Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to A burr under my saddle.

re: A burr under my saddle.
TB — (archived)

When I was young, the trades ("vocational") were still a respected route for kids out of high school.

Jerry Pournelle has written extensively about an education system that doesn't teach skills any more. When I was in high school I took classes in shop, and electronics. We used to BUILD shit when I was a kid. Tree houses, go-karts, Heathkit electronic stuff. Teenagers used to spend their time working on cars (before cars turned into something that looks like the Space Shuttle barfed under the hood). Do they still do this? I have seen kids installing giant speakers, which I suppose counts for something.

My Dad taught me simple electrical wiring and plumbing, and I can still sweat a copper pipe if I have to. He would rip me a new one if I left a tool outside. He came from the kind of farm stock where each tool had a hook or a place of its own in the garage or basement. A few of his tools his own Dad had left him.

I worry about the lack of tradesmen and skilled workers. Are we still turning them out somewhere? You can't outsource fixing your car to China, or building a house, or a boat.

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