The HourSchool Blog

Imagine: The world around us

As time passes societies change the things they holds dearest - the qualities and the characteristics they deem ‘admirable’ and ‘inspirational’.

It wasn’t that long ago that thrift and self sufficiency were among those traits; when it was more admirable to be able to fix what you owned than to own the latest thing. 

It was a time when we were connected to our existence, our surroundings, and our communities in a different fashion. This isn’t meant to be nostalgic, simply to provoke thoughts about the objects that surround us, and our current relation to them.

My grandparents were ‘greener’ than any of us, and they didn’t even know what ‘green’ was.  There was no such thing as ‘recycling’ and no one ordered food from a CSA, or shopped at Whole Foods. They lived that way because that’s how you lived. My grandpa was a lawyer, but could build a table, ride a horse, and hunt as good as the next man.  He knew the butcher and the baker, and was probably more familiar with how the meat he ate got to his table than any of us.  My grandma - a fancy lady by some measures - was happy to go out catch and kill the goose she would cook for Christmas dinner - all while knowing how to make every piece of clothing you’re wearing. Where did all that knowledge go? Where is it now, and how do we access it?  Not just the pictures, and the words - but the smells, and the dirt, and the sweat, and the making, and the feel of it all. 

I’m starting to see HourSchool less in terms of its place in the world of Education, and more in terms of its place in society, in recapturing what it was like to live closer to the things that surround us.

HourSchool embodies a lot of these ideals. Of re-connecting. Of learning and exploring. It’s about opening your eyes to the actual world around you, to the things that are right in front of your face, with the people who live intense lives and have rich stories to tell.  

We are taking solid steps towards making that ideal happen. Stay tuned.