Kids and woodworking

[Charles Goodnight]

As a kid it was always obvious I was going to be a scientist, and a biologist. When I was in middle school I talked to my parents about what classes to take. In particular, I kinda wanted to take shop, but I knew I should take advanced biology. My parents comment: You know what you are going to do for the rest of your life. Take the other thing. Take shop. I did, I loved it, and guess what, when I went to graduate school, some 10 years later I made all of the equipment I used in my research. That shop class ended up being one of the most valuable classes I took in middle school. I also became life long friends with the shop teacher, so that was a secondary benefit. I was really upset when they got rid of their industrial arts program.

[Tom Hintz]

I have several school districts that use my site for woodworking courses they offer. Some are for real in-school woodworking classes, some are based in community college facilities. It does sound like woodworking is taking big financial hits though with all of the cutbacks. I guess I can see their reasoning when they have to decide between math and woodworking on the curriculum. the money has to come from somewhere but nobody wants to pay those kind of taxes.
We have donated a bunch of equipment after reviewing it to a couple schools but that is not much help or going to keep them afloat very long I am afraid.

[johnny means]

It does sound like woodworking is taking big financial hits though with all of the cutbacks. I guess I can see their reasoning when they have to decide between math and woodworking on the curriculum.

I'm sure the few shop programs left out there are getting hit hard by budget cuts. But I think the demise of the trades in schools actually came during the boom years. I remember seeing my old school cut out shop curriculum while expanding the school and installing a fancy new rubber track so the athletes wouldn't get sore knees. These were the years in which we became a nation of money movers as opposed to producers of things.

[Ryan Hellmer]

I was in the shop at a young age, suffered my first power-tool accident at age 7 (bandsaw nicked my thumb) and have been doing it ever since. I hate that the trades are taking such a beating in todays society. I was one that grew up believing college and grad school were the way to go. Oh I still do all my yard work, house remodeling, oil changes blah blah. But I've got three buddies from high school, one welder, one diesel mechanic and one lineman who after a couple years of training jumped into the work force. I spent the next 8 years in school amassing some student debt and making (relatively) no income. By my math, it will take 7 years to "break even" and a lot longer than that to catch up to my diesel mechanic buddy. I think kids need to be introduced to the possibility, make an informed choice about what they like to do and then be the best they can be at it. If that's a lawyer, fine; plumber, fine; welder, fine; doctor, fine; just get out there and be a productive memeber of society.

Ryan