School Wokshops

[Mike Jordan]

I'm sure that you are not alone in your concerns about the current fashion for running down and closing traditional style workshops in schools. Wood and metalwork seem to be beyond the skill sets in many schools and are being replaced by textile and cookery lessons together with a much higher importance placed on art and design. ( I am probably using entirely the wrong terms for most of these subjects since it's now vitally important that wood is now called a resistant material rather than boring old wood)
The traditional methods must have started many on a career path or provided an insight into hand work and future hobbies. The local technical college which formed an important part of my apprentice training is now a university handing out degrees in cabinet making! Degrees are also available in knitwear and media studies, when my late mother sat knitting me a pullover while watching Coronation Street she had no idea she was in line for two degrees.

 

[RogerS]

Too busy with Chinese cooking ? :wink:

 

[bugbear]

I agree - Stir fry skills are very important.

BugBear

 

[lurker]

Degrees are also available in knitwear and media studies, when my late mother sat knitting me a pullover while watching Coronation Street she had no idea she was in line for two degrees.

=D> =D> =D> =D>

 

[Wildman]

we had 1st year woodwork, 2nd year metalwork, 3rd year your choice of either or cooking, but the girls only got sewing, cooking or typing. shame really as I know some wanted to do woodwork. We were luck to have all new workshops with lathes, shaper, forge and all sorts of "Dangerous" things like sharp chisels etc. Elf and safety no doubt ban them all these days.

 

[lurker]

. Elf and safety no doubt ban them all these days.

No it would't

But unfortunately there are lots of people who "think" they understand H&S who would, and are providing poor advice.
Yesterday I was at Abbey pumping station (they had a steam day) in Leicester.
There is a Victorian working workshop all the stuff is powered by overhead belts.
Because they used a Chartered H&S person (not me) to help them, all of the kit is running perfectly safely and legally.

Same with Schools: 20 years ago my lad's school was told they needed to chuck everything away and spend near half a million on H&S compliant workshop kit. With my help the current stuff was modifed for a tad over £20k and most of that was LEV (dust extraction).

It is very very rare a real H&S professional will ban anything

 

[DiscoStu]

My daughter school still offers woodwork although it's called something different. They have some nice kit including a laser cutter. It's nice for them to have traditional but also more modern options.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RogerP]

I retired 6 years ago and at that time the woodworking and metal working in the school had become design and technology. Basically designing cardboard boxes and glueing them together with hot melt glue guns. Four beautifully equipped workshops were left mainly unused.

 

[Blockplane]

Slight digression - are there still any colleges of F.E. offering evening classes where you can get your hands on decent wood or metalworking machinery? or have they also gone the same way, killed off by the fashion for H&S ?

 

[RogerS]

Slight digression - are there still any colleges of F.E. offering evening classes where you can get your hands on decent wood or metalworking machinery? or have they also gone the same way, killed off by the fashion for H&S ?

I really wish folk wouldn't keep blaming H&SE. HS&E don't make rules for the sake of it. But others will interpret rules to suit themselves/their budget and blame HS&E.

 

[lurker]

Slight digression - are there still any colleges of F.E. offering evening classes where you can get your hands on decent wood or metalworking machinery? or have they also gone the same way, killed off by the fashion for H&S ?

I used to attend one.
It was a great way of getting your hands on some good kit and talking to like minded folks.

However it came to an end when the lecturer (after a lifetime of woodwork) became so sensitised to wood dust he could not carry on.
I saw him in a wheel chair with and oxygen cylinder strapped to the back a few years later.

 

[MrTeroo]

I agree - Stir fry skills are very important.

BugBear

Ken Hom gets everywhere. Selling to schoolchildren now!

 

[novocaine]

Slight digression - are there still any colleges of F.E. offering evening classes where you can get your hands on decent wood or metalworking machinery? or have they also gone the same way, killed off by the fashion for H&S ?

I really wish folk wouldn't keep blaming H&SE. HS&E don't make rules for the sake of it. But others will interpret rules to suit themselves/their budget and blame HS&E.

simple answer, change H&S to insurance and all these posts start to make sense. almost always, when someone starts banding about HSE band this or that it's actually that an insurance company isn't willing to cover it so makes some bullshit claim that it's against HSE guidance. think Henman hill and playing conkers. the joy of a litergatory society where people think they are owed something when they do something stupid.

 

[Racers]

I agree - Stir fry skills are very important.

BugBear

Ken Hom gets everywhere. Selling to schoolchildren now!

We used to get lots of Hom work when I was a lad.

Pete

 

[novocaine]

can't do that anymore, it's against H&S for the kiddies to carry to much weight.

 

[Bm101]

can't do that anymore, it's against H&S for the kiddies to carry to much weight.

Carry too much weight? They can't even Wok to school these days. That's why there's so much traffic on the roads.

:-"

 

[selectortone]

Learning the fundamentals of woodwork and metalwork at school back in the 60s has served me well throughout my life, both at work and at home. It's a real shame that kids today don't have the same opportunity.

 

[thick_mike]

Kids do resistant materials in school and that includes woodwork and metalwork as well as moulding, CNC, laser cutting, soldering and 3D printing.

I'm a Science teacher and we also set stuff on fire, do explosions, and dissect hearts, eyes and rats with proper sharp scalpels.

I don't know where you've got the idea that health and safety has gone mad in schools...lazy reactionary nonsense probably stirred up by the Daily Mail! Isn't it time for a story about Winterval soon?

 

[skipdiver]

Ah! Memories of my wonderful woodwork teacher, Mr Polger, who looked like Peter Cushing. We even had an after school woodwork club, where those of us that were better at it and more interested could learn more away from the disruptive elements. Didn't last long though as the school said they couldn't afford to keep the class open after hours. Basic life skills learned and a shame it doesn't happen now. Although i hated metalwork, the teacher Mr Thompson was the coolest dude in school and many years later i built him a conservatory. He was still cool.

 

[lurker]

I had a woodwork teacher called Mr. Bates so you can guess what we called him