i went to middle school starting in ‘98 (7th grade). I used a hand saw, glass cutter, sandblaster, and drill press. That was just a quarter. The second quarter we had home-ec. Stitched and baked and maybe something else. In shop I made a book shelf thing and a nameplate (sandblasted mirror)
In 9th grade I used a jointer and a band saw, built deep bookshelf out of poplar. In 10th grade I built a night stand (used shaper, Joiner, jointer, etc..)
The table saw was off limits in every class I remember, but most the other things were usable. With saw stops available, I think that reduces liability quite a bit.
Also in high school I did drafting and cad (2D and 3D).
Anyway, that was across 3 school districts in two states, and was as recent as 2003 - so it’s not like shop/industrial arts stopped being a thing 40 years ago.
> it’s not like shop/industrial arts stopped being a thing 40 years ago.
Unfortunately, I live near two school districts - one in a major metropolitan area in the US - which have closed down shop classes in the name of preparing students for college instead of work in the trades. It is hard to undo those decisions.
Fortunately some local “industrial arts” departments continue to thrive.
Yep. I remember going to one of my kids' concerts about 12 years ago and the guest musician mentioning how happy he was to be there because so many schools were closing their Music programs. Same thing is happening to shop class. At least here in a rural district, there's more pressure to keep it going since a lot of what the students learn has immediate use (or they already learned it at home).
In 9th grade I used a jointer and a band saw, built deep bookshelf out of poplar. In 10th grade I built a night stand (used shaper, Joiner, jointer, etc..)
The table saw was off limits in every class I remember, but most the other things were usable. With saw stops available, I think that reduces liability quite a bit.
Also in high school I did drafting and cad (2D and 3D).
Anyway, that was across 3 school districts in two states, and was as recent as 2003 - so it’s not like shop/industrial arts stopped being a thing 40 years ago.