Burns Best Farm

"Teach your child a trade"

My husband and I have said this to each other repeatedly in the seven years since our first son was born.  At first, it was a bit of a joke.  We had mildly renovated our house, paying to have the big work done, and for the first time in our adult lives we saw what a skilled tradesman could earn from people like us who had good jobs but no real building skills.

In the years since, through the process of homeschooling and other self-education, I have become more convinced of this truth than ever.  When talk turns around to what our college plans are for the three boys, I find myself saying, "This one will be a plumber, this one will learn to be an electrician, and this one a carpenter.  Between the three, we'll have our own construction firm!"  People then look at me like I'm nuts for saying out loud that I would be thrilled if my son became a plumber!

We're at home today from church because of sniffling noses and hacking coughs (allergy season here in the south) so I have a bit of time to read the esoteric research publications online that I only look at when I've read every other interesting blog and farm website I can find.  So today I ran across a good article, Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew B. Crawford.

It's printed this month in The New Atlantis, a journal of technology and society. 

Crawford has a good bit of formal education.  He also discovered that he enjoyed owning a motorcyle repair shop and working on solving the engine problems of vintage motorcyles.  He talks about the social currency he receives from being "the guy" who can fix things in a community where everyone is sitting at a desk with a computer monitor, engaging in the "knowledge economy" that the education and government people tell us is the "way of the future".

The article is a bit long, and sometimes it gets a little high-minded, but there are a couple of paragraphs worth quoting.  I'll re-print the conclusion here and you can find the rest yourselves:

"So what advice should one give to a young person?  By all means, go to college. In fact, approach college in the spirit of craftsmanship, going deep into liberal arts and sciences. In the summers, learn a manual trade.  You're likely to be less damaged, and quite possibly better paid, as an independent tradesman than as a cubicle-dwelling tender of information systems.  To heed such advice would require a certain contrarian streak, as it entails rejecting a life course mapped out by others as obligatory and inevitable." (10/9: edited for a typo correction)

I find a bit of social currency myself in being a hobby farmer who has successfully sold what we've raised ourselves.  Other moms I know keep accounting books, provide PR services, tutor, and in-home healthcare, all part-time.  I have in the past envied them their knowledge and education, thinking that if I had only had more insight into the future, I would have trained more specifically for a career.  Now, I'm thankful for my broad liberal arts education that was just specific enough (food service management/business) to allow me to grow and change. 

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12:12, 2006-Oct-8 .. Posted by thatday

Some real food for thought. We have become such a "throw away" society.
My grandson has always loved to swim - and, as a result of all his hard work, he is now a diver in the Navy - He is a senior in high school and will go on active duty in June. Also, he has learned fence-building from his Dad (who builds and maintains fences on some of the big ranches here in Eastern Oregon.

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08:51, 2006-Oct-8 .. Posted by JoyceFamily

I think this is excellent - thank you for sharing!
Eleanor

So much truth in this

02:49, 2006-Oct-10 .. Posted by mommyof2

Another good thing to point out about the trades that you have listed for your sons is that they will not be downsized. Somebody will always need these services performed for them and they do make really good money. When we built our home, we hired out some of the work (plumb/heating, concrete, well/septic, & framing) and I was shocked to see how much that cost us. I mean we were doing all the rest for ourselves and still paid a small fortune!

God bless!
Christy

trades

07:17, 2006-Oct-10 .. Posted by kas

As mom of the swimmer/Navy Diver/fence builder son, having a boy who can do many things is great! I know he is ready and able to take care of himself and in the future, a family of his own. As wife of a fence builder, it comes in handy when we can trade services with our customers. Recently we traded fence maintenance for hay for our horses, and another customer for boards for our new round pen.