Commencement 2o11 - Friends' Central School

04
OPENING COMMENTS
Letters to the Editor
WHY MAKING MATTERS
I wanted to praise the concept
of having kids make things as
was detailed in the article about
AnnMarie Thomas in Quaker Works,
Issue 2:2 [pp. 26-27]. I think this
is a very important skill for children
to learn, and one that is being
forgotten in this age of instant
gratification-fed consumerism.
I remember many projects that I
made at FCS. The first group-made
project that I remember is turning
Jack Briggs’ third grade classroom
into a tall ship called “The Flying
Cloud.” Later on, I have memories
of many other projects—some in
wood shop class with Bob Emory,
some in middle school science with
Doug Ross, some in physics with
Keith Buckingham, and some on my
own. There was also the time when
my hair caught fire when I tried to
blow out an alcohol burner that had
gotten out of control, which resulted
in Doug Ross turning the fire
extinguisher on me! Other activities
that I recall included competitions
like the egg drop contest and a
challenge to build an enclosure to
keep an ice cube from melting. We
built model rockets and played with
boomerangs. I was on the stage crew
for one production, and my senior
project was to work as an apprentice
to a general contractor doing home
renovations.
I credit the overall maker-friendly
atmosphere at FCS with helping to
develop my career as an engineer
and also with fostering my love of
tinkering with, taking apart, and
building things. I especially credit
Mr. Buckingham’s two-year physics
class with getting me interested in
attending engineering school. He
was very supportive of the students
that showed an honest interest
in learning about physics, and
allowed us great freedom in building
a curriculum by constructing
experiments to back up the theory
we were learning. Nowadays, when
my peers ask about the projects I
undertake, they are often surprised
to hear that I built something
myself. A common reply is, “Oh, I’m
not very handy, I could never build
something like that.” I think that
everyone can actually be a “handy”
person, given the chance to prove it
to themselves at a young age.
This is where a school like FCS
can continue to excel.
Alec Stevens ’90
FIRST IN FLIGHT
I was thrilled to see the picture of
my 3A class on page 2 and its link to
the article “Why Making Matters.”
However, the photograph is of a
model of the Wright Brothers’ Flyer,
not Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St.
Louis. Joe Dubb’s 3C class built a
gorgeous Spirit. The 3A and 3C kids,
Jackson Snider ’20 piloting the model of
the Spirit of St. Louis built by Joe Dubb’s 3C
class last year.
now steeped in the history of flight,
would appreciate a correction, I am
sure. Meanwhile, the magazine just
gets better and better. Thanks.
Jack Briggs,
Lower School Science Teacher
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We welcome all readers to give
us feedback on this issue or
to share story ideas for future
issues. All Letters to the Editor
that we receive will be considered
for publishing in the next issue
of Quaker Works. (Letters are
edited for length.) Letters to
the Editor can be emailed to
communications@friendscentral.org
or mailed to Editor, Quaker Works:
The Magazine, Friends’ Central
School, 1101 City Avenue,
Wynnewood, PA 19096.