Came across this Wisdom of the Hands blog today, and was inspired.
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A blog of note...
- Thread starter Ed Davidson
- Start date
Also Inspired and in agreement!!
My father was a vocational education teacher at the highschool level in S.E.Illinois and developed one of the first "on the job training" programs in Illinois. Kids would spend 1/2 of each school day learning a craft such as mechanics, meat cutting, ...) His last 10 or so years prior to retirement, he was director of an area voacational school, where students studied building trades, automotive repair, electicity and electronics and so on. His students often were sent to his classes because of poor demonstrated skills in english, math, or history . He learned early on that these kids were not of low intelligence, but were were just not motivated by academic challenges, They were destined to do things with their hands. These kids became adults and independent business owners, community leaders, and so on.
As my father taught for 42 years in the same town and lived there for an additional 30 years, his students were always visiting and related that they had immense respect for him because he was often the first teacher that treated them with respect. I have seen hometown successful business men tell me with tears in their eyes how my father taught them how to weld.
My father also made sure that his two college bound sons took drafting, and machine shop, worked every summer so that they would have that experience. It has been invaluable to me (in addition to the years that I followed him around school shops) in my engineering education and career.
So yes, there is wisdom in hands!!!
Jerry
My father was a vocational education teacher at the highschool level in S.E.Illinois and developed one of the first "on the job training" programs in Illinois. Kids would spend 1/2 of each school day learning a craft such as mechanics, meat cutting, ...) His last 10 or so years prior to retirement, he was director of an area voacational school, where students studied building trades, automotive repair, electicity and electronics and so on. His students often were sent to his classes because of poor demonstrated skills in english, math, or history . He learned early on that these kids were not of low intelligence, but were were just not motivated by academic challenges, They were destined to do things with their hands. These kids became adults and independent business owners, community leaders, and so on.
As my father taught for 42 years in the same town and lived there for an additional 30 years, his students were always visiting and related that they had immense respect for him because he was often the first teacher that treated them with respect. I have seen hometown successful business men tell me with tears in their eyes how my father taught them how to weld.
My father also made sure that his two college bound sons took drafting, and machine shop, worked every summer so that they would have that experience. It has been invaluable to me (in addition to the years that I followed him around school shops) in my engineering education and career.
So yes, there is wisdom in hands!!!
Jerry
Yes, indeed. I read Jerry's reply first, and was about to suggest Doug Stowe's efforts; then read the link, and found he was the author in question. Thanks for finding it.
Another reference of note is a recent book, "The Craftsman," by Richard Sennett, which I've only nibbled at so far. According to one reviewer, "As Richard Sennett makes clear in this lucid and compelling book, craftsmanship once committed people to their work by conferring pride and meaning. The loss of craftsmanship - and of a society that values it - has impoverished us in ways we have long forgotten but Sennett helps us understand." Sennett's definition of craftsman isn't restricted to laborious hand work. He writes, "The carpenter, lab technician, and conductor are all craftsmen because they are dedicated to good work for its own sake." Every area of human endeavor can include that attitude.
Another reference of note is a recent book, "The Craftsman," by Richard Sennett, which I've only nibbled at so far. According to one reviewer, "As Richard Sennett makes clear in this lucid and compelling book, craftsmanship once committed people to their work by conferring pride and meaning. The loss of craftsmanship - and of a society that values it - has impoverished us in ways we have long forgotten but Sennett helps us understand." Sennett's definition of craftsman isn't restricted to laborious hand work. He writes, "The carpenter, lab technician, and conductor are all craftsmen because they are dedicated to good work for its own sake." Every area of human endeavor can include that attitude.
Wisdom of the hands
Thanks Ed for bringing that to our attention. It is a wonderful thing to look back on in American life and a sad thing to see what has happened in our schools right before out eyes.
Joe-I am glad you brought up the Richard Sennett book. There was an interview with him in American Craft a few months ago, expressing much of what is in his book.
Thanks Ed for bringing that to our attention. It is a wonderful thing to look back on in American life and a sad thing to see what has happened in our schools right before out eyes.
Joe-I am glad you brought up the Richard Sennett book. There was an interview with him in American Craft a few months ago, expressing much of what is in his book.