Apathy
Yes, I sense apathy towards our response in creating more interest in the trades and building credibility while doing our noble work. Good on you for helping the at risk kids. I wonder why we don't spend more energy telling the world with pride what we do and supporting those that school us? Somewhere along the line our building and support network lost its steam. It wasn't always like this. I once met a man not long ago, an old timer, a guy I've wanted to meet for some time. I thought it a good idea to meet and listen to his lessons and gain wisdom. I said to him, you must be "insert name here". He said to me "no, you can call me plumber". He was dead serious. This guy had so much pride in his work that he wanted to be known by what he did as a trade. As for the schools running shop programs with spit and glue, the very existence of the programs - metal working, plumbing, carpentry and masonry, developed because industry was not happy with the kids coming out of school. Industry required a well trained work force and industrial education
i.e., industrial arts/vocational education was the answer. The concept started in around 1930. Since the 90's the concept has been dying a slow death. I get the sense that this chat board is a reflection of the trades, a representation of the lethargy that exists. Given the power of media we have at our finger tips, and the vast number of people who visit CT great things can happen. Have a look at Ramp-A-Thon. How do we expand on this ?
