tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693775542020483450.post9177137730082368366..comments2024-03-29T03:14:14.667-04:00Comments on Progress is fine, but it's gone on for too long.: Hunkus the Ash HoundMister Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17663484841011868779noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693775542020483450.post-17578151405636411482015-03-08T10:43:04.397-04:002015-03-08T10:43:04.397-04:00I remember in the 1980's the closure of a high...I remember in the 1980's the closure of a high school machine shop in Kingston. The school board was selling off all of the metal lathes and associated tooling. When I asked why they would do such a thing, I was told that CAD was the coming technology, and that students no longer needed instruction in operating machine tools. Shortsighted in more than one way, if only because this move denied young people the opportunity to discover how enjoyable and rewarding it could be to make things on their own, even if they never used these skills occupationally. The emphasis was solely on education for employment, when it should also have included education for enjoyment.The Dukehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01482698067925791608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693775542020483450.post-50250864562232302572015-03-07T04:23:16.698-05:002015-03-07T04:23:16.698-05:00My high school was fortunate enough to have a smal...My high school was fortunate enough to have a small foundry, and one of my projects was a cast aluminum ashtray with an embossed image of a hunter with a rifle and his retriever dog on it (I doubt that today they would have approved of anything that promoted smoking or contained an image of a gun on it). Other items that we cast were T-handle gear shift knobs, "bare foot" gas pedals, and large cast bottle openers (long before twist off caps showed up).<br />I visited the school a few years ago and sadly, the foundry, as well as the sheet metal shop and the welding shop are gone, displaced by classrooms and computer labs. As well, the machine shop, the woodwork shop, and the automotive shop have all been drastically downsized. I feel fortunate to have been able to have learned so many hands-on skills then that are no longer being offered to today's students. Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09085089656901860230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693775542020483450.post-17143022719223812192015-03-06T13:04:28.084-05:002015-03-06T13:04:28.084-05:00I still remember the projects in Mr. Bells grade 7...I still remember the projects in Mr. Bells grade 7 and 8 industrial arts class. A tie rack copingsawed out of wood, a belt hook, (The Duke did a post on that one), acrylic candy dish, a sheet metal tray. Lots of hand cutting, filing, sanding and finishing. It taught tool use and mostly that you could make anything you need to. Still using those skills today.Mister Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17663484841011868779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693775542020483450.post-3120407699485572562015-03-06T12:58:57.581-05:002015-03-06T12:58:57.581-05:00One of our metal shop projects at Earl Grey Senior...One of our metal shop projects at Earl Grey Senior Public School (1963/64) was an ashtray with a Scottie dog motif.<br /><br />The Scottie dog's profile was scroll-sawn, as I recall. The tray portion of the project was our introduction to the metal spinning lathe. All of the projects were thoughtfully contrived to acquaint the student with the fundamentals of the machinery and processes of metalworking, and leave the student with something useful to boot.<br /><br />The shop's equipment and the teacher were first-rate, and the same was true of the school's woodworking shop. Those shops are about all of my 'education' that I look back on fondly, and with respect.Tom Gaspickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16512002805129573697noreply@blogger.com