Man has been working wood since the genesis of time. Working wood is one o=
f the inherent occupations of man, a living trade; whereby, a man may do we=
ll by applying common sense and manual dexterity to the basic materials fou=
nd at hand.
Working with wood, metal and soil are fundamental to living trade; yet, no =
two men have ever had the same set of tools or the same set of experiences;=
therefore, no two men will ever have the same knowledge or understanding o=
f living trade; the material remains infinite as each man must find his own=
way; thus, we are apprentices all of our lives.
Apprenticeship for our Future
In the fourth century BC, Plato recognized that the majority of any populat=
ion needed to be working class citizens contributing to the tangible produc=
t of their nation; and that the decay of that nation could be gauged by the=
percentage of people who are essentially contributing nothing. We are a n=
ation in distress.
Education has failed in its fundamental responsibility to provide the worki=
ng class with marketable skills. Serving only the higher motivations, educ=
ation has become an obtuse bureaucracy that many cannot and will not respon=
d to. With higher education costing tens of thousands of dollars, the work=
ing class is excluded, left to the mercy of an ownership society. Apprenti=
ceship is the missing ingredient, and only apprenticeship can fulfill the r=
esponsibility and our obligation to future generations.
Apprenticeship must overcome the conventional wisdom of academia, while bec=
oming part of the academic woodwork. A program of apprenticeship must con=
tain the same integrity systems of higher education, but requires much more=
participation than just listing tools available in a tool chest. Apprentic=
eship must involve each individual in practical, financially responsible ac=
tivities.
Conventional apprenticeships are negative and narrow, concentrated only upo=
n the needs of a particular trade or industry. True apprenticeship is a li=
felong, intellectual pursuit; that endows the 'journeyman' with an immutabl=
e purpose, and creates equanimity between the 'artisan' and his material. =
In discussing apprenticeship, we are talking about the individual and the e=
ntire concept of apprenticeship is oriented towards that thought.
Apprenticeship is not geared exclusively to preparing the individual for pa=
id employment but to contribute to a more enterprising work force. Apprenti=
ceship encourages the development of skills and attributes that employers a=
re looking for, such as teamwork, commitment and flexibility, but also deve=
lops a realistic knowledge and understanding of business and the working li=
fe. Apprenticeship sets the highest standard for quality.
The survival and competitiveness of all companies, small and large, depend =
increasingly upon the quality of their workforces. Employees need to be abl=
e to work autonomously, to take responsibility and make decisions; to work =
in small teams and units, to be flexible and creative, and to update their =
skills continually. Employees need to be enterprising, and qualities like =
planning and decision making are ones that count.
The labor market is changing. Apprenticeship takes the initiative to help =
the working class to deal proactively with an unpredictable world. Apprent=
iceship develops in the individual the necessary enterprise skills and an a=
wareness of how their community, including business and industry in a globa=
l economy, works. The individual and the whole working class needs to be 'o=
pportunity ready.'
The need for apprenticeship in this scenario is clear. People need to be a=
ble to package skills and knowledge into working livelihoods; become contra=
ctors rather than employees; see opportunity in job change, override period=
s of unemployment; recognize the ongoing need for learning and training; be=
creative rather than passive; capable of self-initiated action rather than=
dependent; know how to learn rather than expect to be taught; and they nee=
d to be enterprising, not think or act like an 'employee' or a 'client.'
This I sincerely believe; apprenticeship is the key to our future prosperit=
y, and the only key available to unlock a new age of renaissance.
daclark
>DA Clark wrote:
>unlock a new age of renaissance. daclark
>>SonomaProducts.com wrote:
>>Or not
"...we (at SonomaProducts.com)stand on the shoulders of (other men)to bring the heritage of 'their' work to future generations...(in a DIY kit)."
A little apprenticeship would have done you a lot of good...or not.
On Sunday, October 28, 2012 10:19:26 PM UTC-7, DA Clark wrote:
> Man has been working wood since the genesis of time. Working wood is one =
of the inherent occupations of man, a living trade; whereby, a man may do w=
ell by applying common sense and manual dexterity to the basic materials fo=
und at hand. Working with wood, metal and soil are fundamental to living tr=
ade; yet, no two men have ever had the same set of tools or the same set of=
experiences; therefore, no two men will ever have the same knowledge or un=
derstanding of living trade; the material remains infinite as each man must=
find his own way; thus, we are apprentices all of our lives. Apprenticeshi=
p for our Future In the fourth century BC, Plato recognized that the majori=
ty of any population needed to be working class citizens contributing to th=
e tangible product of their nation; and that the decay of that nation could=
be gauged by the percentage of people who are essentially contributing not=
hing. We are a nation in distress. Education has failed in its fundamental =
responsibility to provide the working class with marketable skills. Serving=
only the higher motivations, education has become an obtuse bureaucracy th=
at many cannot and will not respond to. With higher education costing tens =
of thousands of dollars, the working class is excluded, left to the mercy o=
f an ownership society. Apprenticeship is the missing ingredient, and only =
apprenticeship can fulfill the responsibility and our obligation to future =
generations. Apprenticeship must overcome the conventional wisdom of academ=
ia, while becoming part of the academic woodwork. A program of apprenticesh=
ip must contain the same integrity systems of higher education, but require=
s much more participation than just listing tools available in a tool chest=
. Apprenticeship must involve each individual in practical, financially res=
ponsible activities. Conventional apprenticeships are negative and narrow, =
concentrated only upon the needs of a particular trade or industry. True ap=
prenticeship is a lifelong, intellectual pursuit; that endows the 'journeym=
an' with an immutable purpose, and creates equanimity between the 'artisan'=
and his material. In discussing apprenticeship, we are talking about the i=
ndividual and the entire concept of apprenticeship is oriented towards that=
thought. Apprenticeship is not geared exclusively to preparing the individ=
ual for paid employment but to contribute to a more enterprising work force=
. Apprenticeship encourages the development of skills and attributes that e=
mployers are looking for, such as teamwork, commitment and flexibility, but=
also develops a realistic knowledge and understanding of business and the =
working life. Apprenticeship sets the highest standard for quality. The sur=
vival and competitiveness of all companies, small and large, depend increas=
ingly upon the quality of their workforces. Employees need to be able to wo=
rk autonomously, to take responsibility and make decisions; to work in smal=
l teams and units, to be flexible and creative, and to update their skills =
continually. Employees need to be enterprising, and qualities like planning=
and decision making are ones that count. The labor market is changing. App=
renticeship takes the initiative to help the working class to deal proactiv=
ely with an unpredictable world. Apprenticeship develops in the individual =
the necessary enterprise skills and an awareness of how their community, in=
cluding business and industry in a global economy, works. The individual an=
d the whole working class needs to be 'opportunity ready.' The need for app=
renticeship in this scenario is clear. People need to be able to package sk=
ills and knowledge into working livelihoods; become contractors rather than=
employees; see opportunity in job change, override periods of unemployment=
; recognize the ongoing need for learning and training; be creative rather =
than passive; capable of self-initiated action rather than dependent; know =
how to learn rather than expect to be taught; and they need to be enterpris=
ing, not think or act like an 'employee' or a 'client.' This I sincerely be=
lieve; apprenticeship is the key to our future prosperity, and the only key=
available to unlock a new age of renaissance. daclark
Or not