News & Views: Shout outs for shop class

This article is from issue 112 of Woodcraft Magazine.

Shout outs for shop class

I suspect many of Woodcraft Magazine’s readers learned the pleasures and rewards of woodworking as I did: in shop class and from my parents. But now that many schools are phasing out shop (or industrial arts, or whatever they call it these days), we are in danger of losing that hard-earned knowledge. We owe it to the next generation to pass along the tips, tricks, and techniques we were taught. I can’t remember the last time I used trigonometry, but I did put my shop class skills to use last week as I hung a door in my latest project.

—Richard Entwhistle,
Highland Lakes, NJ

Senior Editor Ken Burton replies:

Passing on our skills and experience is a must. And it is concerning that many schools are cutting back on the kinds of hands-on classes we grew up with. Fortunately, this isn’t true everywhere. Case in point, shop teacher Ben Hudson, issue 110’s Top Tip winner, wrote in to say he planned to put his prize (a $250 Woodcraft Gift Card) toward a Domino joiner for his local high school’s shop class.