On 06/09/2011 2:01 PM, Brooklyn1 wrote:

>
> Trade schools, what a stupid concept... you cannot learn any trade out
> of a book. And high school shop classes teach nothing... no one will
> pay someone wages who can make a pair infantile bookends in six
> months... those shop classes are how they keep the delinquents
> occupied until they are old enough to drop out, out of sight and out
> of mind...

I don't think that educators are unaware of the fact that some people
simply aren't academically oriented and that school is just a glorified
baby sitting service. Yet, there is still some benefit to teaching them
trades. While they may not be great at math or history, some of them are
mechanically inclined and do well in shop classes. My oldest brother did
badly in elementary school and was steered towards vocational training.
He became an automechanic and was very good at it. He made a pretty
good living working on heavy duty trucks.

My wife used to teach at a school for the mentally retarded, and at the
time that term was still acceptable. One of the teachers at the school
taught programs that would lead to employment they were capable of
handling, like lawn maintenance and janitorial services. He had
contracts with people for lawn work and cleaning. We used to hire them
to do our lawn, and I was impressed with the way he handled those kids.
I was home one day when I was home sleeping I heard the van pull in. By
the time I got some clothes on and went to the other side to look out
the window, the crew had unloaded and started four lawn mowers and were
already mowing. It may not be much of a career for some people but it
would probably be the best they would ever get.