I look forward to this day every year! The day I get to teach my students how to weave!! We start by hearing the stories of Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare. Most students don't know that she was also the patron goddess of craftspeople, especially weavers and potters. They almost all know that she and Arachne compete in a weaving contest, but most forget that Arachne wins and gets punished for her hubris. They all know that spiders are called ARACHNIDS, but few know that ticks and scorpions are too. Beyond this famous story, we also explore the Parthenon and the hotly debated controversy surrounding its marbles. They love hearing about the Parcae (or Moirai), the three fates who spun, measured, and cut the thread of life for each person. Perhaps their favorite story though is about Penelope, the long-suffering wife of Odysseus...how, in her husband's 20-year absence, she fended off the suitors with a weaving trick.
For many years, I used to cut to size cardboard for my students to make their own looms. It was a fun process, but VERY hard on my hands. This year, with a sizeable grant, I purchased small, notched wooden looms that can be reused from year to year. But I'm already debating the wisdom of that decision. When the students made their own looms, they took them home when the lessons were done, and some of them, amazingly, continued to weave on their own.
A couple of years ago, I had a student who had experienced significant trauma throughout his young life. He was in a homeroom class that I taught, or mentored really, of students who needed extra support due to various traumatic experiences. Some had incarcerated parents, others had witnessed gun violence against their parents. Some just needed extra love and support - I painted nails, helped with edges, washed clothes, handed out snacks, and did a lot of listening. M also took my Myth Makers class that year and really excelled. He took to weaving, making his own cardboard loom at home in addition to the one he had made in class. Other teachers reached out to me to ask if it was ok for him to weave in their classes; it calmed him and focused him, they said. The worst day of that year was having to watch M being loaded into an ambulance at school. For the second time during that year, he was institutionalized. I thought I would never see him again. Months later, I cried tears of joy when he showed up to my homeroom one morning to return to school.
Fast forward to this past fall when I got a request from another teacher to share my phone number with M. He had news to share. Having moved on to high school, he wanted to tell me THANK YOU for teaching him to weave. He still makes his own looms and brings them with him to school and work. He is interning at a local hospital.
His experience with weaving is not unusual. Many students speak to the calming aspects of the weaving process. Since it's repetitive and relatively easy once you get going, the students chat with each other while they work. They weave small pieces of cloth from donated yarn, using large plastic needles as shuttles. Do some get frustrated and want to quit? Absolutely. Do they weave masterpieces of art? Of course not. But they certainly learn patience and have fun doing it.
When we finish the unit, I try to get the students to reflect on the experience of Penelope. Did she use weaving to escape the dark thoughts of her husband not returning? Did she use weaving to escape the notice of the evil suitors who wanted her wealth and power? Penelope used a job often (not always) relegated to ancient women to retain her power. The students love this aspect of the story.
Want to teach your students to weave? Use
my lessons (linked here) with instructional videos by ME!
We'll soon be taking this project to the next level with a full-size warp-weighted loom so stay tuned...
