Kids woodwork in school?
Discussion
I’ve been doing a few simple woodwork projects with my godson recently, as he starts secondary school soon and he said he was looking forward to woodwork classes: which got me thinking what do kids do in woodwork these days, are they allowed any sharp tools, do they only teach theory as using actual timber is arboreal genocide? Made all sorts of s
t when I was at school, coffee table, dining tray, a fruit bowl on the lathe
t when I was at school, coffee table, dining tray, a fruit bowl on the latheI did DT from age 10 up, and used a wide range of potentially dangerous power tools. Most of the time there’d be two members of staff - one teacher generally supervising, and one assistant looking after the more dangerous stuff. I vividly remember:
- Drills (handheld and pillar)
- Brazing hearths (though this was done under 1-1 supervision)
- Scroll saws
- Bench polisher/grinder
- Power sanders
- Soldering irons
Generally the first time a kid used a tool it’d be 1-1 supervision for a few mins; and if the teacher was happy you could then use it alone.
Only thing we weren’t allowed to use was the band saw.
- Drills (handheld and pillar)
- Brazing hearths (though this was done under 1-1 supervision)
- Scroll saws
- Bench polisher/grinder
- Power sanders
- Soldering irons
Generally the first time a kid used a tool it’d be 1-1 supervision for a few mins; and if the teacher was happy you could then use it alone.
Only thing we weren’t allowed to use was the band saw.
It's all a bit sad..You can get a qualification in the subject and then go out into the working world without having used any of the dangerous stuff?
In our metal work class we had a big hydraulic hacksaw that was used to cut through seriously thick metal bars. We had a safety briefing that involved the teacher explaining in no uncertain terms that anything that got in the way of the blade would almost certainly get chopped off and then he demonstrated how powerful the machine was by switching it on and grabbing hold of the moving arm and putting all his strength and weight into trying to stop it from moving and getting thrown around like a rag doll!
My woodwork teacher hung back and watched me making a very tasty baseball bat/club as a side project over the course of a few weeks and when i had got it just how i wanted it on the lathe he stepped in , switched the lathe on and jammed a chisel into so hard that it split into pieces and the chunks went all over the class room.
"You did a lovely job, but don't make another one. And clean up that mess!"
In our metal work class we had a big hydraulic hacksaw that was used to cut through seriously thick metal bars. We had a safety briefing that involved the teacher explaining in no uncertain terms that anything that got in the way of the blade would almost certainly get chopped off and then he demonstrated how powerful the machine was by switching it on and grabbing hold of the moving arm and putting all his strength and weight into trying to stop it from moving and getting thrown around like a rag doll!
My woodwork teacher hung back and watched me making a very tasty baseball bat/club as a side project over the course of a few weeks and when i had got it just how i wanted it on the lathe he stepped in , switched the lathe on and jammed a chisel into so hard that it split into pieces and the chunks went all over the class room.
"You did a lovely job, but don't make another one. And clean up that mess!"
The day I started my apprenticeship (fitter/turner) our instructor gathered us around and said "see all these wonderful machines around you?........... well if you open the right hand cupboard of your workbenches you will find these" he then brandished a file a hacksaw and a sheet of emery cloth saying "these are your friends for the next three months!!!!
Then it was an entire week learning how to sharpen a drill.
Then it was an entire week learning how to sharpen a drill.
School must be boring nowadays,I remember a couple of spots of blood on the pushing stick in woodwork,also remember one lad pushing start on the lathe in metal work and the chuck key still in and flying across room ,no one was harmed this time ,H&S today is mad ,I’ve now got to be clean shaven so my face mask seals ,if I get seen with stubble I’ll be sent home ,3 strikes an all that ,I’m not drilling every day though it just in case I do .
I've a scar through the fingerprint of my index finger on my right hand from doing metal work when I was at school, I remember it clearly, rubbing my finger across some metal that I'd cut (badly), it bled quite badly, I ran it under the tap and upon closer inspection thought there was a bit of cotton wool stuck in there...... it wasn't cotton wool, it was the fat in my finger!
Anyway this was the 80's and I survived!
Anyway this was the 80's and I survived!
Students from Year 7 upwards get to use every tool in the shop except the band saw once they have shown they can use it competently; GCSE students can use the BSaw with supervision if they really need to, but most schools RA don't allow it in my experience. By the end of KS3 every student in my school will have used all of them at least twice.
D and T has just gone through a huge change in curriculum, sadly removing a lot of the practical element and focusing much more on understanding Design.
There are separate qualifications for construction skills. DT is under immense pressure in schools at the moment - it has a high cost for small return and the EBACC rules the curriculum. Class sizes in DT are growing, making practical more difficult to manage. Technicians are increasingly hard to persuade management to employ and the style of examination has changed to be more rigorous - IE less designing/practical understanding and more theory.
Every school is different obviously, but if a school is under pressure for results in the core subjects, you can guess where the timetable gets reduced first.
D and T has just gone through a huge change in curriculum, sadly removing a lot of the practical element and focusing much more on understanding Design.
There are separate qualifications for construction skills. DT is under immense pressure in schools at the moment - it has a high cost for small return and the EBACC rules the curriculum. Class sizes in DT are growing, making practical more difficult to manage. Technicians are increasingly hard to persuade management to employ and the style of examination has changed to be more rigorous - IE less designing/practical understanding and more theory.
Every school is different obviously, but if a school is under pressure for results in the core subjects, you can guess where the timetable gets reduced first.
Sporky said:
eskidavies said:
one lad pushing start on the lathe in metal work and the chuck key still in and flying across room
I did that! Made quite a dent in the wall.Jaguar steve said:
There was a hole in the ceiling of my woodwork classroom from somebody doing the same thing. Apparently the key was still somewhere in the roof void...
They should just make you attach the chuck key to a lanyard that you wear round your neck. You might get one person leaving the chuck key in but nobody would do it after that.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff