Comments on:

By: raoul duke

raoul duke — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:11:09 +0000

Had a couple of buddies in High school that took all the shop classes and then went to S.I.U for this program http://siucautomotive.com/autoindex.html after they graduated college one went to work for Ford and one for GM, they never touched an engine at work or got greasy again. Both were more successful than almost anyone I went to school with.

By: jenjw4

jenjw4 — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:20:14 +0000

Billy, I agree, and actually, now that he has chosen spanish, geography and ag, I think shop would be preferable to the Ag, for him. He has no interest in farming or even in gardening, where the skills from shop class would be usefule in later life…

Reno, that’s so cool. I actually wish that either my husband or myself had a basic knowledge of electrical wiring. As it is, we have to pay someone to install things like ceiling fans or beg the undependable brother-in-law. Oh, and automotive knowledge would be useful, too, as one time my husband filled the radiator of the car with oil!

By: Billy Dennis

Billy Dennis — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 08:17:18 +0000

Spanish is good. Have him drop one of the other electives and take shop too. My high school counselors shoved as many college prep classes as they could down my throat. I left college a perfect little cog in the media industry. My lie would have been much better (with more options) had I a more well-rounded education.

By: reno

reno — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:19:32 +0000

Yeeaaaah, looks like a moot point now, but I actually agree with Mr. Mouse on this one. Shop classes can teach a variety of skills that certainly any homeowner would want to possess.

I took a basic electricity class, and learned how to use a soldering iron (great for when I need to fix something on my bass guitar or some random computer part), basics of house wiring, such as wiring a power outlet, a light switch and a ceiling fan. They also taught me wire color-coding standards for residential wiring (something rather useful if you’re interested in not being electrocuted). Also learned how to wire a doorbell, create circuit boards and how to properly cut and run coaxial cable (for TVs and the like).

All-in-all? Useful life skills. Looking back, I wish I’d taken an automotive shop class. My vehicular woes might be lessened considerably.

By: jenjw4

jenjw4 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:20:02 +0000

Proof that I worry too much.. when my son got home from school yesterday (after another visit to the high school) he has now decided on Spanish, World Geography and Ag.

Ag?? Ag is almost as confounding as the shop choice. But, oh well, I’m not going to say anything since he did decide on the Spanish. And who knows how often he will change his mind between now and time to submit his final choices.

By: Ms. PH

Ms. PH — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:42:11 +0000

I think you should keep pushing for Spanish for all of the reasons cited by other comments. The fact of the matter is, by the time he is looking for a “real” job in 8-10 years, Spanish will be all but required for many professions. In my profession, many attorneys who work in the southern and western US are required to be fluent in Spanish to get the job. That will certainly spread north as our country becomes more and more diverse.

I also would insist on World Geography and give him the choice between art and shop, which are both equally wonderful classes. However, if he is truely interested in art and shop, either one of them or both can be taken as classes through the park district or other programs in the area.

By: jenjw4

jenjw4 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:24:24 +0000

MM,
I agree-and it also helps if you are in a situation in which you must cope, in which you must use the language, for example, one of my co-workers in Mendota (the only other gringo) learned to speak Spanish working at McDonalds for several years in high school. Her Spanish is way more fluent than my “book learnin’” version…

By: mortonmalaise

mortonmalaise — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:26:37 +0000

I took two years of Spanish in high school. I was fortunate enough to be immersed in native speakers growing up in South Florida. I learned more hanging out with Cubans for 6 months than I did in 2 years of high school Spanish. Unfortunately, the state of Florida doesn’t recognize “hanging out with native speakers” as fulfilling the high school foreign language requirement, so I was lucky to have taken the class. I waited to take shop until my senior year. There is no better 1st hour for someone with Senioritis than shop. Tell him to wait.

By: jadedgirl

jadedgirl — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:10:34 +0000

Yes…keep pushing for Spanish. Reasoning? Mine is greed-based I guess. Bi-lingual applicants make as much as 8% more salary than their English-only speaking compadres. (Inter-Business Issues 2004, I think)
And I can say from experience that I wish I would have followed my moms advice on foreign language AND typing when I was in HS.

I kick myself every day when I see a great job that requires fluency in Spanish OR 60 WPM typing skills.

BUT…shop is still a good thing as well. Sometimes practical skills will take you much further than any book learnin’

Sorry that I’m not much help here. But I would insist on he picking two and you pushing Spanish for sure.

By: jenjw4

jenjw4 — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:05:05 +0000

All valid points. And I did have an inkling that I was overreacting.

If he had some interest in shop, I wouldn’t have a problem with it, but his sole reason for wanting to take it is the desire of “no homework,” and to me, that’s not a reasonable criteria for picking a class. Of course, it could be a rude awakening and be a lot more work than he is anticipating. It could also turn out to be something that, unexpectedly, he would love and would lead to a future career.

I do think I will keep pushing for Spanish, though, and if he wants to take shop he can take it as one of his other two electives.