Brain power is over-rated, or at least, not everything it's cracked up to be

"Many kids don’t have the opportunity to make things.
The solution: We give it to them."

I totally agree with that sentiment from Dudecraft's (aka Paul Overton) recent article "Hands On" (published on Make & Meaning).

It's a sad truth that as school budgets are being slashed, so are many hands-on classes. Everything now is textbook and tests.

Many kids learn best when they can DO. ALL kids learn best when they can apply the "book stuff" they learn to the real world. So why are we taking the "real world" out of school? Isn't the whole purpose of school to train kids for the real world?

For a while I have thought about teaching art, but had no idea to whom or through what venue, exactly. This thought simmered on the back burner of my mind for a while, now it's back on the front. I just really don't know where to start...

UPDATE: Paul wrote a follow-up to his post here.