[TheForge] Industrial arts (personal thoughts and experiences)

[Aaron Silver]

At 08:03 PM 1/27/2002 -0500, you wrote:


>I've been formally educated in a lot of places, and under a lot of
>circumstances, and I really think that shop and home ec type classes should be
>taught to all, along with the academic necessities for college. I think it
>would make us all well-rounded citizens.
>
>But then, who am I?
>
>Phlip

While in High School I only had 2 electives which wound up being German and 
Computers, however in Junior High I did take a swing through the Home-Ec 
and Shop classes, and remember them fondly. The sewing I learned in Home Ec 
allowed me to make a quilt for my wife for Christmas, and the one-pot 
starch fest spaghetti dinner happened to be the first meal I cooked my 
bride-to-be when we were dating and is now THE way that spaghetti is cooked 
in our household. My shop classes taught me to work with several types of 
plastics and resins, concrete and clay/pottery/slip casting, as well as 
wood. I never managed to make it to the metal shop since Band sorta 
wandered into my life for a couple of years, but I'm making up with that 
now that I've discovered blacksmithing.

By day I work with computers doing things that can disappear with the 
wimsiest power surge. It is really great and a change of pace being able to 
work with my hands and see a creation that'll last longer than the flick of 
a light switch. (Unless the kids are around that is)

I agree with Phlip... Home Ec and Shop need to be taught. They get the 
bookworms out from between the pages and let them experience something for 
themselves, and hopefully teach them how to not lose a finger with power 
tools. They also show those know-it-all boys that what Mom is doing in the 
kitchen isn't something that is off-limits simply because they have a Y 
chromosome. And hopefully it shows the young ladies that power tools ARE a 
good thing. :-D

Aaron Silver
Real life talk with son (age 6):
"Rule # 1: Power tools are a good thing
Mom is upset at dad for totalling the van so if Daddy buys the tools, mommy 
gets mad.
Rule #2: Don't make Mommy mad"