The Case for Working With Your Hands

Last week I read the NY Times Article, The Case for Working With Your Hands.

In a nutshell Matt Crawford takes some of his book, and laments the loss of trades and vocational skills being taught in schools and valued by society. There are many paths of the discussion, from the shift from Industrial to Information workforce, the common notion that trade skills are lesser skills, and some other good arguments.

This quote -"High-school shop-class programs were widely dismantled in the 1990s as educators prepared students to become “knowledge workers.” The imperative of the last 20 years to round up every warm body and send it to college, then to the cubicle, was tied to a vision of the future in which we somehow take leave of material reality and glide about in a pure information economy." struck me in a weird place. I graduated in 1998 from Millersville University as a Technology Education/Industrial Arts Teacher. Growing up I went from wanting to design houses, to wanting to build houses, to wanting to empower students to build their imagination.

Throughout my career I have made many changes. I have acquired more skills, many of them information technology skills; however I believe that we need to continue to offer students outlets in art, music, mechanics, design, culinary arts, and industrial arts in every school. I wonder if the author of the article is corrects when he says "Because the work is dirty, many people assume it is also stupid."

There is much more to the world of work to a suit and a cubicle. We as educators need to create the sparks of passion wherever they may come for students. Dirt, work boots, aprons, even hairnets should not be a consideration for students when looking at doing something they will enjoy as a career.

I have left the hard classroom work as a Technology Education Teacher and become an instructional coach, and I still miss seeing the students create, problem solve and grow in my classes. As I continue farther from my core, I question decisions I make. One of my best friends and coworkers and I are going to create an online Grade 6/7 Introduction to Technology Education Course. I wonder about the value of a class that does not offer the opportunity to get the "dirty hands" our traditional course will offer.

Will I be able to stay true to my beliefs or will I have to make sacrifices due to the medium?

Will I be able to continue to advocate for hands on technology education if I create alternatives that are equal?

Does Technology Education require students to actually put theory to practice?