It always seems to surprise me when I see something on TV news that seems to support something I’ve said. This very evening on the news I saw this report where a manufacturer reported being worried that he would soon be unable to hire skilled workers, skilled technicians to work for him. The one job they actually mentioned was, ya ready for this? Welding. Yep. Remember back a few articles ago when I was ranting about how maybe some kids just really didn’t need to go to college? That maybe even my over educated self would have been far better off when I moved out here if I had a welding certificate rather than a Masters Degree in Broad Field Earth Science.
Now here’s this report on national TV saying that American industry is running out of workers who can do skilled labor. That’s folks who can actually MAKE STUFF rather than push paper around on a desk, fill out forms, or make presentations for a business, a product or whatever. Now the wild thing is why these folks fear they will soon be unable to find these skilled workers. Seems the Vocational Education in most schools is being cut.
Yep. Seems kids today are basically being told, you can go on to some Jr. College and four year University OR you can flip burgers for the rest of your life. Nothing in between like welding, machining, carpentry, or even the technical side of the high tech revolution. You know the side that builds the machines or actually takes care of folks like nurses do. So who’s going to do that if we don’t let kids who’d rather mess with that stuff than spend endless hours and money they might not have getting a higher education they don‘t really want?
This is supposed to be a rural community here in Lone Oak. That means that, theoretically at least, most folks out here make a living off of the land. They grow food of one kind or another, for people and animals, they grow fiber. In other words they keep the rest of the country fed, clothed and supplied with numerous things they take for granted. Do the local kids in 4H or any of the Ag classes really get any encouragement to keep doing that? Don’t think so. Some of what I’ve heard is that the Ag department is shrinking. I’m guessing due to lack of funding.
Now I do not subscribe to the idea I’ve sensed in some areas that farmers and ranchers are dumb, narrow minded, resistant to change or anti-technology. Anybody who can fix a hay baler with spit, hope and baling wire is probably as smart as any big time engineer, maybe smarter and way more practical. I also know that if it looks like it will work for them they will be the first in line to jump on a new technology as well as the first to drop it if it turns out to be a dud.
So why are the schools dropping vocational ed and cutting back on teaching Ag?
Heck if I know. Same reason they are cutting out PE and complaining that the kids are getting fat for all I know? Yep. I know. They blame lower funding for the schools. But come on here folks. Dose it really take that much cash money to do a really good job of teaching? Yeah, you got to pay the teachers and the better they are the more you better pay them to keep them there teaching your kids. But then the teachers are like the guy on the line welding stuff together. They are making a product. They are the ones who should get the good pay, I say, not the folks with the fancy degree (fancier in the case of teachers) shuffling papers on a nice big desk while sitting in a comfy chair. They should also be let to do their jobs instead of baby sitting or trying to use politically correct language to tell parents that Johnny would read better if there was stuff at home for him to read or if he ever saw his parents reading. And maybe just maybe, little Anna Bell really would rather be a nurse than a doctor or even a farmer! We all need to realize that there are real jobs out there that are extremely important that don't get paid enough, but should at least get some respect for the folks who do them and do them well.
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