So what is the answer? If you have children in school today Make your feelings about the value of a tech ed option known to your local school board officials . Don,t wait until some administrator make the decision to eliminate these classes .

The problem usually isn't that some administrator makes this decision due to lack of interest or due to his personal whim. These cuts are usually made due to budget. It's easy to say, "Don't cut shop". But if you don't cut shop, then what do you cut?

Music? Athletics? A/V Equipment? Salaries?


Or do you ... raise taxes?

Existing music and athletic depts. have fund-raising events (bake sales, bingo night, etc.). Apparently there has been more parental support for those subjects than industrial arts, fine arts, home econ. etc. Unfortunately, short-sighted.

The more subjects a person is exposed to, the better off that person will be in the long run. It also helps identify one's preference for type of work, subject matter, work environment, etc.

S

I was glad for shop classes. I liked all the ones I took: Woodworking, print shop (running offset printing presses, developing film in a darkroom with chemicals, etc, fun!), and of course auto shop.

I remember my auto shop essay was on the coming of fuel injection as the norm for cars. My shop teacher said it was an overly complicated fad, or for expensive cars, and carbs were here to stay!

Like most of us here, I can work on a car, build things out of wood, fix things around the house, etc. My own kids, while excellent in school, sports, music, etc. are completely illiterate when it comes to working on anything. Have any of them try to drill a pilot hole in a board and use a screwdriver to put a screw in and it's funny. It's like they have no opposable thumbs.

I have no problem with a tax increase if it goes to the class room or the teacher (by way of smaller class size) .I have a problem when the taxes are going to elaborate schools (with 3 storey atriums in the library and cafeteria) and school board offices with walnut doors and offices with ensuite bathrooms.

absolutely correct -- shop classes are expensive; even if all the equipment is donated you still have maintenance on it

Most of the equipment lasts a long long time ( some stuff lasts decades) compared to a desk top computer which lasts about 3 or 4 years in a school use situation.
Shop classes are seen as old fashioned and dirty, noisy places with scary machinery even if they are similar to an actual industrial setting.

The trend in California is actually related to court actions in the mid to late 70's. This is when the State took control of the finances from local school districts. The rest is down hill. It is a perfect example of centralized government destroying what local communities value.

Cal Poly is sponsored by Haas. That is good because we may not be sponsored by the state for much longer...

Basic high school football fields in Northeast Illinois cost over a cool mil$$. Supervisors earning a 1/4 mil$$ per year and part time job school bus drivers are members of the teachers union getting the full benefits with pensions. School board meetings are social gatherings and mainly concerns the latest extra cirricular activities. Providing additional classrooms for kids only knowing Spanish is becoming normal.

One thing I know, cheaters were very apparent in tech / shop classes vs. classroom studies. Even the not so bright ones but who applied some effort could be seen in their work skills. Today, learning how to cheat, without guilt is common in classrooms studies. I hear it all the time from nieces and nephews.. grade school to college. Too bad those shop classes have gone away. Not easy for kids to cheat in them and could help restore some ethics for those otherwise.