|
Posted by Richard Eney on April 14, 2008, 3:15 pm
>>>
>>>>Spouse was a 'craft, design, technology' teacher for many years. Cooking
>>>>wasn't taught to girls or boys, instead they were taught things like
>>>>designing a pizza take-away box or how to assemble ready-prepared
>>>>ingredients to make a meal. He couldn't teach real practical metal or
>>>>woodwork because it involved dangerous tools, only the theory.
>>
>> That's absurd. What is this, Zen teaching theory? Half the point of
>> lessons is to learn how to be careful.
>
>I know that, you know that, legislation in this country is being influenced
>by claims though.
Here too, I fear, but so far I think the kids can actually touch tools.
>A grand daughter lives with us temporarily while she does a college course
>(her parents live in France). Her course is for childcare. Yesterday she told
>me that talcum powder must not be used on babies because it blocks the
>pores.
>
>!
The version I've heard is that the powder might be breathed and harm the
lungs, but not that it blocks the skin. I wonder whether the teacher got
that out of a book or just verbally from someone who heard it somewhere.
(Remembering hearing of student teachers who "weren't into reading".)
>> But then, I speak as one who was using woodworking tools before I went
>> to school; I got all my early cuts and sore fingers at home. Daddy's
>> method of babysitting toddlers was to give them a piece of wood, some
>> common nails, and an adult-sized hammer.
>
>Same here and same with our children.
And every kid I'm aware of loved it, too.
>> We cooked a recipe, ate it, and cleaned up afterwards in one hour.
>> Sewing took a little longer. Back in those days, no boys took
>> Home Economics (they could have)
>
>When our youngest boy was doing cookery (real cookery, with ingredients and
>a finished dish) he came home from school disgusted with the result of his
>latest lesson. At nine yo he'd made bread.
>
>With 2 ozs of flour.
>
>He complained that there wasn't enough dought to knead - he was used to
>making half a stone at a time at home.
Technically I can make bread, but in fact it comes out terrible. I think
I overknead.
>> Enameling? I would have loved to take woodwork and metalwork even
>> if I would have been bad at it. My niece did well when she took Shop.
>
>OK - I give in. What's 'Shop'?
In the northeastern USA, "shop" was the generic term for school lessons
in woodwork, metalwork, anything done in a workshop, including setting
type by hand (now that was really out of date). When the art class did
oil paintings, the shop class cut the wood for the frames because they
were trained to use a saw. (Never mind that the painters had also done
carving in art class, most using chisels and gouges that were harder to
control than a hand saw.) The painters got to glue the frames together
and apply a stain made from oil paint. (Toxic materials!)
I'd been using saws at home for ten years at that point but many of
the other students had never touched a real tool until the carving
portion of the art class. Having the shop students cut the diagonals
gave them something real to do and no doubt improved the quality of
the frames.
Now there are people who object to adults using sharp pointed knitting
needles.
=Tamar
| 
Yahoo! 
Google 
Windows Live 
del.icio.us 
digg 
Netscape 
XML Sitemap