Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (3860)	7/27/2003 12:29:13 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793600

Good bit on High School education from a blogger. Needless to say, I agree with him. The College Freshmen in India who make it into their top Tech school spend some of the first year of college in shop courses. We are losing focus here due to the domination of our Educational Bureaucracy by Liberal Arts types. I understand that you can even graduate from High School now without a lab course in Chem or Physics. Friday, July 18, 2003 THE SUPPRESSION OF SHOP Many high schools are eliminating their traditional shop programs. This, despite the fact that skilled craftsmen are in demand and that, for many students, shop programs could be a key to a better job and a better life. (An auto mechanic who rises to service manager may make over $100,000 per year.) And for those students who are interested in learning a craft, the ability to take shop in school would very likely have an positive effect on their overall attitude to school--including academic courses. So why do school administrators eliminate shop programs? I think there are several reasons, none of which reflect very well on the administrators. (1) Arrogance and snobbery . There is an attitude among many college-educated people (especially those with advanced degrees) that the only "good" job is one which involves the manipulation of symbols (especially verbal symbols). This reinforces the traditional disdain of snobs for people who work with their hands. A well-developed human being has the ability to feel respect for skills that he himself does not possess. This trait seems rare among school administrators. (2) Poor management skills and a lack of resourcefulness . School officials say that to teach someone to be an auto mechanic requires heavy capital investments because of the necessity for diagnostic computers and similar equipment. But a little creative thinking could go a long way toward mollifying this issue. The first year or two of an automotive shop program could consist of learning how internal combustion engines work, taking them apart, and putting them back together. This could be done in individual schools, with total capital equipment consisting of a few old engines and some basic tools. Students who want to proceed further could go, for a couple of days a week, to a consolidated location which contains the expensive equipment. Also, it's very likely that local auto dealerships would kick in money or equipment to support such a program, if asked. One characteristic of weak managers is that they always demand "more resources," rather than thinking creatively about how resources can be used more effectively. Such people seem to exist in large numbers within the education establishment. (3) Lack of leadership . School administrators are responding to pressure from parents, who want their children to follow a college path. But the parents are themselves responding to propaganda from the educational establishment, much of it highly misleading. If the administrators were leaders rather than followers, they would be proactive in providing honest information to parents--about the benefits of careers in crafts as well as the benefits of college. Some have argued that craft education detracts from the common education required for citizenship. This is silly. There is plenty of time to learn basic craft skills and also to learn history and literature--if frills are avoided in the interests of substance. And, as mentioned above, letting students take at least one class that they are really interested in may help to energize their entire approach to school. From the San Diego article: (Students) hoisted cars on lifts, removed wheels and welded metal ? heavy duties for teenagers at 7:40 a.m. Such dedication is the marvel of teachers who fight to keep students focused in their academic classes. "When I come here, I know exactly what I'm doing," said Raymond Butcher, a 17-year-old junior. "This is what feeds my brain." It's hard to believe that some of this spirit wouldn't spill over into Raymond's academic classes as well. And learning a craft has more than economic value. One learns self-discipline, deferred gratification, attention to detail, and ability to work with others. And one may also learn intellectual skills such as inductive and deductive reasoning. Diagnosing engine problems, for example, surely requires an internalization of cause-and-effect thinking. The negative attitude of school administrators to shop courses demonstrates once again--as if further demonstration was needed--just how narrowminded are the people who run the public schools, and how little they really care about their students. Yes, there are exceptions--but they seem to be increasingly uncommon. (hat tip: Joanne Jacobs) UPDATE: I'm sure that another factor playing a role here is the fear of lawsuits. If kids are allowed to smart off in a shop class, it can be very dangerous. It's a lot easier to hurt yourself (or someone else) with a welding torch than with a computer or a piece of paper. And few school administrators seem to have the courage to insist on the right to remove troublemakers from class...so activities that could be hazardous are simply avoided. I suspect that many of the factors discussed here are also relevant to the decline of laboratory science in the schools. photoncourier.blogspot.com

To: LindyBill who wrote (3860)	7/27/2003 12:37:30 PM
From: JohnM	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793600

. . . although I agree that she probably is a conservative. Sometimes, when we get buried down in four or five layers of posts, the original point gets lost. Back to it. I'm not saying don't read her because she says she is a Republican and uses adjectives that underline her position. Rather I'm saying one should simply take that into account when reading her. Who knows what Brownstein's politics are? But his analysis suggests he's definitely willing to take on all comers.