View Full Version : The Death Of Shop Class And America's Skilled Workforce
The Reaper
09-29-2014, 14:55
Sad to see this era coming to an end, with Americans increasingly ignorant of how to use tools to fix and make things they need and use every day.
What is the commentary about ourselves when we deem it socially unacceptable for our kids to learn these skills?
TR
http://www.forbes.com/sites/tarabrown/2012/05/30/the-death-of-shop-class-and-americas-high-skilled-workforce/
The Death Of Shop Class And America's Skilled Workforce
During my freshman year of high school I was required to take home economics and shop class where I learned basics skills in sewing, cooking, woodwork and metal work. Regrettably the cooking never made an impression, but I fondly remember learning along with a class full of boys and girls how to sew a pair of shorts, punch holes into metal to create a hook to hang my bathrobe, cut and bend metal to make a box that still holds my pens to this day and use a rotary saw to make a hot plate that was used on the kitchen table at home.
Twenty years later I can still recall that sense of pride when I finished the blue metal box with only minimal guidance from my shop teacher. I remember him fondly, he wore a dark blue lab coat, coke bottle glasses and was missing the tip of one finger. It astonished me how the noisy, formidable equipment permitted me to have a taste of what it must feel like to be an artist, as opposed to an envious seemingly untalented observer hanging outside art class watching the creative students’ imaginations explode onto the canvas with every brush stroke. I have continued to use those skills throughout my life both professionally and when needed around the house.
Shop classes are being eliminated from California schools due to the University of California/California State ‘a-g’ requirements. ‘The intent of the ‘a-g’ subject requirements is to ensure that students can participate fully in the first-year program at the University in a wide variety of fields of study.’ (a) History/Social Science (b) English © Mathematics (d) Laboratory Science (e) Language other than English (f) Visual and Performing Arts (g) College Preparatory Elective Courses. High school administrators are graded on their effectiveness to administer those classes through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation. Shop class is not included in the requirements, thereby not valued and schools consider the class a burden to support. Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) with 660,000 students in K-12 has already eliminated 90% of shop classes and it looks like the rest will be gone by the end of the 2013.
The UC/CA State system focuses on theory and not applied skills; a belief that learning how to swing a hammer or understand the difference between a good joint from a bad joint is part of a by-gone era, and as a society these skills are not something to strive for – something people resort to when they are out of options. Looking at shop class in this light is short-sighted and detrimental to America’s future.
From The Return of Shop to City Schools
[Shop] acquaints students with its ties to mathematics and the sciences. It could point toward possibilities in the arts, which arise in one degree or another from craftsmanship. Through discussions of its materials – wood, metal, rubber, plastic – it could point toward history classes, and through the materials those classes could draw the student into study of the Industrial Revolution, colonialism, conquest of native peoples, systems of government, and on and on. The shop class could even give practical lessons in English; imagine, for example, an exercise in which a student is handed an incomplete specification for some required task and to complete it is made to write an RFI. On finishing the shop class a student should have some idea of how to answer the question, ‘What use is x in my life?’ – and we could substitute for x any of the litany of usually detested classes.
(Cont. at link above)
(f) Visual and Performing Arts
Yep, there's an important subject. :rolleyes:
Pat
ETA: That's a 2012 article, so the damage is done.
TrapperFrank
09-29-2014, 17:03
I loved shop class, I was blessed that my daddy had me wrenching on cars at an early age. I also worked at a garage/gas station during my high school and college years. There is a sense of enormous pride you working with your hands. Wrenching teaches you patience and problem solving skills.
mojaveman
09-29-2014, 19:00
I loved shop class
Same here, I really enjoyed metal shop and wood shop in High School. I still have most of the things I made there too. Almost got into trouble onetime for making a knife blade. :D Sad that the vocational arts classes have completely died out in most of the local school districts.
Colleges and Universities are going the opposite direction. They realized that a a culture devoid of handson skills have hurt the "well rounded education". They are actively developing Makerspace. Basically self taught shop classes. The institution provides the space, equipment and variuos forms of training for the students so that the students can devlope prototypes and such themselves without having to farm the work out. 15 years ago the institutions started getting rid of their skilled shops. It was a "cost saving measure" because the work could be farmed out at a lower price than keeping skilled people on staff. That started turning around about 5 years ago and the skilled shops started coming back on campus. As an extension of that move "makerspace" started being researched so that the new on campus skilled staff could be utilized more as mentors than shop employees. This would allow a smaller skilled shop staff but keep up with production levels because the students would be the ones doing the actual labor. It also fosters an environment where young students can develop their practical skills that are associated with the "shop class" environment.
1stindoor
09-30-2014, 06:05
But, you know, who dreams of their kid becoming a mechanic or plumber?
I doubt my father had those dreams for his children...but he did teach me that you can't outsource your plumbing (he meant that it's a job that won't go overseas due to labor costs). There's very little I can't do inside the house; and every time I rewire a switch, put up a ceiling fan, fix a plumbing issue, patch drywall, etc. I stop and think about and thank my father.
Trappertod
09-30-2014, 06:11
Those skills are truly being left behind, a tool maker by trade, I had to modify my skill set to maintenance to be able to maintain a job in industry, It was a sad day when the companies I have worked for closed up their tool and die shops.
My dad too taught me many things I thought growing up all men knew, boy was I wrong. There are some real tards out there that have no idea what they are doing or where they are going. :rolleyes:
I built a car with my father between my Jr and Sr years in High School. Every day after irrigating the corn he would ask what the plan for the day was. I would explain what I intended to do, he would look at me and say "that'll work, but how about doing it this way?" It was frustrating as a 16 year old that he was always right:) It took awhile to sink in, but the skills, both physical and analytical were invaluable.
I doubt my father had those dreams for his children...but he did teach me that you can't outsource your plumbing (he meant that it's a job that won't go overseas due to labor costs). There's very little I can't do inside the house; and every time I rewire a switch, put up a ceiling fan, fix a plumbing issue, patch drywall, etc. I stop and think about and thank my father.
Absolutely nailed it. I either learned those skills from my dad or from my neighbor growing up, who owned his own construction outfit and taught me how to do any of the tasks required to build a house from the ground up.
Given the hourly wage for plumbers, or better yet electricians, I would much rather my kid do that instead of go to college and major in Peloponnesian Basket Weaving, or the new major, "University Studies" and then live in my basement after graduation.
I remember working with mechanical engineering graduate students who didn't know the difference between phillips and flathead screw drivers. Still blows my mind.
Loadsmasher
09-30-2014, 10:39
I serve with an NCO whose family has owned a welding shop in town for about 40 years. He is a silent partner and fills orders for extra money. The other brothers run the shop and split the profits. The owner/operators work the floor and hustle for business and they each out earn me by two to three times. When they arent filling orders for oil and gas companies down south, they rebuild old tractors/cars/motorhomes. Whatever looks like fun and turns a profit. One of the brothers has a walk-in gun safe that he built that is better stocked than some unit armories.
He's already agreed to bring my son on to learn the trade when he's old enough. I'm hoping he'll have room for me when I retire.
Golf1echo
09-30-2014, 11:20
You jarred a memory. Our shop class included drafting, which lead to Drafting classes, which lead to Architecture School, then designing and building houses, commercial, public spaces and finally the products we make today...40 years and many projects later it was shop class where I began to use tools correctly and that construction has processes.
Some of the best tradesmen I know went to vocational school for their foundation and their the ones who tended to really know their trade, they made for the best teachers hands down. Been building ever since :)
Why should we teach any sort of vocational aptitude or even vocational appreciation? That's not part of the SOLs! Siily. What we need to do is teach children to be progressive and incapable in everything. How many times does the progressive movement have to go over this stuff!? Come on, man!
Why should we teach any sort of vocational aptitude or even vocational appreciation? That's not part of the SOLs! Siily. What we need to do is teach children to be progressive and incapable in everything. How many times does the progressive movement have to go over this stuff!? Come on, man!
Vocational Ed programs were but a part of the many initiatives instituted by the 20th Century "progressive" movement in education, and decried by many as the demise of quality classical education and the "dumbing down" of academia.
Reading about the "progressive" educational initiatives of the Gary, Indiana, schools - deemed the most modern and progressive of the times - and their impact on America's educational institutions in the 20th Century is both interesing and eye-opening.
"School: The Story of American Public Education" (Sarah Mondale and Sarah Patton, eds; Beacon Press, Boston) is a very good historical narrative for anyone interested in the history of it all.
And so it goes...
Richard
I doubt my father had those dreams for his children...but he did teach me that you can't outsource your plumbing (he meant that it's a job that won't go overseas due to labor costs). There's very little I can't do inside the house; and every time I rewire a switch, put up a ceiling fan, fix a plumbing issue, patch drywall, etc. I stop and think about and thank my father.
Me too. I definitely hear ya.
x SF med
09-30-2014, 19:28
I grew up taking shop classes - wood, metal, ceramics... and my dad teaching me fine woodworking, home repair, wood splitting/chopping, horticulture, arborism, sailing and boatbuilding...
I love working with my hands, and helped put myself through college working in construction as a laborer, framer (metal and wood) drywall mechanic, drop ceiling mechanic and roofer... I also had my own business after I got out of the Army as a handyman.
I'm more than willing to let licensed plumbers and electricians do their thing... since I got lit up while working on a commercial ceiling - because a drunk/doped 1st year journeyman electrician left all 3 pigtails hanging on a 277v/60amp lighting circuit... it hit the grid I was squaring and blew me off a ladder... plumbing,well, I was a medic, I saw more than my share of shit....
Lost skills... I know too many people that cannot even fix a small hole in drywall.
I recently made a frame to hang steel plates (70 lb plates) at the range... built a chain link gate that's got a 7' swing and doesn't sag, and tarped a roof that has a small leak and will require a scape and skin... and installed a window air conditioner in a side slide window that required setting a spacer that is insulated 1/4" plywood with corrugated insulation between, weather stripped and weather proofed.
I made Crip a simple plaque to display his Yarborough, maybe I'll get him to post a picture when he gets back on. It's locally grown NW light Mahogany made from siding recovered from a construction job.
I can not understand people that can't do these simple things... not being able to build a complex multi angle dado and rabbet joint, I understand, that's an art.
kachingchingpow
09-30-2014, 20:59
@Reaper.
This might be a book you'd like. Very well written, and insightful.
http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Soulcraft-Inquiry-Value/dp/0143117467
The Reaper
09-30-2014, 21:11
@Reaper.
This might be a book you'd like. Very well written, and insightful.
http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Soulcraft-Inquiry-Value/dp/0143117467
Good one, I put it on my wish list.
Working on this one (and Volume 2) right now.
The Way Things Work: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Technology
C. van Amerongen
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0000913154/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
TR
I can print like a laser printer because of drafting classes, but I learned welding and metal fabrication in art class. My art teacher, Mrs. Monger, was seriously hot, too. The expression "two puppies wrestling under a blanket" comes to mind.
Our two boys(8 and 9) are on school holidays(we run 4 terms rather than 2 semesters way down here).
They just made a solar stove out of household items to make s'mores and cook some rice.
Next project is a bow and arrow.....I brought back some great slate pieces for them to score, break, and sharpen........still scrambling for arrow shafts.
kachingchingpow
10-01-2014, 05:54
@Reaper.
Yes. Good one as well. Looks good for a x-mas present for my 16yo son.
mffjm8509
10-01-2014, 07:35
Thanks TR. Interesting discussion that has given me a lot to think about as I contemplate my next career :D
The Reaper
10-01-2014, 09:17
I would rather have my son happy as a machinist or a plumber, than living life as an un- / underemployed suckfest with a Liberal Arts college degree.
Truth is, he would probably make more money as well, even without the crushing student loans incurred.
A plumber with a helper is over $150 per hour here now. :eek:
TR
Stolen from another web site because it is right on point.
I would rather have my son happy as a machinist or a plumber, than living life as an un- / underemployed suckfest with a Liberal Arts college degree.
Truth is, he would probably make more money as well, even without the crushing student loans incurred.
A plumber with a helper is over $150 per hour here now. :eek:
TR
We've got a magazine down here that ran an income comparison of tradespeople(builders/plumbers) with liberal arts grads, lawyers, and doctors.
It's not available online, but the gist of it is:
The liberal arts grads never catch the builders/plumbers, lawyers needed several decades to catch the builders/plumbers(in terms of average income accounting for relative education costs and lost income while studying with many lawyers not in partner track never catching them), and it still took doctors well over a decade on average from start of professional employment to catch them.
If I have any say in the matter(beyond my choice of financial/educational support) I'd like my kids to consider a skilled trade that cannot be outsourced and needed out to eternity(plumber) or a future focused industry with associated tangible skills like a bio/nano-technologist.
In terms of risk/reward becoming a plumber(or analog) is relatively low risk and relatively high reward.
There are a lot of regulations around used car dealers selling lemons, but I'm not aware of a single similar means to protect prospective students/parents from lousy universities and lousy degree programs.
What no one seems to be talking about is how the average cost of a university degree has exploded in the last 20 years, but the average starting salary for liberal arts grads hasn't really moved in the same 20 years while purchasing power has collapsed.
The cost of tuition to purchase the same gross pre-tax salary has gone insane. Outside of the tangible skillset degrees that can be a ticket to financial success, I see way too many self inflicted student debt slaves.
Down here we have a robust apprentice scheme across many professional trades, where apprentices are hired by businesses and paid to receive training and professional qualification. NO student debt. Just hard work for a few years on a modest wage until they are qualified.
Roguish Lawyer
10-01-2014, 16:17
I never took shop. I wish I had.
Roguish Lawyer
10-01-2014, 16:20
I would rather have my son happy as a machinist or a plumber, than living life as an un- / underemployed suckfest with a Liberal Arts college degree.
Why do you assume he would fail with that degree? It can be useful and lucrative if you know what to do with it.
Golf1echo
10-01-2014, 17:44
In many countries like Switzerland. Austria, and Germany they had the Gymnasium (school)system. My understanding of that system is that those so inclined to go to University had to qualify and successfully complete the Gymnasium in order to attend, the alternative was to attend a more vocational type of schooling. That seemed unfair coming from the United States where the determination happens at the University admission stage after High School, but then look at our system of entitlement,grants and loans. Those countries are great examples of a highly skilled work force with Germany dominating in exports in the EU. Why because they build quality smartly. Employers tell us our future work force will need to be highly skilled to compete in the job market of the future where sophisticated equipment needs to be operated precisely.
California made choices that now leave it expending great costs on government and social services, there will surely be more programs cut for lack of funding. Long term costs of not investing in things like shop...most likely will effect the quality and standards of living for the citizens of California and the country. 2nd and 3rd effects of nonsustaining choices. Just observations from someone raised on the idea that work is respectable " Success is spelled WORK" and "ineffectual intellectuals" contribute differently...society needs the working element before it can support the academic, arts,and leisure classes...basic anthropology 101
If I have any say in the matter(beyond my choice of financial/educational support) I'd like my kids to consider a skilled trade that cannot be outsourced and needed out to eternity(plumber) or a future focused industry with associated tangible skills like a bio/nano-technologist.
Another High end skilled trade is Biomedical Equipment technician (BMET). The US Army has an international program. We had a few Aussies in school when I was there in the 90s. Dont know if the Kiwi Army offers it. No student debt and an internationally recognized education.
mojaveman
10-01-2014, 19:15
Why do you assume he would fail with that degree? It can be useful and lucrative if you know what to do with it.
Agree, it's what you do with it. Mine got me a decent paying job in China. :p
@Reaper.
This might be a book you'd like. Very well written, and insightful.
http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Soulcraft-Inquiry-Value/dp/0143117467
Skilled labor is more than just a book. It takes involvement of a father to teach those skills. My dad did and without a doubt made who I am.
Some don't know how to put oil in the motor, or where for that matter. I taught basic of mechanics and electricity in the Army. Took some kids awhile to even understand why a charged battery is more the 12 V.! :munchin