Thread: Moonlighter or Retiree needed

Maybe another perspective on it is that there is only so much you can fit in to a given time slot. I have always seen short classes in school as a chance for kids to 'try on many hats'. It's the beginning of a new path for some and a realisation for others that they would rather be doing something else.

Your right that it's a shame that school does not have enough time to teach shop class more comprehensively.

Just out of curiosity, what are the kids making?

I still remember my first sharpening class at tafe when I was just starting my apprenticeship. I got hooked pretty quick! To be honest, it's not process, I just appreciate sharp tools.

I can do it. PM me

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Thanks Glenn

That really is a very sad response. You are not given sufficient time to teach your students properly.



Fair Winds

Graeme

It's just life. If you consider all the different subjects the kids get, I'm happy with 1.5 hrs of tech per week (some schools the kids only get theory)- just don't have the time get enough hours on their projects as well as developing their sharpening skills. If they use these tools after they leave school they will have opportunity to learn and develop more. The whole basis of a trade or craft.

Originally Posted by Ben Dono

Maybe another perspective on it is that there is only so much you can fit in to a given time slot. I have always seen short classes in school as a chance for kids to 'try on many hats'. It's the beginning of a new path for some and a realisation for others that they would rather be doing something else.

Your right that it's a shame that school does not have enough time to teach shop class more comprehensively.

Just out of curiosity, what are the kids making?

I still remember my first sharpening class at tafe when I was just starting my apprenticeship. I got hooked pretty quick! To be honest, it's not process, I just appreciate sharp tools.

Hi Ben, I can't sleep as I've got my planned lap around this beautiful country planned for my long service running through me head. So yes it's 2:30 am, but here's an excerpt from an item I wrote for our newsletter re what the kids make.

I feel blessed for what I take in, and give thanks to those who provide; from the food that I ingest, to all that comes towards me from my environment, and the materials I use for work and play. The verses that the teachers and students recite each day, reflects our respect and acknowledgement for these things.
As co custodians upon this planet, we must be conscious of its resources. I am grateful to be given the opportunity to discuss such matters within the lesson I teach. Thanks to my network of suppliers, community and good friend Nick at Australian Reclaimed Timbers, our students are fortunate to hear the provenance and history behind many of the materials they work with. Imagine the sense of awe and appreciation evoked when: a Class 5 student carves a model boat from 2000 year old Huon pine reclaimed from Tasmanian waterways; a Class 6 student shapes the most exquisite spoon using Ironbark that was once a pier in far North QLD; a Class 7 student constructs a box out of Oregon sourced from the demolished Southern stand at the MCG; a Class 8 student joins a picture frame utilising Chestnut from Rippon Lea gardens; a Class 9 student works as part of a team building a picnic table out of Cypress that provided shade and windbreak for cows on the Mornington peninsula: a Class 10 student reveals an ancient piece of coral as they create their sculpture from Limestone that was once the seabed near Mt Gambia; or a Class 11 & 12 VCE Product Design student discusses the endless possibilities of design for remanufacture, eco-efficiency, design for disassembly, closed loop manufacture, increased resource productivity and product stewardship.
Our students are provided with such beautiful materials, not just in my subject, but many others.

Glenn

I love timber with history

even if it is just the floorboards from the house next door
but your stories are so much betterer

It's funny this topic came up now as it's something I have been thinking a lot about ofer the past few months.

One thing is for sure, the limits our kids have are generally the ones we put on them.
I just read an article of high school children in China building some pretty amazing microscopes from old computer hard drives. The article showed pictures of some of the images they captured. One of them was of the tracks on a DVD!
I often think about a youtube video of a 4yr old that his proud father posted a few years ago. He was operating a big backhoe attachment off the back of a tractor. He was pretty articulate with it as well!

What classes our kids are exposed to depends a lot on the school and the funding.
The rest is up to us!

That's a nice bit of history Glenn and the kids were lucky to have you there! It's a shame kids don't learn to use their hands to make things as commonly as they did in the past. If it's not bought from a big box store, most people are not that interested in it anymore!

Originally Posted by Ben Dono

It's funny this topic came up now as it's something I have been thinking a lot about ofer the past few months.

One thing is for sure, the limits our kids have are generally the ones we put on them.
I just read an article of high school children in China building some pretty amazing microscopes from old computer hard drives. The article showed pictures of some of the images they captured. One of them was of the tracks on a DVD!
I often think about a youtube video of a 4yr old that his proud father posted a few years ago. He was operating a big backhoe attachment off the back of a tractor. He was pretty articulate with it as well!

What classes our kids are exposed to depends a lot on the school and the funding.
The rest is up to us!

That's a nice bit of history Glenn and the kids were lucky to have you there! It's a shame kids don't learn to use their hands to make things as commonly as they did in the past. If it's not bought from a big box store, most people are not that interested in it anymore!

Thanks Ben, I couldn't agree more.
A big thanks to the offers I've had. Believe it or not, our maintenance guy agreed to be trained up and do it. If it doesn't workout, I'll let contact those that have PM'd me.
Cheers all.
Glenn