harris. He fetched his materials.
He traced each shape, and then
carefully cut them out of the paper.
Different rectangles or squares
could be made by cutting across
the paper, instead of always
reusing the same shapes.
"You can use brads to fasten
the shapes together," said Edison.
"We have all kinds on the craft shelf."
He brought out a plastic box shaped
like a flower that opened to show
lots of little cups holding brads
in different colors and shapes.
Shiv was rather fascinated
by Harris pinning together
the pieces to make a robot.
Edison turned to Shiv.
"There's another exercise
I really like with insets, but
I'm not very good at it yet."
"You're still learning,"
Dr. G reminded him.
"You'll get the hang of it.
Go ahead and show Shiv."
Edison took the rectangle inset.
He traced the frame, then the inset,
making a narrow rectangular stripe.
"Rotate the frame, then trace it again."
He started tracing, then said, "Stop
here. We must not cross the lines."
He skipped over the lines, then
continued tracing until he had
another narrow stripe that looked
like it was behind the first one,
but set at a different angle.
"If you want, you can change
the lines so that they go over
and under each other, like
Celtic knotwork," said Edison.
Instantly Shiv could see how
it would work. "Cool," he said.
"Could I maybe ... try that?"
"Of course," said Dr. G.
"Choose a shape to trace."
"I like the cloverleaf," Shiv said.
"I think I'll start with that one."
"That shape is also called
a quatrefoil," said Cora.
"Yeah no, I'm never gonna
remember that," said Shiv.
He took some paper and
a few pencils, then tried
tracing both the frame
and the curved inset.
It was harder than it
looked at first glance,
but he managed to get
the lines overlapping so
the shapes wove together.
"There is another whole set
of exercises where you rotate
shapes, or use different shapes,
to make more complex designs,"
said Cora. "That's a fun way
to practice your drawing
and coloring skills, too."
She demonstrated a few
of those for Shiv, first
tracing one shape and
then rotating it to trace
just the parts that didn't
overlap the earlier lines.
Then she did ones that
used two or three shapes.
"See how I use a new color
to trace each shape?" she said.
"Always color the parts to match
the line with which they are traced."
She colored one example, quickly
but carefully enough that she
never slopped over the lines.
Shiv was impressed. He knew
his handwriting was horrible,
because it was so hard to get
the letters going the right way.
He did a lot better with art,
but it was still easier to paint
with a brush or a can than to get
the pen or pencil lines perfect.
Maybe this would help him
improve his art skills, and not
just mess around for fun.
Shiv picked up the egg
and the bent triangle
to make stacked shapes.
"You've chosen the oval
and the curvilinear triangle,"
said Cora. "Those will make
some interesting stacks."
They really did. Shiv
enjoyed weaving them
together in different ways,
or tracing just the bits that
stuck out of an earlier shape.
He also experimented with
coloring them in different ways,
some shaded, others hatched,
stippled, or even scumbled.
Yeah, he'd be doing this
a lot. It was way more fun
than just doing little boxes.
"My favorite exercise
is a bit off the books,
but I think you'll like it,"
Monroe said to Shiv.
Then he picked up
the ellipse inset that
Gage wasn't using
and traced around
the outside of it.
Next he drew in
a few little details.
"Hey, it's a bug!"
Shiv exclaimed.
"Yep," said Monroe.
"See, you can use
the shapes to create
many different animals,
plants, or other things.
It makes drawing easier."
"That's great practice for
seeing how complex objects
are made of simple shapes,
if you like that approach
to artwork," Cora added.
"Oh yeah," said Shiv.
"I've seen instructions
for that, and workshops --
it really seems to work."
He used the cloverleaf
to make a tree, and then
the ellipse to draw a penguin.
This definitely worked for
seeing the shapes in things,
and seeing things in shapes.
"If you like these materials,
there are more sets that fit
the same shelves," said Dr. G.
"That includes solid shapes
like stars or hexagons."
"That could be interesting,
once I've gone through all of
these shapes," Shiv agreed.
"There are also circles, squares,
and triangles cut into fractions,
plus concentric circles or squares,"
said Dr. G. "Then you could do
more things by combining those."
"Like a color wheel," Shiv said,
quickly realizing the potential.
"Or a bullseye, or a tunnel that
shows perspective," Cora added.
"I use those sets for teaching art
as much as I do for mathematics."
"I just like to play with the things,"
Monroe said. "They're fun, even if
they don't turn out as I expected."
"That's the importance of being
willing to learn new stuff at any age,
and how crucial play is to learning,"
said Dr. G. "You have to understand
that it's not a failure to make a mistake
or to have a piece not turn out the way
you hoped it would, because those
are things you can learn stuff from."
Monroe laughed. "I work as
an innovative metallurgist and
materials scientist," he said. "I
have to be comfortable with failure.
Besides, sometimes failures just
lead to unexpected discoveries."
"I like messing around with metal
too," said Shiv. He glanced at
Dr. G for help reassurance.
"It's safe," said Dr. G.
"You don't have to share,
but you can if you want to."
Shiv pulled his play-putty
out of his pocket and shaped
that into a stylized horse.
Concentrating, he pushed
his superpower into the metal,
trying to make it move like
it was liquid, like it was alive.
The horse sculpture took
a few halting steps.
Shiv shook his head.
"I'm still working out
how to animate it."
"Well, I'm already
impressed by that,"
said Monroe. "Maybe
we could play with metal
together some time."
"Monroe's work lab
is the stuff of dreams,"
said Dr. G. "Sometimes
Halley and Edison visit
on Junior Genius Days."
Shiv snorted. "I ain't
a genius," he said.
"A matter of opinion,"
Monroe said, waving
it away. "If I bring you
in as a consultant, then
we can explore the lab
and the various metals
or other materials I have."
"Just to play around with?"
Shiv said. "I don't know how
to do any fancy science shit."
"Play around," said Monroe.
"You like Montessori materials,
and a development lab really
isn't that different -- you have
tools, supplies, standard steps,
and then it's up to your creativity."
"In Montessori tradition, we present
materials in a certain way that works,"
said Cora. "Then we let students
explore and find whole new ways
to use the things available to them."
"As long as you don't break things,
there isn't really a wrong way
to use them," Edison added. "I
like being able to experiment."
Shiv thought about how much fun
it was to fool around in the kitchen,
trying different blends of ingredients.
The results didn't always taste good,
and he had baked up more than
one batch of hockey pucks.
Without that experimentation,
though, he would never have
discovered avocado fudge.
"Yeah," Shiv said. "This
has a lot of possibilities."
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character (Part 1, Part 2), location, and content notes appear separately.
