The sad end of high school woodshop

[Michael Yadfar]

Just felt like posting an opinion on something that's happened in my area over the past ten years or so, and seems to be happening all over the country: the end of wood shop in high school. In my area, most high schools have already cut the program years ago, with the poorer high schools first. Just recently, my high school, one of the most wealthy in the area and one of the last to have it, cut it as well. I graduated three years ago, and was actually the last class to ever have it. I took the class all four years, and my senior year the program was ended, and replaced with a CAD class and Architectural Design class. Luckily for me, my instructor was able to incorporate some woodworking into the Architectural Design program, since he viewed building what you designed an important aspect. However, after I graduated, the school put an end to that aspect as well.

I find this completely disappointing. My high schools reasoning for cancelling this was because they viewed it as irrelevant to the high schools curriculum, and that students interested in woodworking would simply enroll in a Vo-tech program. This is just so dumb in my opinion, because there were many college bound students who took the class, including myself, who wouldn't go to vo-tech since we didn't plan to become carpenters. Wood shop was a great opportunity to give your mind a break from the books while doing something productive, and also put some things to practical use like math, drafting, and CAD. Not to mention, I can think of many of the mandatory courses I had to take in high school that will never apply to myself or 95% of the other students. Wood shop also gave me love to the woodworking hobby, which I ending up continuing after I put together my own wood shop after high school and continue it. Pretty soon I feel like any of the other free minded elective such as art will be cancelled as well.

Another issue with cancelling this, which may be the high schools intention, is it takes away peoples ability to find love for the trades. In my high school, you're not allowed to take vo-tech until 10th grade. They also cancelled middle school wood shop, so basically for those who cold have gotten a taste in middle school or 9th grade, they no longer get that opportunity.

One last thing, sure about half the kids in the class were students simply trying to "get by" in high school and took the "easy" class, but the other half as mentioned were college bound students interested in wood working.

[John K Jordan]

I'm afraid this is part of the dumbing down of our country. (Says something about the intelligence of those making these decisions, even more about the budget priorities.)

Not only the shop has suffered but art and music. Who cares about enrichment these days?

I recently had a discussion with some artists in fiber, wood, and ceramics and the universal lament was the limiting or removal of these programs.

Fortunately, there are still some schools that haven't given up everything. The Oak Ridge TN high school where my kids went has an excellent art (including photography, ceramics, theatrical art) and music program (a string program started by Edgar Meyer's dad introduces kids to strings in the 4th grade). I haven't checked on their wood shop lately but I do know a 16 year old girl who is in her second year of welding class there and they have machining - these courses can provide certifications. However, since this school has history of excellence, I worry about all the schools from districts without the resources available here.

JKJ

[Prashun Patel]

I wouldn't say "dumbing down" as much as "misinforming". There is false perception that hand skills and manufacturing are obsolete and take back seats to coding and math. But making things teaches us how to make things better. Innovation comes from working.

i have to say they are in many ways smarter than I am. But they take too many building blocks for granted imho. This makes me think they are vulnerable l.

[Peter Kelly]

I'm guessing that the insurance premiums for a wood shop in an educational environment costs an outrageous amount of money. Seems like a hold over from a much less litigious era.

[Michael Yadfar]

I'm guessing that the insurance premiums for a wood shop in an educational environment costs an outrageous amount of money. Seems like a hold over from a much less litigious era.

Insurance definitely factors in, but in my schools case I don't think that was much of the reason. They did get rid of metal shop way before I went there due to that, but that was because they needed a whole new ventilation system and many other safety things to comply, and the program only consisted of like one class. Wood shop though my instructor did a lot of things to help with that, for example they bought a saw stop which helped with insurance, and my school district is wealthy as said.

[Chris Padilla]

FWIW, my daughter took a drafting/ww'ing class in 7th or 8th grade but I'm not sure what is available now that she has started high school this year as a freshman. When I was in high school (mid 80s), I don't recall there being any shop classes but again, we had them in junior high (now called middle school) and for us, it was 7-9 for junior high.

From what I can tell, schools don't have the money for those vocational type classes. They barely have enough to get the core stuff taught.

[Dave Anderson NH]

There has been an increasing perception among educators for at least 20-30 years that "shop" classes of any type are unimportant and not a part of "real education". A good friend is the director of technical education at a large high school and struggles constantly against the bias among teachers and many administrators that both Voc-Ed teachers and their students are somehow of a lower intelligence and social standing than those teaching "real" courses and preparing students for college. In addition to being poppycock, this ignores the fact that we need woodworkers, sheet metal people, machinists, carpenters, auto body workers, and so forth, and that industry alone can't bear all of the burden of training them. Education in any and all forms is preparation for life. We need folks with a wide variety of skills and backgrounds or society won't work. My son is a prime example. He had the intelligence to do pretty much anything he wanted. He chose Voc-Ed schooling which was far more intensive and far reaching than the local MA high school where we lived at the time. Now at almost 45 years old he is 3 courses away from a double major in business and computers at his local community college, and makes almost twice my income in his trade. He recently started his own business on a part-time basis, is doing well, and is complaining that he should have done it 5 years ago.

Sorry for the rant, but not everyone is suited for college, for college at immediate graduation from high school, and not everyone is suited to ride a desk. Good tradespeople deserve respect based on their character, the quality of their work, and the absolute need we have for them.

[Mel Fulks]

Many a worthy "zip gun" was made in school shops. Fine materials like Cadilac radio antena barrels, and baseball team trophy walnut grips proclaimed "American made!". I blame the decline of craftsmanship on cheap foreign imports.

[Roger Feeley]

our local high school dropped shop classes a long time ago. Now they boast a 'maker lab' and they have this crappy table top table saw. Yikes!

[Mike Henderson]

The problem I see with woodworking is that very little "woodwork" is done by an individual any more. In order to be cost competitive, the product has to be made in a factory in very high volume - and that means computer controlled machinery. Look at cabinetry for kitchens, for example. Nobody builds kitchen cabinets from scratch any more. The installer goes to the house and measures the kitchen and does a "design" based on what he/she can get from their suppliers. And some of the stuff is VERY high end.

For the few people who "build" the cabinets, they order things like doors, drawer fronts, and even drawers, from a factory supplier. And that factory supplier builds the stuff with expensive computer controlled machines. (this market is for things like built in desks, built in bookcases, and maybe media cabinets - true custom stuff.)

Finishing is another problem. The catalyzed finishes used on most of the cabinetry (for durability) requires special environmental controls and respirators for those working with it.

So I question if someone can get a good job from taking shop in high school. What's needed is the knowledge of how to program and use those machines. And because of the expense of the machines, they want someone trained in how to properly operate them.

After I retired, I took woodworking classes at Cerritos College. They have some CNC type machines, but most of the students were people like me - older and who just wanted to do woodworking as a hobby. We never worked on those CNC machines - just the kind of machines you'd have in your home shop.

School, both high school and vocational school, needs to train young people in skills that will help them get a good job. Traditional shop is not where it's at.

Mike

[Stew Hagerty]

They do have a separate "Career Center" here in our school district where kids can go and take classes in machine shop, aircraft maintenance, construction trades, culinary arts, etc...
It's an amazing place and a great asset to our community. Their classes count not only for HS credit, but college as well. My nephew took their aviation courses and just graduated HS with only a few classes to go to get his Associates Degree and his Aircraft Mechanic's License.
Here's a link to their website, more communities should have something like this:
https://www.fortwayneschools.org/schools/school_pages.php?school=0093

[Charles Wiggins]

To my knowledge, it will not include the standard high school "shop" type curriculum, but the community college where I work is partnering with the county school system to build a new vo-tech center here on campus, which is fairly central, where students of all of the high schools may come and take classes. We currently have programs in Building & Construction, Welding, Machining, Autobody (called "Collision Repair" now), Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Mechanical Drafting, and we are going to be adding Agribusiness with a functioning farm.

[Roger Feeley]

There are so many benefits to shop classes that spill over into other disciplines.

Organization: You have to do this before you can do that.
Visualization: See how the part fits into the whole. Visualize an operation to avoid accident.
Attention to detail: Spend time getting this step right and the next step is 10 times easier

Sadly, though, shop classes are pretty expensive per student. When my daughter was in middle school they had a class where you made balsa wood airplanes with rubber bands. These were actual airfoils so were much more complex than the dime store things we flew as kids. Much of what I described above, she got from that class and the equipment cost was negligible.

But I would still fund them. You just never know what's going to light a kid up. It might be music or art or sports or yearbook or shop. You find that one thing and all the other classes come easier because the kid is motivated. If all you offer is the 3Rs, you wind up with a bunch of unhappy, unmotivated robots.

[John K Jordan]

.... Nobody builds kitchen cabinets from scratch any more....

It may be uncommon, but when you say "nobody makes cabinets from scratch any more" I think you mean you don't know of anybody who makes cabinets from scratch any more.

I know some cabinet shops that build from scratch, one down over the hill from me. They made our kitchen cabinets from scratch with raised panel hickory doors and for cheaper than I could buy them anywhere. I designed all of them and drew a set of drawings so what I got fit my space and needs. They stay busy year around.

The shop classes I had in Junior High School were not about preparing students for a trade but introducing kids to new ideas and possibilities while working with their hands. Almost everything was done with hand tools. I loved it.

JKJ

[Bruce Volden]

You folks are overlooking the big picture. How can a school afford a ww shop when nowadays they need to install gender neutral toilets???

Bruce

[Mike Henderson]

It may be uncommon, but when you say "nobody makes cabinets from scratch any more" I think you mean you don't know of anybody who makes cabinets from scratch any more.

I know some cabinet shops that build from scratch, one down over the hill from me. They made our kitchen cabinets from scratch with raised panel hickory doors and for cheaper than I could buy them anywhere. I designed all of them and drew a set of drawings so what I got fit my space and needs. They stay busy year around.

The shop classes I had in Junior High School were not about preparing students for a trade but introducing kids to new ideas and possibilities while working with their hands. Almost everything was done with hand tools. I loved it.

JKJ

Yep, I should have said "almost nobody."

I took shop in middle school and all through high school. I enjoyed it.

I agree that we need to prepare kids for finding a job, but I'm not sure that doing woodwork, by hand or machine, is the best approach.

Mike

[Anyone who builds from scratch is basically selling time. And getting good pay for your time doing that is difficult. The number of woodworkers who tried doing custom furniture and failed is legion. You'll get a lot more for your time if you can program a CNC machine.]

[Rich Riddle]

You can see the droves of auctions selling off former high school shop machines all over the country. Times have changed....we're a dwindling crowd.

[Michael Yadfar]

You can see the droves of auctions selling off former high school shop machines all over the country. Times have changed....we're a dwindling crowd.

Those machines are usually beautiful vintage ones too! They usually sell for top dollar though

[Michael Yadfar]

My woodshop class was more than "here's a block of wood, build something". Each class had a different theme of what we built, so we learned the methods on how to build it, designed it using a CAD system, then built it. There were also some projects mixed in between. As said, it was a nice way to free your mind while doing something productive, but I guess then again that's not what school is for. Still, when you look at some of the classes taken, you really question things. For example, we had mandatory foreign language which I already forget, a bunch of math (basic algebra and geometry is all 95% of people need), 4 years of science which again only appeals to certain career paths (all my career involves is BIO), and health class (wth?). You also have electives like art and music that people won't make money off of, but I feel like those are important in the same way as shop (of course they're being shut down as well).

[Kev Williams]

Cabinets... The house I live and do business in was built in 1966, it still has the original 'made from scratch' kitchen cabinets. Nary a loose screw or piece of loose wood anywhere. Emphasis on WOOD.

My uncle, who started a cabinet shop in the 60's (that's still making from-scratch cabinets) made a large L-shaped desk for me back in '81 for my new Concept 2000 computerized engraving machine. The desk has since been split in half to better suit my needs, but I dare Hulk Hogan or Shaq to try to make the big half of the thing wobble in any way. It will move, but it won't twist or wobble a bit. Still rock solid after 35 years. There's a couple of other cabinets here in this basement he made that are just as solid.

It's a shame this kind of craftsmanship has been replaced with stapled together glued sawdust...

When I was in high school, there was as much extracurricular stuff available to learn as anything else- farming, drama, sports, sewing, cooking...

Me, I took welding shop , auto mechanics, wood shop and machine shop in high school. Are you telling me all these are all GONE these days?? (I really need to get out more!)

So--what do they have kids do all day in school? If they're not going to teach them any crafts, maybe they could teach them to stay off Snapchat while driving 107 mph (this was on the news this morning)...

I've been self-employed since 1975, 3 years out of high school. Between then and now I've owned several cars, boats, motorhomes, ATV's- still do actually! -- And then there's all of the machinery necessary for my business, most of which is listed in my signature. I fix and maintain almost everything myself. In my entire life I've given mechanics less than $10000 of my money, and aside from a few computer repairs, I've paid no one to fix or maintain any of my work equipment. I've always been mechanically inclined and a fast learner. Which helps because I've never been to college.

But I did take welding, auto mechanics, wood shop and machine shop in high school. Thankfully.

[John K Jordan]

I agree that we need to prepare kids for finding a job, but I'm not sure that doing woodwork, by hand or machine, is the best approach.


I'm not so sure junior high school is the time to actively prepare kids for finding a job. I think at that age it is better to introduce them to EVERYTHING possible so when it is time they will at least know what is out there. Wood, metal, pencil, whatever - I think it is more a matter of learning to use the hands to engage the mind.

Our Jr. High shop class in the early '60s began with everyone using a hand plane to make a flat, square edge on a piece of wood then on to a few other simple starter tasks. The teacher then directed kids to various things appropriate to their aptitudes so almost everyone was doing something different. I remember using rotary cutting tools to creating miniature fantasy scenes by cutting shapes deep into the bottom of thick blocks of clear plastic. Some played on the lathes or cut shapes on the bandsaw or made little stools and painted them. Some did simple metal work or something else that interested them. Some with little aptitude or interest didn't do much more than show up. I thought it was a wonderful time, just as much fun as the later art and music classes and the science labs.

In high school my counselor steered me away from more shop and towards math and science so I instead did things in the basement with wood, metals, electronics, chemicals, and fire. All my friends were hard-core "makers" long before it was a buzz word. The big science fairs were the highlight of the year. (That's another thing going extinct) Some of my friends got patents, won awards, and were recruited by big tech companies (like Bell Labs and Westinghouse) based mostly on things they did and invented and made out of school, for example: a continuous-operation cloud chamber, a home-made electron microscope, a miniature (and illegal) TV broadcast station, a clever but suicidal jet backpack. Good fun.

The point is for me, and for others I knew, I believe it was the three years of Jr High shop classes that triggered a life-long interest in analyzing, planning, creating, crafting, and making things work. I wonder what will trigger such things in kids today.

JKJ

[Rod Sheridan]

You folks are overlooking the big picture. How can a school afford a ww shop when nowadays they need to install gender neutral toilets???

Bruce

LOL, if they can't afford the cost of modification (changing the sign on the door), they're not going to be able to afford a shop facility..............Rod.

[Rod Sheridan]

I live in a large urban center.

When my daughter was taking wood shop in high school, she started skipping after a few classes. This was brought to our attention at the parent/teacher meeting night.

She was skipping because she was bored. At home she was qualified to run everything except the shaper, at school she was in a female only class and non of the girls would use any of the shop equipment, they spent their time doing their nails and talking.

After the meeting, the teacher then allowed her to use more shop machinery, and make a wood working piece, as opposed to the acrylic keychain fob that was the focus of the shop class. She was used as an example and mentor for other kids in the class.

My daughter was the only student who lived in a house where people made and repaired things, for everyone else it was a straight consumer society.

One of the schools in my area was converted to a Tech school, with fantastic woodworking machinery such as A CNC, sliding table saws etc., most high end Euro machines. The school closed 3 years later due to lack of enrollment, the demographics in my area do not support craft/trades/technology as a viable career plan.

The trades I deal with cannot find apprentices, and when they do, all I hear are complaints that they can't perform basic arithmetic calculations, or read a ruler.

Hopefully, the environmental concerns that are becoming more common will have a positive effect on the shop culture as we once again begin to focus on product lifespan, ability to repair products, and the desire to purchase more locally produced and manufactured objects from food to furniture and appliances..............Rod.

[Chuck Wintle]

When I was in elementary school, twice a week the boys went to shop class and the girls went to home ec class. When I go to high school there still was shop but the environment had become dangerous. Too many kids not listening to the teacher and getting hurt on the machines. Not long after that there was no more shop classes of any kind. Probably better to let the students stay ignorant than to face a bunch of lawsuits.

[Stephen Tashiro]

The problem I see with woodworking is that very little "woodwork" is done by an individual any more. In order to be cost competitive, the product has to be made in a factory in very high volume - and that means computer controlled machinery.

Also, any product of moderate size is less likely to made of wood nowadays.

An argument for shop classes can be made if they are relevant to the home owner or even "home renter". But how many people have convenient access to a shop nowadays - or space to construct one? Browsing YouTube videos on woodworking, we see woodworkers like Matthias Wandel and Izzy Swan appear to work in somewhat rural settings where they have space for machinery and access to trees. Perhaps urbanization is another explanation for the demise of shop classes.

[Roger Feeley]

Has it been mentioned that shop subjects aren't part of the standardized tests? They aren't and schools are zeroing in more and more on teaching to those tests. "Force Multiplier" type subjects like shop, debate, music are coming in a distant second to whatever might be on this year's tests.

I am not a fan of standardized tests for many reasons. I was a teacher for 8 years and my wife was principal for 30 and we don't see much if any benefit from state assessments.

[Jim Becker]

The true bottom line here is ... money. (We don't need to get into the political side of things and torpedo this thread relative to reasons)

Non "core" curriculum has very pointedly taken a major hit over the last decade because of school funding not keeping up with costs. "We" are all to "blame" when we complain about school taxes and don't also insist that our states fund education to the level required to pay for the facilities, teaching talent and other factors such as insurance. As with any budget, school districts have had to make difficult and disheartening decisions around the arts and practical skills training within the public school environment simply because there is little or no money to fund them. We should all have some empathy for that given we all also have to "live within our means" and make difficult choices around what our own budgets can support.

So if you are concerned with things like the arts and technical arts like woodworking disappearing from schools...help them find the money to support it.

That said, I'm truly thankful that I live in a geography that does have the ability to fund these things and are available in my school district and surrounding school districts.

[Malcolm McLeod]

The true bottom line here is ... money.

Some districts have lots of it. Local Grand Prairie ISD (::big) CFO was having bags of cash delivered to her office in armored trucks; story yesterday indicates it was north of $600,000. Apparently, her co-workers were not alarmed by this. She got fired (...the horror). Co-workers are being given eye-exams (OK, I added that.)

Couple of years back, Dallas ISD (~$1,000,000,000/yr budget) had new Superintendent come to town and use her ISD credit card to furnish her house. No word on whether she set up a wood shop in the garage. She got fired. Makes tools for a couple of woodshop classes seem downright reasonable.

...Perhaps proof that 'administration' can get too big?

[Jim Becker]

Malcolm, there will always be "some folks" out there that are dishonest, etc., but overall...the problem of disappearing non-core curriculum is largely funding related.

Of course, there is also sometimes lowered demand for things like "woodworking" and "metalworking", etc., with students because of so many other distractions. That doesn't help when what money is actually available is being divvied up, either...

[Michael Yadfar]

Overall it's very disappointing regardless of the reason, it kind of make you think what things being done now will be cut from the curriculum 50 years from now. I sort of debate whether woodworking is actually a dying hobby or not, as many woodworking companies are doing great, especially the home market brands like Grizzly. I would think that there's a pretty big market for people non 55+ out there for sales to be doing well. Overall, I still think it's safe to say it's not as common of a skill as it used to be. It's unlikely to be the case, but it would be cool in a way to be one of the last woodworkers in 50 years, but I'm sure that's hopefully not going to be the case.

[Curt Harms]

There has been an increasing perception among educators for at least 20-30 years that "shop" classes of any type are unimportant and not a part of "real education". A good friend is the director of technical education at a large high school and struggles constantly against the bias among teachers and many administrators that both Voc-Ed teachers and their students are somehow of a lower intelligence and social standing than those teaching "real" courses and preparing students for college. In addition to being poppycock, this ignores the fact that we need woodworkers, sheet metal people, machinists, carpenters, auto body workers, and so forth, and that industry alone can't bear all of the burden of training them. Education in any and all forms is preparation for life. We need folks with a wide variety of skills and backgrounds or society won't work. My son is a prime example. He had the intelligence to do pretty much anything he wanted. He chose Voc-Ed schooling which was far more intensive and far reaching than the local MA high school where we lived at the time. Now at almost 45 years old he is 3 courses away from a double major in business and computers at his local community college, and makes almost twice my income in his trade. He recently started his own business on a part-time basis, is doing well, and is complaining that he should have done it 5 years ago.

Sorry for the rant, but not everyone is suited for college, for college at immediate graduation from high school, and not everyone is suited to ride a desk. Good tradespeople deserve respect based on their character, the quality of their work, and the absolute need we have for them.

All good points. Those types of skills are both required and not easily shipped overseas. I think the perception among "those who matter" is that the U.S. will always be pre-eminent in knowledge-based industries and everyone should prep for that. I'm not so sure. Plus some people simply aren't cut out for the corporate life.

[Patrick Harper]

My brother just started teaching shop down in FL. I hope it lasts. He loves it.

[Kevin Womer]

The true bottom line here is ... money. (We don't need to get into the political side of things and torpedo this thread relative to reasons) Non "core" curriculum has very pointedly taken a major hit over the last decade because of school funding not keeping up with costs. "We" are all to "blame" when we complain about school taxes and don't also insist that our states fund education to the level required to pay for the facilities, teaching talent and other factors such as insurance. As with any budget, school districts have had to make difficult and disheartening decisions around the arts and practical skills training within the public school environment simply because there is little or no money to fund them. We should all have some empathy for that given we all also have to "live within our means" and make difficult choices around what our own budgets can support.So if you are concerned with things like the arts and technical arts like woodworking disappearing from schools...help them find the money to support it.That said, I'm truly thankful that I live in a geography that does have the ability to fund these things and are available in my school district and surrounding school districts.Well said. Money continues to be cut from the state level to the school districts in my state. Districts are forced to raise revenue through levies to keep up with unfunded state and federal mandates. Citizens are tired of taxes, understandably so. The school districts suffer when levies fail and have to cut even more. Fortunately, my son's high school still offers shop and he enjoys it, but the district I teach for cut it years ago. It was cut due to funding, but was a popular enough class in both the middle and high school. I have been telling my wife for years that the trades will become so in demand if they continue to cut them that paying for them will be more expensive than a trip to the doc.

[Joel Goodman]

Ten years ago at my son's high school, they told me that woodshop was abandoned as they needed the money to buy computers. So sad - they had all the tools and machines, just no money for the teacher....

[Michael Dye]

I taught both of my boys the woodworking hobby when they were very young. Safety was always the priority. My oldest, now 18 and a college freshman, is better than I have ever been or will ever be. His woodturning has become a huge moneymaker for him and his displays at the state fair and local woodworking shows have garnered him well deserved fame. But the best part was the $5000 scholarship awarded to him by the local woodworking guild. His high school woodshop teacher made the presentation, noting the example set, by my son, for all of his classmates during his 3 years in high school. I couldn't have been any more proud.

[Stew Hagerty]

It is a proven fact that kids who are exposed to and study the arts are, in general, far more successful in life than those who do not.

That includes music, performing arts, visual arts, and "industrial" arts. The theory is that it unlocks the creativity capacity of the mind in a way that learning just math, science, language, history, etc do not do.

It is a person's creativity that leads them to a more successful career, a happier and more stable married life, and yes, to even be a better parent themselves when the time comes.

[Roger Feeley]

I shake my head at the tight budgets that constrict our kids options. That said, my grandson will not want for shop experience. We have one daughter and they asked us to build on their property (think pool house). The structure will include a 1300 sq/ft basement shop. The wife was a music teacher/principal. I taught shop for 8 years before I found software development. In a year or two, I will fully retire to devote my time to updating the 160 year old main house and making stuff for the grandkid(s?).

The local school system (Falls Church, VA) doesn't seem to offer much of anything shop related but I haven't fully investigated. I looked at the high school and they don't have anything. They do have some sort of maker space that includes a really scary table top table saw. Nothing like my SawStop ICS.

All my stuff is in storage. I feel naked. We just got to go down in the basement for the first time last weekend. I am totally jazzed about the new space.

[Brian Elfert]

Well said. Money continues to be cut from the state level to the school districts in my state. Districts are forced to raise revenue through levies to keep up with unfunded state and federal mandates. Citizens are tired of taxes, understandably so. The school districts suffer when levies fail and have to cut even more. Fortunately, my son's high school still offers shop and he enjoys it, but the district I teach for cut it years ago. It was cut due to funding, but was a popular enough class in both the middle and high school. I have been telling my wife for years that the trades will become so in demand if they continue to cut them that paying for them will be more expensive than a trip to the doc.

Locally, the voters seem to have no problem voting for $100+ million in school renovations, but I bet if they asked for $100,000 a year to keep the wood shop open it will go down to massive defeat.

[Keith Outten]

I doubt that its always about the money. Many school administrators just don't believe that vocational skills are valuable. I've heard the statement too many times that "All students should go to college" which reinforces the idea that there isn't any value in teaching woodworking or metalworking classes anymore. It also seems to be a shortage of qualified shop teachers these days, often the ones who teach lack the skills and expertise so shop classes become nothing more than book study with little use of any machines or production of any projects.

Not the least of today's problems that have an impact on the end of vocational classes is the cost of insurance and the fact that school administrators and school boards are terrified that a student will get hurt. The lack of knowledge by administrators concerning woodworking machines and techniques is probably responsible for the fear of offering shop classes more so than the costs, particularly if a school already has an existing facility.

The easy way is to just sell all of the machines and buy more computers. We are graduating plenty of students who can use a computer but a very small fraction who can turn a computer design into something tangible.

Here in my area we have a huge number of college graduates bar tending and working as waitresses, not that there is anything wrong with these jobs but you don't need a college degree or a mountain of student loan debt to be a bar tender. It seems to me that training students for jobs that aren't available isn't in their best interest.