Teacher Takes Class on a Hands-On Ancient Civilization Adventure

2017-11-08T15:17:43-08:00


Orinda Intermediate School students in The Crucible’s smithy.

At The Crucible, educators like Bobby Glasser have a special place in our hearts.  A sixth grade Language Arts and Social Studies (Ancient Civilizations) teacher at Orinda Intermediate School, Bobby joined The Crucible community in 2006, when he attended the Seven Deadly Sins show.  From there, he was hooked, taking classes, volunteering, interning, and becoming a full-fledged member of the community.  

With a desire to make his classroom curriculum more relevant to his students, Bobby designed a field trip to The Crucible – one that has inspired his students, their parents, and Crucible Staff.  Staff writer Sarah Dabby chatted with Bobby to learn more about his creative genius behind an amazing field trip experience, and how it impacts his students and the community.

Sarah Dabby: What inspired you to create a field trip for your students at The Crucible?

Bobby Glasser: As a long-time member of The Crucible, I knew they did field trips for students, and I wanted to create a field trip directly related to the ancient civilizations my students study.  Pretty much everything The Crucible does is rooted in ancient art forms and techniques, so I went through all the state standards of teaching in sixth grade, and then went through our textbook, and created what I thought would be a cool field trip.  I then presented the idea to Carla Hall (Youth Program Director) and Kristy Alfieri (Director of Education), and they jumped on board. Last year, I brought my class for the first time, and it was great.

SD: How is the field trip structured?

BG: Students are broken up into 9-10 person groups, and then visit six stations at The Crucible for thirty minutes each. Once they’re at the stations, students watch demonstrations by Crucible faculty and get a little bit of instruction. I gave Carla and Kristy the Ancient Civilization’s curriculum, so The Crucible instructors could relate school material to the demonstrations taking place (“When the Samarians used this technique to hammer metal,” etc).  It’s great because then the kids understand the context, and they’re able to make connections they otherwise wouldn’t make.

SD: Is there any hands-on activity for the students?

BG: They get to play with clay in pottery; in jewelry, they get to hammer a few things; in blacksmithing, they get to punch the metal; in textiles, they get to try on an animal hide.  My students don’t meet the age requirements for the really intense hands-on stuff – but since the groups of students are so small, the kids are really engaged, even if they’re not interacting directly with the material in front of them.

SD: What sorts of feedback have your received about the field trip?

BG: Students, parents, and teachers have all raved about this field trip.  One parent called me recently saying it’s the best field trip she’d ever accompanied, and that she’s planning to take a class at The Crucible and sign her kid up for camp as

Teacher Takes Class on a Hands-On Ancient Civilization Adventure2017-11-08T15:17:43-08:00

The Crucible Says It Out Loud

2017-11-08T15:30:46-08:00

The Crucible is taking steps to define our presence in West Oakland. If you’ve come in for a class or whizzed by on BART in recent weeks, you’ve surely noticed our brand new self-identifying letters at the top of our warehouse. Now for the real question: When, not if, to add fire to the letters?  But that’s not all!

We’ve also updated our front entrance with new landscaping and two installations. The first is “To The Loss,” a nine-foot tall Redwood drift log pulled from the port of Oakland and re-imagined as a Totem pole by welding instructor Colin Harris.  To learn more about the creative process, materials, and story behind “To The Loss,” please visit Colin’s website.

The second installation is a large-scale steel and glass sculpture emblematic of The Crucible’s greatest asset: Community.  The creation was a collaborative effort between The Crucible’s blacksmithing instructor Jeff Pringle and flameworking instructor Tansy Brooks.

These design updates further our efforts to create a safe, welcoming, neighborly environment, not just for our students, but for the West Oakland community at large.

We are grateful to Oakland Office of Neighborhood Investment for sponsoring the landscape project and sign, and to the National Endowment for the Arts for sponsoring the installation art.

What do you think of our new look?  Let us know in the comments below!

The Crucible Says It Out Loud2017-11-08T15:30:46-08:00
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