Andy:

I went to a college prep school in Central NJ about 20 miles from my 
home.  I started there in September of 1974.  Nixon had just resigned 
one month earlier, In August 1974.

To this day, I remember how me and Pete Stevenson were walking through 
the school in mid-September looking for the woodshop and metalshop.  And 
we were both amazed that we couldn't find it.  So I went home and told 
Mumsy that there were no shop classes in school.

She told me not to worry.  That I was not going to need those wasteful 
subjects anyway because I was going to be a lawyer.

I never got to take any shop or meaningful drafting class until I was 
well into my 30s at the local vo-tech.  And anything I learned about 
working with tools, metal, machines and wood I basically managed to 
teach myself through reading and the Internet.

So the morale of my story is Mommy isn't always right.

Matt

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "andy baughn" <badandy0442@c...>
To: <OldTools@r...>
Sent: Friday, October 31, 2008 9:15 PM
Subject: [OldTools] Shop Class

>I have seen a few bios here lately that mention taking shop class. 
>When I
> was in 6th grade I was so excited to take woodshop.  Got my schedule 
> and it
> had some PC word for Home Ec on there.  We made koolaid and pillows. 
> Joy.
> Well halfway trhough they told us we were going to switch to
> drafting/woodshop.  I thought I had hit the jackpot.  Our project was 
> a
> pencil holder.  The teacher ran the walnut through the planer and 
> jointer
> then we got to use the standard Normite Tools to shape it.  I got to 
> take
> woodshop in 7th grade too.  Made a clock and clipboard, and a giant 
> letter P
> (Purdue for grandpa).
>
> So we'd use the bandsaw, disk/drum/belt sander and drill press for
> everything.  The walls of the room were filled with tool cabinets 
> stuffed
> with hand tools.  I wondered why we weren't allowed to use anything 
> more
> than a screwdriver.
>
> I got to High School and was ready for more woodshop.  My friend told 
> me not
> to take them till I got older.   He said too many Hoods in shop class 
> (I was
> a wimp back then).  Part way through they changed shop class to be 
> more like
> a vocational program.  They still had drafting/wood/metals for 
> students but
> only if you had not taken any of the vocational type classes.  I was 
> able to
> take drafting but no woodshop.  After reading about everyone else who 
> took
> shop classes I feel kinda robbed.
>
> Bad Andy
>
>
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