The Resurgence of 'Shop Class' in American High Schools

mmsonline ^

[algore]

Edgar was a pain in the neck.

Or maybe we should say, it was difficult for some of the teachers at Edgar’s high school to appreciate his distinct learning style. Edgar was disruptive. He had a smart mouth and tried to talk his way out of everything, including his poor grades in core classes.

Today, barely out of high school, Edgar is the lead foreman for a California-based union carpentry company that designs and builds upscale retail shops for high-end clients like Louis Vuitton. He is well established on a lucrative career path at a time when some of his former classmates are still racking up debt at four-year colleges.

Not everyone at Edgar’s high school considered him to be a problem student. Kirk Shafer, who today works as the career and technical education (CTE) director at Brandywine High School in Niles, Michigan, never understood what all the fuss was about when it came to Edgar. In the eyes of Shafer — an experienced woodworker as well as Edgar’s former woodshop instructor at a different school — Edgar was the model student.

“I knew he'd be successful,” Shafer told me recently. “But the other teachers couldn’t handle him. And that always confused me. He was my best student! I love that kid. He was a talker. He was mischievous. He just was in the wrong environment.”

Among the tangle of events in the early 21st century that would hamstring the U.S. manufacturing base for at least a decade sat the No Child Left Behind Act, the sweeping public school reform act passed with bipartisan support and signed into law in 2002.

At the heart of the act was the creation of federal guidelines for student achievement that were measured through annual standardized tests. The results of these tests, focused on reading and math and administered by the states, were the core metrics used to evaluate school performance, teacher performance and school funding.

Here’s how Shafer explains the impact that No Child Left Behind had on CTE: “The CTE classes were non-core classes,” he says. “The law made the requirements to graduate much more stringent, and since the CTE classes were non-core classes, students didn’t have as much access to them anymore. Even the students who were struggling in their core classes, who are sometimes our best students because they excel with hands-on learning, didn’t have time in their schedules anymore.”

If you have ever wondered why “shop” classes disappeared from many public schools during the aughts and early 2010s, this is part of the reason why.

The good news is that state school systems across the country, like Brandywine Middle/High School, are beginning to figure out solutions. Brandywine is part of a consortium of school districts in Berrien County that operate under a model, approved by the Michigan Department of Education, in which individual school districts can partner and share a range of CTE programs among students within the county. In other words, students at one high school can attend CTE programs at other schools.

Brandywine’s CTE program offers metalworking/machining, mechanical drafting, as well as a woodworking/cabinet making program, auto shop and others. Students enrolled in these programs often travel from other schools to attend classes at Brandywine, with transportation between schools provided. Crucially, some of the courses in these programs count as math credits.

Another nuance: In Michigan, teaching a secondary CTE program requires two years or 4,000 hours of “recent and relevant” experience in the occupational area. All 4,000 hours may come from direct business or industry experience. The level of required experience varies between states, but these guidelines recognize that hiring qualified instructors for something like Brandywine’s machine tool program is difficult enough without requiring a teaching certificate or degree on top of industry experience.

Individual state funding for CTE programs, along with other revenue sources like federal Perkins grants, are providing vital support for a manufacturing industry desperate for talent. But as Shafer knows, given the industry’s needs — as well as those of students with different learning styles and aspirations — these sources are still far from sufficient.

Shafer is trying to raise the funds needed to build the Brandywine Manufacturing Center — a new building that will house equipment to serve the three disciplines that fall under the system’s manufacturing umbrella (a machine tool discipline, cabinet making, and mechanical drafting). Shafer is in the middle of negotiations with local businesses for funding and naming rights.

Smart business leaders will see the opportunity here. Just as state and federal education departments immediately need to increase support for CTE programs around the country, solving the skilled worker crisis in the American manufacturing industry will require that businesses put more skin in the game.

And why wouldn’t they? The data alone provides the evidence: The Michigan Department of Education says that 95% of high school students enrolled in a CTE program graduated in 2022. Michigan’s overall graduation rate? 81%. Even the federal Department of Education touts this statistic on its CTE website: Eight years after their expected graduation date, students who focused on CTE courses while in high school had higher median annual earnings than students who did not focus on CTE.

And as long as we’re making righteous demands, I ask our overworked and underpaid middle- and high-school teachers and counselors to recognize the vital role that CTE programs play for kids who may not excel in traditional classroom settings. So when the next Edgar strides into the room, you’ll know what to do.

[mabarker1]

Took General Construction in 8th grade and We had groups of 3-4 students and We built a Scale section of a House. Starting with the floor joists, Tounge and Groove Floor, framed walls, window installation, insulation, sheetrocked and taped & floated then textured the walls, cut in a roof then decked it , tar paper and shingled it, siding and box soffit eves, plumbing for a sink, wired for a light, switch and wall plug circuit.

In 9th grade took Woodshop designing and building a piece of furniture including finishing it. For Me it was a small Coffee Table. Learning about the different Tools: Table Saw, Bandsaw, Radial Arm Saw, Router, Belt and Vibrating Sanders, Shaper, Planer and Drill Press. Also how to calculate Board Foot/Feet of Lumber.

10th grade was Metal Shop learning how to Solder both Acid and Rosin types, Gas and Arc Weld, sheet metal working, Metal Lathe working, Forge a small Tool like a Cold Chisel and Casting small pieces of metal. Building a small Bender to make decorative pieces like “S”es.

Somewhere in between these was a class on General Tools both Hand and Power.

I have Wood Working in My blood from Grandfather and Dad. Grandfather was a Cabinet Maker and Dad worked for Him while dating Mom. Electrical A/C and D/C I figured out Myself blowing a few fuses and tripping many breakers, have done 110/220 and 3 Phase both Y and Delta. Automotive was also self taught. As well as Plumbing potable and sewage were self taught.

And Yes All of the Teachers were missing one or more Fingers or a Thumb...

Over the years I have been able to make a living by utilizing all of the above. I consider Myself to be a Jack of most trades, Master of a few and willing to learn more.

[metmom]

I still consider myself to have made it.

They should have rounded up for a stinking .012 ths.

[Jane Long]

Curious ... are you using a dictation app, on that post?

Very cool that the very valuable skills you learned in junior and high school, have followed you and benefited you, through life.

Thanks for your post.

[Jane Long]

Mike Rowe appreciates this kind of story :-)

[mairdie]

Of COURSE you made it!

Your comments always deserve attention and thought. That is a trait that has undoubtedly served you well in career and in life.

[Tired of Taxes]

My friends and I signed up for as many shop classes (and art classes) as possible.

I’d love to see businesses open schools to teach those skills to young people.

[null and void]

They don’t know what a screwdriver is.

Orange juice and vodka is a screwdriver.
Milk of magnesia and vodka is a Phillips screwdriver.
Prune juice and vodka is a pile driver...

[metmom]

Thanks.

[dljordan]

LOL!!

[mabarker1]

I typed it up by hand.

I spent the bulk of My days selling Auto Parts, Servicing Autos, Construction of houses and as a Water Treatment Plant Operator. Also some time as a Chiropractic Assistant (Taking X-Rays and such.)

You’re welcome.

[mabarker1]

LOL !!! Great list.

[TChad]

I changed high schools from one that had a shop class to one that did not. I learned in shop class that I was bad at welding, and that was about it. I learned general tool use outside of school just by trying to use the available tools around the house, and having some success. Periodically I would have an urge to build something using plywood and wood screws, which peaked when I found a book at the city library describing exactly how to build a wooden case for an Altec-Lansing A7-500 Voice of the Theater speaker. I had a few dollars available and bought the appropriate 15" woofer and the multi-cell horn tweeter. I could barely afford one full speaker, but I eventually got it together, with the help of my cat.

This was a large, loud speaker, designed for theaters. I took it with me to college, and introduced the neighbors to it. They did not enjoy it as much as I did.

[Inyo-Mono]

I still laugh when I recall my Dad a WWII vet saying “Oh great, so you got a good grade in basket weaving!” referring to a shop class I was taking in high school in the 1960s. My grades in other classes that year were not so great.

[wjcsux]

There definitely has to be a special place in Heaven for high school shop teachers. I think about what a pain in the ass my classmates and myself were in welding, machine shop and auto mechanics. Imagine having to deal with a bunch of high school boys aged 14-18 years old handing welding equipment, gasoline and large machine tools. A normal person would have shot all of us.

[Some Fat Guy in L.A.]

I went to school with an "Edgar" back in my day - he could barely read or do arithmetic, but give him some wood and beauty was created. I helped tutor him some - he was a decent guy. I lost touch after high school - hope he was successful.

Re the lack of "shop class" today: A couple years ago there was a story on local news about one of the local high schools - one that has a lot of minorities - starting a basic home skills class. On TV they showed the class learning to do basic wood work, and it was obvious that none of them had ever held a hammer or saw before. My dad taught me the basics - guessing that most of these kids didn't have that.

[srmanuel]

When my father died my mother sold the house and moved and the gun rack stayed behind

[mairdie]

What a shame. Part of your childhood gone. For me, it was my box of comics that mother threw out without telling me. Adored the woman but never forgave her for that.

[NetAddicted]

Anyone remember the shop teacher in Canada, who said he was transgender and wore HUGE implants to teach shop?

[Salamander]

I wasn’t allowed to take shop in HS cuz I’m a girl yet I was plopped into a classic 20 guys for Engines & Motors where we learned how to build car motors.

They snickered.

I got the highest grade.

But no bandsaws for you, missy.

/bought my own woodworking stuff later

[Gaffer]

I attended this JR HS in the late 50s early 60s while my dad was off overseas in one of his near continual assignments (I guess what they now call ‘deployments.’)

https://www.marlowheights60sand70s.com/benjamin-stoddert-jr-high-2/

What I remember most fondly are the shop classes. Both wood and metal. Taught by an older Scottish craftsman. The school had the full complement of machines and tools one would think are needed.