high school cabinetry closing

[Brady Watson]

Thanks for the feedback, Jim.

It's up to the parents & students to voice their concerns about this sort of thing. They shut down metal shop, wood shop and even home economics in my hs 20 years ago. Seems parents and the school thought that everyone could be a doctor, lawyer or office worker. Not every kid wants to do that...and many of these office jobs have been farmed out overseas.

I've been all over the country and have visited both high schools and colleges that use a ShopBot in their curriculum. Some inherited the class against their will and don't put a lot of energy into it...BUT others run a first class shop and really leverage how a ShopBot can be used. In one school, they use the bot for cabinet/casework in their wood shop class - and they also use it to machine 3D relief mold masters for their metal shop class! They take the master pattern, sand cast it and pour molten aluminum into the mold to create metal parts! Pretty slick for a high school! Another uses a Bot in a mixed curriculum to create 3D models that go into a mini wind tunnel and then they analyze and tweak the model to get the desired coefficient of drag.

So there ARE some schools out there using this technology and really giving kids a practical education and foundation to build upon for the working world. Not all hope is lost...but it's up to the kids to speak up and let it be known that they don't want to be another cubicle rat. Unfortunately some of us have to 'try out the office thing' before realizing that it isn't what we were made to do. And that's where a lot of kids are - they don't know what they want to do and often pick whatever sounds good enough to get everyone off their back! ...and then they are 40, miserable and wonder how they got there. The world would be a better place if kids were told the whole story and we didn't adhere to the old stigmas attached to 'blue collar' jobs.

What is nice about running a CNC is that you get to use BOTH your brain and your hands - which for some of us, is as essential as breathing in order to feel satisfaction on a day to day basis.

-B

[waterwheelman]

About two years ago I read a great book on the subject of education in america and shop class. The title is: "Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work" by Matthew B. Crawford. The book has some great insite into working with ones hands and at the same time challenging the mind. I think it should be required reading for all high school administrators in America. Our local schools have allmost completely eliminated wood shop class.

[danhamm]

"Quote" Brady...What is nice about running a CNC is that you get to use BOTH your brain and your hands - which for some of us, is as essential as breathing in order to feel satisfaction on a day to day basis.

A tilt of the hat to you Brady, you pretty much nailed it for me.

Its panic in the Province of B.C. Electritions, Plumbers, Machinists pretty much most of the trades are "old" and want to retire and there is no one to take thier place, the ones that have apprenticed, have left for the high paying jobs in the oilfields, you can't pick up a publication without adds for apprentices wanted, in the last 15 years the Education system has pushed for computer sciences and related fields and now we are paying the price.

[chiloquinruss]

"pushed for computer sciences", but the 'sciences' needed are NOT MS WORD or POWERPOINT! That's ALL our local HS teaches in computer 'science'!

In a past life (now retired) I was asked to do seminars on computers in industry. One of my last presentations was at UC Berkeley. There were 700 plus students in the auditorium for my presentation. The instructor, the young lady doing sign language for the hearing imparied, and myself were the only non Asian people in the building. US 'computer science' kids can't get into the UC prgram because they DO NOT have the credentials good enough to qualify.


What has this to do with shop classes? The remaining few GOOD shop classes today require computer skills that are NOT of the OFFICE variety. That is the simple answer. They require REAL computer skills and understanding. If a student can dream up a project, draw it out, put those ideas into a cad/cam piece of software, run a CNC machine, and hold in thier hands the finished project, I can guarantee you that the student GETS IT. Thier life will NEVER be the same. Russ

[gene]

I am a product of industral arts high school in the mid to late 70"s . Now i run a shop and have done woodworking for 30 + years. my biggest regret was that i never got the chance to thank my high school shop teacher. He taught me a lot of skills that have given me a pretty good living. i have done residential as well as commercial and industral work . We need more students taught at the least basic woodworking ,building maintance type work

[jdervin]

Given that something like half of all new restaurants fail in their first six months, a high school investing in culinary arts training -- presumably to help train the kids for jobs -- doesn't make a lot of mathematical sense. Especially when you say that the current industrial arts program is a working success. Sounds like someone's been watching too much Food Network lately.

It might also help to point out the learning outcomes from your courses ("learning outcomes" is a popular phrase among academic admistrators these days). For instance...


Studying computer-assisted tooling:

• Provides students unique opportunities in critical thinking.
• Helps students to develop analytical and problem solving skills.
• Enables students to advance their aesthetic knowledge and sensibility.
• Encourages students to strengthen discipline, organizational skills and self-confidence -- all capacities that can be applied to a wide range of professions including business, government, law, craft trades, and the sciences.
• Offers capabilities to students with physical disabilities that simply can't be matched in other areas of study.

I'm sure there are many other benefits that could be added to this list.

Good luck!

[bob_reda]

Being a member of the building trades for the past 30 something years I have seen the numbers. Most union building trades average age is at least 55 years of age. We can not find people to enter our apprentinceship classes. In our local, 2/3 of our memebers are eligible to retire during the next 5 years. Our apprenticship is 5 years long with two nights of school and on the job training. we need people to replace them. This is a $30 an hour job with benefits. Total package cost is $55 per hour. We are starting to use computers in our field, but most is manual work, hard work. What happens in 5 years when we can't man jobs. First to go will probably be the electric because we can't man maintaining the power houses that generate it. Next the water supply, cause we can't maintain the water and waste disposal systems. And the list goes on and on. This has been a problem for the past ten years and unfortunately I don't see it changing, the maing thing they teach in school today is the "Test" so they can receive the "money". Just my .02 cents

Bob

[kevin]

Below these are the links for whats going on .
There no recesion here .Thats just the tip of the ice berg .This summer right across the street there making a oil rig at 2 billion Hebron



http://www.thepacket.ca/News/2009-04...Long-Harbour/1

http://www.iuoe904.com/

[cabnet636]

the meeting is at 7 on tuesday,, we have found out and recieved the minutes and documentation that the principle did not reveal her entire motive and course of action as she only requested new programs then fired the autobody and cabinetry shops the following week , we have a good amount of local business owners who will attend and the letters are great, i hope to show them to all once we make our case!!

[myxpykalix]

Remember this saying..."the squeaky wheel gets the grease".....So the more people who speak out gives a better concensus of what the community is thinking.
One of our local television news channels has a facebook page and when our local city council tries to do something hinkey with our money one of us gets on and raises the topic and you should see the responses and involvement by people in the community.

When our local "Occupy" movement started causing mayhem, i'm proud to say I and a few others were instrumental in getting them kicked out of our downtown park despite the cooperation of city officials.

The point of that story was to illustrate that many people might be willing to participate in your issue to show you support, even if it is from the point of a keyboard it would definitely have an impact especially if it is from local taxpayers.

If you have a local tv station get them involved in the story, show all the support and letters from us, complete strangers who have had this valuable education, and look for a local facebook page from your local tv station and get that topic started there or start a page yourself.

Forgive my memory, but Jim aren't you the guy who made the lifesize chess pieces? If you really want to make an impact take one of them to the meeting and show what you can do, or some of your best work as examples of what a good tradesman can make with this knowledge.

Now if you REALLY want to make an impact I would take some nice plaque you made in one hand and a order of McDonalds fries in the other and when you get up to speak conclude with...."You want fries with that?"