I Am Woodshop

April 17, 2014

I was going to post today about my tribe…or rather lack of one.  But, that post would be all about me and then I saw this and realized we have greater issues in this country than who I connect with.
The story goes something like this….

After picking up the Moon from school and running a few errands, we headed toward gymnastics.  Two things happened along the way.  The first was she fell asleep in the back.  This is great as she still needs a good 12 hours of sleep per 24, so we are happy about a nap.  The second is I looked over at a stop light and saw a sign that read “Mechanic Wanted – Starting at $30 per hour.”  What?  After quickly doing the math I realized this is well over $60,000 per year.  I have many colleagues with multiple degrees, bachelor’s, MBA’s, advanced certifications, etc. who make well under this advertised rate of $30 per hour.

Fast forward.  We arrived at gymnastics a little early and with my little gymnast asleep that gave me time to…..get on Facebook.  Yeah.  I said it.  Stuck in a car, no book (BTW, I’m reading The Book Thief), I had little to do besides check everyone’s status.  It seemed appropriate, maybe even prophetic, that I would see this Mike Rowe (for President, please) post about an Ottawa, IL situation that involved increasing the salary of the school Administrators while eliminating wood shop.

I am quite certain I am simplifying the story (you’ll have to read it yourself).  But, my friends, this is what is wrong with education today.  We have eliminated the creative, real-world, problem solving skills that propelled our country to where we are today (or maybe were 15 years ago) for a “virtual” world that is something out of a futuristic nightmare or Disney movie (think Wall-e).

You might say that those good times are gone and that Mayberry (or Huck Finn), no longer exist.  I say you are wrong and that is room for both the virtual and the real.  This may be a constant theme here on my blog in the future – or at least a persistent one.  But the truth is, I believe in our country.  I believe we can be socially accepting of differences (GLBT) and honor 2^nd Ammendment rights.  I believe that kids should be taught wood-working and cooking (both requiring skills) in one class and how to make a Power Point in another (which I can tell you does not take an MBA).

We thought having our kids in a Waldorf school would help us find that balance.  And, for many families it does.  But we have decided to take it one step further and step off the crazy wheel that most of us live on.  Seeing articles such as Mike Rowe’s have allowed us to continue to feel like we made the right decision, but it was The Sun who really put it into perspective.  He said, “Mom, the perfect day would be spending about four hours in the morning working with you on school stuff.  Then, we’ll have lunch.  After that I’ll get my bow and arrow and a good book and head into the woods.”