River of Gold, River of Dreams

The South Nahanni River is a tributary of the Liard River, which is a tributary in turn of the mighty Mackenzie River.

In July 2007 a group of friends paddled one of Canada's legendary rivers. Referred to as the "dangerous river" by R. M. Patterson, it is a rivers steeped in history and unique geographical features. The Nahanni was a river long before the mountains rose out of the Devonian plain. Typical of plains rivers it meanders its way through the landscape, unlike other mountain rivers which race in a straight line down the valley. As the mountains rose around it, the Nahanni maintained its meandering course by entrenching its way through the rising rock.

I wrote the song, "River of Gold, River of Dreams" to honour our trip and the amazing river and its peoples.

Canoe Season Around the Corner!

Last weekend was the Wilderness Canoe Association symposium in Toronto. And with this begins the dreaming and scheming about "where this year?" There were some amazing presentations, and the barren land rivers seem to have a particular appeal among presenters.

So this week I was reminiscing about trips past and I wrote a song about my trip down the mighty Nahanni River in 2007.

You can check out the song here.

The Value of Education

I had a student ask me this week, "Why am I being asked to learn all this stuff about the brain and the senses when all I want to do is learn to be a youth care worker?" The question implied that the sole value of education was in the acquisition of job related skills, anything beyond which was considered unnecessary and unwanted. To be fair to the student, the material being covered was difficult and not easily mastered, so there may have been some frustration fuelling the question.

It would be easy to dismiss the student's question, however, as the product of immaturity were it not for the fact that a more mature student in the class echoed this young student's query. It would also have been easy to dismiss this line of questioning as ignorance, the very antidote to which is of course, education itself.

But I think there is a more disturbing trend underlying the question of "why am I being asked to learn this?". The trend has been in post-secondary education in the past few decades towards what has been termed "skills-based" education. The teaching of skills that are necessary to work within a specific trade or profession. The shift toward skills training as the core goal of education has driven policy and the allocation of educational dollars since the mid '80's, especially in the community college system.

To argue that skills training should not be a focus of education, is of course, absurd. The problem arises when the allocation of resources is away from knowledge-based education that has traditionally been a part of the post-secondary curriculum. Jane Jacobs made this point very well in her last book "Dark Age Ahead". She argued that in order for a society to flourish its citizens need both skills and a well-rounded civic education that includes history, geography, politics, the arts, the humanities and the sciences. To impoverish our citizens by not providing opportunities to explore these areas of study, is ultimately to impoverish our society as a whole.

In the college system we have seen more resources being syphoned away from knowledge-based courses and directed so-called core program courses. This means that number of electives that students take has been slashed dramatically. The Liberal Studies courses in most community colleges face extinction in the next few years, as more resources are directed toward core programs designed to teach job-related skills. This trend has the massive support of industry given that its concern is to develop a labour force to meet both production and consumption patterns in society. And it would seem that this is the only voice that the college leadership listens to regarding education policy decisions.

We should be alarmed at this trend. Not the least concern is the manipulation of an unquestioning society by those who seek to manufacture consent (see Edwards and Chomsky, 1986). With no sense of our own history or the nature of human societies we are increasingly at risk of entering an Orwellian world where our ability to think critically has been limited by our lack of the ideas to express our dissent, or even to know that we should.

The simple answer to "why should I learn this" might be - because it will be important in expanding one's world view, and this is power. I might also point out that knowing about the senses in particular will enable you to answer your child, or your grandchild, a reasonable answer to the question,"Why is the sky blue?"

Mountain Dulcimer - Part Two

During this stage of the project I steam-bent the side pieces (ribs) and glued on the lining. The lining is a thin strip of wood that is laminated to the ribs to provide strength and a place for the back/front to be glued to the ribs.

This was a challenge; trying to glue up while bending reluctant wood into shape. I wanted to get this done because I am away for the next two weeks and the danger is that the bent wood would just spring back if it was not laminated.

The Mountain Dulcimer Project

Brief Introduction:

I have enjoyed woodworking for many years and have managed to make every mistake possible. And slowly, but surely my skills and patience have improved. In my time I have built furniture, kitchen cabinets, a couple of wood/fibreglass canoes and outdoor garden things. So now I figure that I am ready to do some more intricate work and build a musical instrument. Risky, I know - but I'm just a kid with a crazy dream!

The mountain dulcimer is an American instrument that was not brought to the new world when the settlers arrived from Ireland and Scotland. It appears to be a recent (relatively) invention from the Appalachian mountain area of the United States (for a thorough history see Chet Hines' book How to Make and Play the Dulcimore). The sound of the instrument is sweet, plaintive and hauntingly beautiful (you can hear it played at: http://www.gilamountaindulcimers.com/pete.htm and on Joni Mitchell's album Blue).

First Steps:

I have been following some of the basic steps set out by Stephen Miklos on his webpage.

To date, have:

1. Built the forms and the jigs
2. Re-sawn the side pieces, the top and the back. (maple, butternut and curly maple)
   
3. Booked matched and joined the top and the back
   
4. Built the scroll

If It Be Your Will

If it be your will, that I speak no more
And my voice be still, as it was before
I will speak no more, I shall abide until
I am spoken for, if it be your will

If it be your will, that a voice be true
From this broken hill, I will sing to you
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will, to let me sing

From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will, to let me sing

If it be your will, if there is a choice
Let the rivers fill, let the hills rejoice
Let your mercy spill
On all these burning hearts in Hell
If it be your will, to make us well

And draw us near and bind us tight
All your children here, in their rags of light
In our rags of light, all dressed to kill
And end this night, if it be your will
If it be your will

If it be your will.

Algonquin Park

Algonquin Park is a great place to get away to any time of year, but spring is especially nice. This year we camped on Tim Lake intending to fish. With the wind, rain and snow, however, fishing was a real challenge. Relaxing and enjoying the wildlife, on the other hand, was at a premium.