American Ingenuity? RANT

[Long Mike]

Whatever happened to good old American Ingenuity?  I'm not talking about engineers, and physicists.  I'm talking about people who aren't teaching kids to use both their heads and their hands to accomplish a goal.  I'm talking about grown men who haven't the slightest clue about how to repair such a minor problem as a leaky faucet and I wonder why their parents didn't teach them.

Why is it that kids are not taught, in school, how to use the most basic tools, like a hammer, saw, screwdriver and most importantly, a measuring tape?

It sees to me that almost no one knows how to work with their hands anymore - and that is a crying shame.

Society is changing, but it's not all good.  It seems that no one knows how to do even the slightest mechanical thing anymore.  If this trend continues, mechanics, electricians and plumbers will be earning as much as neurosurgeons.

[tipptruck1]

Never taught how to fix a leaky faucet. But I would try to find a way on how to fix it on the internet or books. I can work on my own car. I know a lot of people that cant do that. I have built pole barns in the past. So Iam great with power and hand tools. Right now iam going to school for autobody repair. After school I will be proud to say what I do. I may not be as home handy as iam car handy. But I take pride in any job I do. If Iam not sure on how to do a home repair I call my buddy thats a contractor so he can help me with it. I would rather call him and ask for him to help me then hire some one. He that way with cars. Any time is has a problem with them he calls me up.

So Iam just glad at 22 I can do a lot of work myself. But you are right. Some of the kids in my school have never even held a wrench before school started.

[Alpster]

Hey Mike,

Funny you should post this. I have a small group of older teens/early 20s from my church that meet at my place each Friday night. They just left about an hour ago. We have a short bible study and then it's out to the garage to build something. We recently finished an adjustable sliding mount for the church's video projector that mounts on the ceiling. We are currently working on a two tier rack for storing dumbells (excersize, not mooks). LOL. The tall skinny kid in the pics works for me 3 days a week and he spent almost 10 hours surveying in a mud hole in  Newark, NJ and still showed up tonight to work on our project. My youngest daughter got me fired up to do this, she said "dad, you can fix anything and we can't fix nothing". It's a lot of fun and the kids are having a ball designing, cutting, grinding, welding and fabricating. We have several projects planned and I have a lot of fun with them. I am very proud of them. A few pics of the current project. And yes, we have a couple of young ladies who will grab a tool and jump in with both feet. Don't give up hope Mike, these youngsters are learning how to GIT ER DUN!

Ronnie

[grimlin]

I can do small things,but difficult repairs on a car or house...forgetaboutit!! sad ain't it?

[Guest avid]

Hey Mike,

Funny you should post this. I have a small group of older teens/early 20s from my church that meet at my place each Friday night. They just left about an hour ago. We have a short bible study and then it's out to the garage to build something. We recently finished an adjustable sliding mount for the church's video projector that mounts on the ceiling. We are currently working on a two tier rack for storing dumbells (excersize, not mooks). LOL. The tall skinny kid in the pics works for me 3 days a week and he spent almost 10 hours surveying in a mud hole in  Newark, NJ and still showed up tonight to work on our project. My youngest daughter got me fired up to do this, she said "dad, you can fix anything and we can't fix nothing". It's a lot of fun and the kids are having a ball designing, cutting, grinding, welding and fabricating. We have several projects planned and I have a lot of fun with them. I am very proud of them. A few pics of the current project. And yes, we have a couple of young ladies who will grab a tool and jump in with both feet. Don't give up hope Mike, these youngsters are learning how to GIT ER DUN!

Ronnie

I declare Ronnie, the more I learn about you the more I admire you.

I know your a humble guy, and will down play what I'm saying,

but you are truly one of God's finer creations.

[burleytog]

Ronnie, teach them boys how to use a pair of scissors.  

[Evan Pease]

Ronnie, teach them boys how to use a pair of scissors.

LOL I think Ive heard that from you before ;D

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Hey Mike,

Funny you should post this. I have a small group of older teens/early 20s from my church that meet at my place each Friday night. They just left about an hour ago. We have a short bible study and then it's out to the garage to build something. We recently finished an adjustable sliding mount for the church's video projector that mounts on the ceiling. We are currently working on a two tier rack for storing dumbells (excersize, not mooks). LOL. The tall skinny kid in the pics works for me 3 days a week and he spent almost 10 hours surveying in a mud hole in  Newark, NJ and still showed up tonight to work on our project. My youngest daughter got me fired up to do this, she said "dad, you can fix anything and we can't fix nothing". It's a lot of fun and the kids are having a ball designing, cutting, grinding, welding and fabricating. We have several projects planned and I have a lot of fun with them. I am very proud of them. A few pics of the current project. And yes, we have a couple of young ladies who will grab a tool and jump in with both feet. Don't give up hope Mike, these youngsters are learning how to GIT ER DUN!

Now, you need to remember, this boat was totalled.  There was a hole on the port side, roughlt 2x3

Ronnie

Now there's a man that knows how to "step up" in his community.  I'm not big into bible study but if I had a kid and lived near Ronnie, I would make sure they knew each other well.

Great job Alpster. (PS- I WANT YOUR WORKSHOP!!!!)

Mike, I agree wholeheartedly.  I was always the opposite.  When I got my hands on power tools, there was no stopping me.  Dad was a hacker of sorts but my brother is a perfectionist.  I learned (and still learn) a great deal from him.

Below is my brother's latest project.  His good friend said, here's the $$, build 2.  This is the one that got the original 427 side oiler, the other one (my brothers) got the corvette z-1 motor.

He also helped me a lot with the restore job on "Rusty Hooks".  The pic below is the night I brought her home.  He came up (lived right down the street) to take a look and form a game plan.  The Bike he was on was the last project he did.  He took a totaled Buell with the 101 engine and used the Inverted forks, the 101 motor and the gauges to make this odd low rider.  Cool mix.

The finished "Rusty Hooks"

Now, you need to know, this boat was totaled. It had a hole in the port side, roughly 2'x3'.  The nasty (maroon,gold) decal down the side was factory,...i.e. UNDER the clear coat.  Handlebar steering and no gauges.  We also switched out the power plant from a 650 to a 701.  The hand rail, rub rail and swim platform were all falling off.  All the wood in the gunnel was replaced with mahogany.  This "lesson" boat got my hands wet with the fiberglass world which I later made some decent money in doing custom audio installs in cars (Glass fabrication).  This boat will now give you the ride of your life and turns heads more than any other 15' boat out there. (not many 15', center consoles,....with no motor on the back!!)  Very clean-  My brother is a great guy

[Bassboy15]

It's probably because most kids just don't ask...

[Fisher of Men]

Having taught vocational agriculture (now called career and technology education) for the first 9 years of my teaching career, I know where you are coming from. Here in Texas, our state administrators are stressing "college academics" to all students. It's "test scores, test scores, test scores. . ." all the time.

People have got to realize that all students are not going to go to college and that we need members of the work force at every level. In our part of the state, it seems that high schools and communities have stressed showing animals (traveling around the state with 10 or so kids) than actually teaching the other 100 "vocational" skills. They are left back in the classroom with a substitute teacher and a book. There are still some Ag departments that focus more on teaching shop skills, etc. to the kids, but they are few and far between. This is one reason I got out of Ag teaching.

Ronnie, thanks for sharing your photos. God bless you for being a part of those kids' lives.

Fortunately, I came from a family who did almost everything ourselves, unless we just didn't have the tools or facilities to do it.  That, and the fact that my grandparents had a dairy farm, led me to become involved in Ag classes and the FFA.  Now, I do almost all the work to our vehicles and our house.

Kids, stick your neck out and take some vocational/technical courses in high school.  You will find that they will come in handy later in life and just might save you some $$$ on repairs along the way.

Parents, if you possess the mechanical skills, pass them on to your children.  You will be doing them a service and spending quality time together.  And, like fishing, be patient with them.  Don't hold them to your own high standards until their skills have developed.

[.ghoti.]

If I could say it better, I would, but I can't, so I'll just quote my buddy Don;

I declare Ronnie, the more I learn about you the more I admire you.

I know your a humble guy, and will down play what I'm saying,

but you are truly one of God's finer creations

[Long Mike]

Ronnie, every time I turn around you amaze me even more with the gifts that you give to those less fortunate.  You are hereby awarded one heartfelt ATTABOY!

[Gatorbassman]

Ronnie that's awesome. Your a man after my own hart.

I thank the lord everyday for a father who made me be the go-fer. I learned so much from him. I can fix most anything. I can build anything I put my mind to. I grow 14ft tall tomatos in my garden. This is all thanks to my dad. I can't wait to pass that along to my boys.

My dad is the reason I am the person I am today. I hope that every father can pass the things they do on to their children. If you don't have any children find one who needs a mentor.

[cart7t]

Whatever happened to good old American Ingenuity?  I'm not talking about engineers, and physicists.  I'm talking about people who aren't teaching kids to use both their heads and their hands to accomplish a goal.  I'm talking about grown men who haven't the slightest clue about how to repair such a minor problem as a leaky faucet and I wonder why their parents didn't teach them.

Dunno.  My Dad was no handy man.  He'd try, sometimes screw things up.  My 2 brothers are equally un-adept at home or mechanical abilities.  I, on the other hand, have done just about anything.  Tearing cars down, major home remodeling projects,  often without any prior experience other than seeing it done on TV or in a book.  I just have that kind of knack.  It's that knack to figure out how to do something that's what's really lacking.

Why is it that kids are not taught, in school, how to use the most basic tools, like a hammer, saw, screwdriver and most importantly, a measuring tape?

Because everyone is drilling college into kids heads these days.  Why waste a high school credit on shop class when you're preparing for a white collar career with a salary hopefully big enough to pay someone to do it for you?

It sees to me that almost no one knows how to work with their hands anymore - and that is a crying shame.

For a while, our local high school mandated that boys take a cooking class in high school.  Shop was optional.  Now that's not right.

Society is changing, but it's not all good.  It seems that no one knows how to do even the slightest mechanical thing anymore.  If this trend continues, mechanics, electricians and plumbers will be earning as much as neurosurgeons.

Sounds like a good thing for the mechanics, electricians and plumbers.  

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

For a while, our local high school mandated that boys take a cooking class in high school. Shop was optional. Now that's not right.

I think it's great to teach a guy to cook. Cooking has opened many doors for me. It is no different than a shop class either. Directions for building a bird house are similar to a recipe for a meal.

You need to know, amounts and proportions, the order things are done, which materials will be best, etc.

I think both should be mandatory, shop and home ec. My buddy, married straight out of high school, can't make himself eggs!

[Root beer]

My dad is one handy man!! He told and my grandpa can vouch for this, when he was 16 he had a truck that was straight shift and one day he was driving and the transmission went out. So he got out the truck, pop the hood and shifted the truck into 1st gear with his hand. He made it home doing just that.

When he got home he fixed the transmission.

He taught me a lot of small basic things. Like taking care of the boat, car, etc. But if it really advance mechanic then I dont know jack. Just the regular maintence you need to get by everyday.

[Shad_Master]

It ain't just kids today - In my case, both my Dad and my Grand Dad were master mechanics and could fix anything - unfortunately neither of them had the patience to teach me.  Their favorite expression when I would try to learn was, "hide and watch".  As a result, I am now 57 years old and although I have learned some things on my own, I am still at a disadvantage when things break down.

You guys who had someone show you are truly fortunate and those of you who are showing someone else, remember that not every body knows what you know - but if you give them a chance, they just might learn.

[Long Mike]

This is an extreme case in point, but I think it's worth mentioning.  I was working on a project several years ago and had my head stuck up inside a suspended ceiling.  I had a "temp" working for me as a go-fer, and asked him to cut me a piece of wire about three feet long.  I waited and waited and he finally handed up a piece of wire about 8" long.  When I confronted him, he admitted that he didn't know how to read a measuring tape.  So, I told him to cut me a piece of wire the length of his arm, and he handed me a piece of wire about three feet long.

As I said above, that was an extreme case, but there have been a number of occassions when I've had employees who couldn't read a tape more accurately than 1/4".  5/8's of an inch to them would be "a little over 1/2"" or "a little under 3/4""

I could go on and on, with things like:

- Do you tighten a nut by turning the wrench clockwise or counter-clockwise.  Answer, I don't know.  I used the ratchet wrench you gave me, and it got tight.

- Did you replace the light bulb in the closet? Answer, no it was burned out, so  I could't see where it was.  Response.  That's why I gave you the flashlight.  Answer, oh, I didn't think of that.

[Daniel My Brother]

My dad is 77, and he owned his own insurance agency for better than 40 years. I never saw him turn a wrench in his life. He used to say "As long as the plumber doesn't try to sell insurance, I'm not gonna try and fix the sink"

[Panamoka_Bassin]

My dad wasn't really the teching sort, but he would let me watch him do some stuff (as long as I kept my mouth shut...) and I learned quite a bit that way.  Other than that, the only way I learned most of that DIY stuff through trial and error (i.e. Turn off the water before you take apart that leaky faucet...).  I think kids need to be taught some of the basic parts of fixing things around the house, not to become a carpenter of plumber, but the basics.  Schools teach kids basic knowledge in a lot of areas, but I have yet to see "Handyman 101" listed in any college course catalogs.  Might save us all some time and money if they did...

[jeremyt]

I have learned most of everything I know on my own. My dad would try and get me to do stuff, but if I didn't do exactly to a t the way he wanted it done, then he would get frustrated and just take over. I have talked to him about it and he said he now realizes that he should have been more patient with me. He has gotten to the point now where he can stand back and watch but he still ciritcizes the was I do some things.