At the time
of this post, I'm 52 years old. I'm not one to reminisce about the good old
days. In most cases, they weren't that good. However, two recent conversations
and the Miranda Lambert song ‘Automatic’ (link below) have me thinking about some skills and
knowledge that kids are missing out on these days.
When I went
to Junior High, in the mid 70's, we had a choice of 6 shop classes. In the
basement of the school we had 4 shops: electronics, metal, print, and wood. On
the second floor we had a kitchen and a sewing room.
In
Electronics, you learned the basics of power supply and home circuits. We would
repair cassette decks or stereo receivers. Everyone built a crystal radio. You
learned basics of batteries, fuses, circuit breakers, transistors, resistors,
and capacitors. You understood the difference between series and parallel
circuits. That means 13 year olds could figure the size and number of batteries
to power an off grid system for one day.
In Print
shop, you learned kerning of different fonts; you built a document to be
printed from moveable type. Building one 8 x 11 sheet gives you a greater
understanding of the process of printing a book after Gutenberg until the
advent of computers. We carved designs in print blocks, inked them, and made art
work. We cut stencils to silk screen T-shirts.
In Metal
shop, we folded sheet metal into boxes with sealed seams that would hold water.
We cold pounded bars into wall hooks. We made sand castings and poured molten
metal into the form.
In Wood
shop, we learned safety around saws. Band saws, table saws, and drill presses were
all common hazards. We built wall shelfs and stools; fine wood working and utilitarian
work.
In the Kitchen,
we'd whip up recipe after recipe. From simple chocolate chip cookies to
decorated cakes, we tried it all. Yes, it was the mid-70's so I was the only
boy in my home ec class. (Back then, home economics was a woman's domain.)
I didn't
take sewing, so I can't comment on the school course. I learned that at home.
And yes, I can replace a button or sew a whole shirt from a pattern.
All of that
is what we lose when we move to teaching the test and stop worrying about the
whole person. One shouldn't need to be an electrician to understand how your home
electricity works. Everyone should be comparing electricity needs when they are
buying a new refrigerator, washer, dryer, etc.
Building
something yourself gives you a better understanding of what is involved in the
products you buy from the store. It also makes you self sufficient if there
isn't a store nearby. I built my own three level cat tree when stationed in
Germany because the locals didn't have anything like it. Just plywood, fence
pole, carpeting, and tree branches, but it lasted 15 years and two major moves.
There is a
basic core of knowledge and skills one should have to live on your own in this
society. Forty years ago you learned both in school.
