Harkness Tables, Unfinished Business, and the Value of Woodworking

If you know me, you will understand that this is yet another instance of me solving a problem that never existed.

 

Last March, a conversation with Mr. Sterelyukhin (when I was definitely procrastinating instead of doing my statistics work) raised a topic of interest for me: what if I built new Harkness-style tables for Mr. S’s classroom in the Craig Building? What seemed an innocent project at first quickly became a full-blown production, with a pitch deck, financial commitment, and, as luck would have it – since the lumber for this project arrived the day before I graduated – a summer return to campus.

 

Harkness-style learning refers to a discussion-led teaching method where students sit around an oval table and the teacher acts as a facilitator of conversation. The aim of the Harkness method is to foster student-led conversation, participation, and peer-to-peer learning, while increasing student engagement and developing communication skills. Over the course of my Shawnigan Journey, Harkness-style learning has been implemented in the Socials and English departments, and in my opinion, created an engaging space to learn in fostering excitement to come to class and participate. 

 

The planned Harkness tables had these guidelines in mind: creating inclusive and collaborative spaces while supporting student voice, leadership, and critical thinking. The original plan was to build six individual tables with lockable wheels that could form an oval when put together. In the planning process, we became aware of three unused Douglas fir tables in the Dinter Hut and chose to repurpose and incorporate them into our design. The end design combined the three tables from the Dinter Hut, modified to accommodate wheels, with three full new builds modelled after the existing tables, two of which were curved for the oval design. Each table measures six feet by three feet, with an overall build length of 15 feet, width of six feet, and height of 30 inches.

 

After deciding upon a final design, Mr. Bartlett – the woodworking teacher and Dean of Senior Academics – and I went through the process of ordering the wood for the project; the total lumber was over 400 board feet with each raw-hewn plank weighing around 150 lb and measuring 10 feet by five inches. Ironically, the lumber arrived the afternoon before graduation. This then led to the saga of my father and me returning to Shawnigan in late July to commandeer the Shawnigan woodshop for a whirlwind week of processing, measuring, gluing, screwing, cutting, and assembling the tables together. Each of the new builds required a tabletop (each weighing around 200 lb), 13 individual components that formed the legs, and wheels, while each of the repurposed Dinter Hut tables required disassembling the legs to add wheels.

 

After a caffeine-charged week, we had three fully assembled tables – a testament to the education in the woodshop I had gained throughout my time at Shawnigan. However, while the tables are technically functional, a seven-day timeframe did not allow us to fully finish the tables. The final sanding, staining, and curving of two of the new builds has been left in the extremely capable care of Mr. Bartlett. 

 

While I might not be on campus to see the integration of these tables into the Shawnigan learning environment, my hope is that these tables align with the School’s education goals, foster inclusive discussions and collaboration, and enable flexible classroom setups. I am beyond thankful to Shawnigan for the education and support I have received over the past four years; without woodworking I would not be the person I am today.