4 ms·

I too would love to do it. It irks me to this day that I was taught nonsense such as latin in school instead of woodwork or metalwork.

mercurysmessage 6y ago
In my High School I didn't learn Latin, but I did learn some wood and metal working, and also a little bit about engines.
busterarm 6y ago
At the end of the day, we're people who build stuff and problem-solving/analytical skills are transferable. The draw to these seemingly not-so-adjacent fields is strong.
bilbo0s 6y ago
Serious question, didn't anyone else' school have shop class? I was a college prep, NHS, cross country, all AP core courses kind of guy, and I took it all four years of high school. Or was there some kind of restriction on taking it at your school? Or maybe your parents didn't let you? Genuinely curious as to why someone with a professed interest would not have taken shop?
- maxerickson 6y ago
  At my high school shop was at the same time as band and other music classes, so you couldn't do both. Lots of schools don't have the classes though, probably mostly because of funding.
  - jacquesm 6y ago
    And insurance.
- nicbou 6y ago
  There was a special program at my school that gave you more shop classes. They did everything to discourage me from joining it, because it's where they shoved the struggling kids. I really enjoyed it, and really can't see why it was just for struggling kids. This was the last year before the school reform. They ended that program. In fact they ended shop class altogether.
- busterarm 6y ago
  High school was 20 years ago for me and no shop classes.
  - bilbo0s 6y ago
    It was over 20 years ago for me, and we had shop classes. It's amazing how heterogeneous the US school system has been, and continues to be apparently.
- secondcoming 6y ago
  It was only offered in certain types of secondary school. Mine was considered 'posh' and so we wore blazers and learned latin, whereas other schools didn't have blazers and offered 'trade' subjects.
- andi999 6y ago
  Primary school a little of pottery and woodworking. Secondary school sewing and cooking. High school nothing.
- jehb 6y ago
  Shop was heavily discouraged for college-track students when I went through high school, both by the administration in terms of guidance counseling and timing of the classes, as well as through heavy social reinforcement by peers.
  - defterGoose 6y ago
    Perfect example of why so many people hate high school. "Avoid this thing you're interested in because it won't help your career prospects. Also it's a waste of time."
  - gwittel 6y ago
    Pretty much this at my high school as well. They had a shop class and auto repair class. I really wish I had taken those (I did take shop in middle school though). Largely we had to choose -- take the college prep classes (AP whatever, languages) OR trades classes. There was definitely classism -- "trade classes are for poor kids". =( I would much rather schools require things like: financial literacy, and building/repairs/cooking. They are lifelong skills and very useful. There's no reason its an either or proposition.
- amyjess 6y ago
  I don't think mine did. Maybe. I remember hearing one classmate mention shop once, but maybe I misheard him or he was joking or something. If we did have a shop class, it wasn't advertised, I don't know who taught it or where the shop was.
- jabroni_salad 6y ago
  Mine did, but in my sophomore year, they were cut due to budget constraints that failed to meet a referendum. Industrial tech, foods, automotive, and welding all got the axe. Music and sports only stuck around because of the boosters. The Cisco and CAD classes stuck around because the local community college sponsored them, which is how I ended up where I am today I guess.
OJFord 6y ago
'Design & Technology' (woodworking, little metal, textiles, food, etc.) is on the curriculum in the UK, so I did that. Had to take one variant at GCSE, I did electronics. (Having waited practically my entire school life to have a lesson that was electronics and only electronics!) But it irks me to this day that the language I opted for, Latin, was dropped that annus, because not enough others signed up. You can't please everyone. (I did like wood/metal work though, just not as much by far as electronics. I'd be much more interested now though - I watch an awful lot of it on YouTube.)
ccozan 6y ago
To be completly honest, we had a lot of classes of metalworking, woodworking, textiles, etc in our school before the '89 Revolution in Romania. I really enjoyed it and it made me love working with materials and building physical things. Still writing software...But renovating my house was a nice way to remember all that lost skills.
non-entity 6y ago
I wish I had taken anything but latin in HS. Only reason I did it was because of colleges requiring foreign language classes, and by the time I had graduated, I didn't have any plans of going to college.

mercurysmessage 6y ago

In my High School I didn't learn Latin, but I did learn some wood and metal working, and also a little bit about engines.

busterarm 6y ago

At the end of the day, we're people who build stuff and problem-solving/analytical skills are transferable. The draw to these seemingly not-so-adjacent fields is strong.

bilbo0s 6y ago

Serious question, didn't anyone else' school have shop class? I was a college prep, NHS, cross country, all AP core courses kind of guy, and I took it all four years of high school. Or was there some kind of restriction on taking it at your school? Or maybe your parents didn't let you? Genuinely curious as to why someone with a professed interest would not have taken shop?

maxerickson 6y ago
At my high school shop was at the same time as band and other music classes, so you couldn't do both. Lots of schools don't have the classes though, probably mostly because of funding.
- jacquesm 6y ago
  And insurance.
nicbou 6y ago
There was a special program at my school that gave you more shop classes. They did everything to discourage me from joining it, because it's where they shoved the struggling kids. I really enjoyed it, and really can't see why it was just for struggling kids. This was the last year before the school reform. They ended that program. In fact they ended shop class altogether.
busterarm 6y ago
High school was 20 years ago for me and no shop classes.
- bilbo0s 6y ago
  It was over 20 years ago for me, and we had shop classes. It's amazing how heterogeneous the US school system has been, and continues to be apparently.
secondcoming 6y ago
It was only offered in certain types of secondary school. Mine was considered 'posh' and so we wore blazers and learned latin, whereas other schools didn't have blazers and offered 'trade' subjects.
andi999 6y ago
Primary school a little of pottery and woodworking. Secondary school sewing and cooking. High school nothing.
jehb 6y ago
Shop was heavily discouraged for college-track students when I went through high school, both by the administration in terms of guidance counseling and timing of the classes, as well as through heavy social reinforcement by peers.
- defterGoose 6y ago
  Perfect example of why so many people hate high school. "Avoid this thing you're interested in because it won't help your career prospects. Also it's a waste of time."
- gwittel 6y ago
  Pretty much this at my high school as well. They had a shop class and auto repair class. I really wish I had taken those (I did take shop in middle school though). Largely we had to choose -- take the college prep classes (AP whatever, languages) OR trades classes. There was definitely classism -- "trade classes are for poor kids". =( I would much rather schools require things like: financial literacy, and building/repairs/cooking. They are lifelong skills and very useful. There's no reason its an either or proposition.
amyjess 6y ago
I don't think mine did. Maybe. I remember hearing one classmate mention shop once, but maybe I misheard him or he was joking or something. If we did have a shop class, it wasn't advertised, I don't know who taught it or where the shop was.
jabroni_salad 6y ago
Mine did, but in my sophomore year, they were cut due to budget constraints that failed to meet a referendum. Industrial tech, foods, automotive, and welding all got the axe. Music and sports only stuck around because of the boosters. The Cisco and CAD classes stuck around because the local community college sponsored them, which is how I ended up where I am today I guess.

OJFord 6y ago

'Design & Technology' (woodworking, little metal, textiles, food, etc.) is on the curriculum in the UK, so I did that. Had to take one variant at GCSE, I did electronics. (Having waited practically my entire school life to have a lesson that was electronics and only electronics!) But it irks me to this day that the language I opted for, Latin, was dropped that annus, because not enough others signed up. You can't please everyone. (I did like wood/metal work though, just not as much by far as electronics. I'd be much more interested now though - I watch an awful lot of it on YouTube.)

ccozan 6y ago

To be completly honest, we had a lot of classes of metalworking, woodworking, textiles, etc in our school before the '89 Revolution in Romania. I really enjoyed it and it made me love working with materials and building physical things. Still writing software...But renovating my house was a nice way to remember all that lost skills.

non-entity 6y ago

I wish I had taken anything but latin in HS. Only reason I did it was because of colleges requiring foreign language classes, and by the time I had graduated, I didn't have any plans of going to college.