The Repair Clinic Is Open For Business!
A ripped stuffed animal? Mechanical issues with a clock? Come find Burke’s third graders—they are repair professionals-in-training!
As part of Burke’s Strategic Plan work focused on education for sustainability, Lower School Makery teacher Jimmy Santosa is piloting a unit on repair as an alternative to purchasing new things. He was inspired by Vita Wells, founder of The Culture of Repair Project, who facilitates repair clinics at schools around the Bay Area. “Nurturing a mindset for repair emboldens people to care more deeply about the world, our belongings, and the systems in which we are all interconnected,” says Mr. Santosa. His goal is to instill a “can-do” attitude about fixing things and build community around helping others restore cherished items. He split this unit into three parts: 1) disassembling electronics in the “Breakery”; 2) sharing stories about the value of repair, and 3) hosting a community repair clinic.
The “Breakery”
In late October and early November, the Class of 2030 studied discarded toys, electronics, and other mechanisms by taking them apart. Items included robotic dogs, cell phones, coffee machines from home, old Macbooks, printers, and a huge flat-screen television donated by the Tech department! The third graders gained confidence using screwdrivers, tweezers, and arm strength to take everything apart.
Seeing the inside of common electronics sparked their curiosity. They began to ask many questions, many of which began with “What do these parts do?” and ended with “Will this work if I put it back together?”. The third graders wrote down their observations and made predictions about how things worked.
Charlotte ‘30 discovered after taking apart a toy piano—it’s not just all wires underneath. “These pieces are just hot glued together! I can rip them out easily!”
Learning From Experts
In mid-November, Burke’s parent Paul Marshall was invited to share his expertise with repair as a professional piano technician and tuner. His presentation sparked classroom excitement as most students, even the piano players, had never seen the inner workings of a piano.
Mr. Marshall brought spare piano parts for everyone to examine and piece together. The class was amused to find that some parts had names like parts of a finger—phalanges and knuckles! Students were thrilled to look inside the school’s grand piano and see hammers moving when the keys were pressed.
“Repairing is meaningful work,” Mr. Marshall asserted, and the third graders nodded their agreement, adding that repairing can take on different forms, from something physical like piano parts and cars to something intangible like friendships and relationships. “Repairing can mean mending something that was once ‘whole.’”
The Repair Clinic
In December, the third graders were buzzing with anticipation—the time had finally come to fix their objects from home! With the support of twelve parent and grandparent volunteers, students worked in small groups to share stories about their objects and explain their importance. Students brought in stuffed animals, jewelry, broken picture frames, and toys that had sentimental value.
Groups discussed the problems and then determined an approach for repair. With a plethora of different tools at their disposal, including screwdrivers, glues, and needles and thread, the third graders worked carefully with parents to repair most of the items. The first week was so successful that Mr. Santosa solicited Lower School teachers to bring in their broken items. The Repair Clinic expanded to be of service to the Burke’s community!
Hazel ‘30 found great satisfaction in the Repair Clinic, having sewn a teacher’s torn pants pocket and re-connecting her favorite keychain. Every time she repaired an item, she got to ring a bell and hold up a “REPAIRED” sign to announce her accomplishment to the class. Proudly holding up her items, she explains what repair means to her: “You don’t have to throw old or broken things away. You can repair them back up and use them again. It’s a good thing!”
Whether it was repairing household objects, clothes, or toys, the third graders worked adeptly to glue, sew, and restore their cherished items. Teachers who had repairs done were impressed with the quality of the work and were deeply appreciative. The repair clinic is officially open!
Burke's mission is to educate, encourage and empower girls. Our school combines academic excellence with an appreciation for childhood so that students thrive as learners, develop a strong sense of self, contribute to community, and fulfill their potential, now and throughout life.
Burke's admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.