Today is the Great American Teach In, where people from different careers go to schools in order to teach kids about what they do. There are firefighters, veterinarians, cake decorators and workers in hundreds of other professions out there in the schools helping kids learn about potential future career paths.
Iggy the Trained Shop Monkey desparately wanted to get out into the classroom today to demonstrate his mad skills, but there is a small clause in the rules that only entities of the same species as the kids are allowed in the classroom to instruct. Bummer.
Never one to be down, Iggy drafted this week's list of the top five reasons why woodworkers should share what they know with eager young learners.
- Kids are curious. Maybe they don't want to become a worker in a cubicle farm and they want to discover a new path in a well-respected field of work. Not everyone wants to - or even needs to - go to college.
- Shop class has been cancelled. With budget cuts and a greater emphasis on computer education, kids aren't even getting exposure to woodworking in a shop class. Many of them may go through life without putting a nail into anything more than drywall in order to hang a picture.
- Clean up on the cheap! When you bring eager young learners into your shop, you can get them to sweep up and vaccuum for the cost of a few ice cream cones afterward!
- Math maniacs. Sure, kids learn a lot about math from textbooks. But, how do they apply it in the real world? Woodworking allows kids to use all of that book learnin' in a real-world setting. I was terrible working with fractions until I applied it in the woodshop.
- Process matters. A lot of kids can't handle homework. It's not that they are bored or lazy, it's that they don't understand the process involved. Woodworking provides that lesson in spades. From selecting a board and milling it square and true to cutting joinery from assembly and glue up to sanding and finishing, there is a logical progression in how you arrive at a finished project. That kind of self-discipline and organization will help well into the future.
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