High school students used to learn vocational skills right along with reading, writing and arithmetic. Shop class was ubiquitous and included creating objects in wood or metal, small engine repair, automobile maintenance and drafting. Nowadays it’s usually known as Industrial Arts and it exposes middle and high school students to subjects ranging from fabrication to auto/home repair, manufacturing technology and machine safety. You may have made a few projects during your high school career yourself. Today, shop is a lot harder to find.
Many school districts have moved away from vocational training in favor of college preparatory training. The trend started back in 1950’s. The idea was that students would be split into college
prep courses or a vocational track that included basic academic classes along with shop classes. Unfortunately shop came to be viewed as a largely remedial track for those who couldn’t qualify for college and minority or working-class students. There has since been a backlash against that by educators and parents. But rather than re-invigorating vocational training, it resulted in many shop programs being cut in favor of preparing all students for college.
The problem is that not all students benefit from a four year academic program. Students have different skills and learning styles. English, math, chemistry and other traditional college prep classes may not be strengths for every student. The latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that 30% of high school students never attend college and almost 40% of the students who do go to college never finish. So doesn’t it make sense to provide more opportunities for those students to acquire job skills?
Actually all students can benefit by taking traditional shop classes. They learn self-reliance, patience and the value of seeing a project through to completion. They get to experience the satisfaction of making something with their own hands.
Even better, participating in industrial arts classes will likely have positive effects on their academic class performance. Students see practical applications for the math and science they are taking in school. Vocational classes provide relevancy to other subject matter to their lives, which helps prepare them for a lifetime of learning. Hands-on learning in the shop can boost academic performance even for college bound students.
For students who are not college bound and need vocational training, shop is the best opportunity to learn their strengths and interests. It will help them choose a career that they can be successful in for a lifetime.
Today technology is revolutionizing manufacturing as well as industrial arts. Students are being exposed to CNC programing, lasers, plasma cutters, 3D printers and more. That is good news on a couple of fronts; todays’ students are drawn to technology, and manufacturers desperately need skilled workers.
We are fortunate to have many strong industrial arts programs in this area. We need to keep building those programs to fill the needs of today’s students and to provide skilled workers to keep our economy strong.
