Why Study Industrial Arts? (1956)

[Music] you know it's fun to have an idea to be able to put that idea down on paper to see and feel that same idea take shape in wood in metal in plastic or in leather and you know I like the feel of a board moving smoothly against a sharp saw I like the smell of fresh wood chips and [Applause] sawdust the bright glare of a welder the sharp Pine of a power tool or the dull tap tap of tools on leather I like the feel of a [Applause] saw a ranch a plane or a chisel and I feel real good because I'm a Craftsman because I can use my mind and my hands to create of course I don't know if I'd ever tell my buddies all this cuz well sometimes they laugh when you tell them things like this s go ahead Hey Joe come on let's go basketball practice Okay but well I finish cleaning up here hey you making this mhm you know this looks as good as Furniture you'd buy in a store it I do was taking me long enough to make it kind of slow huh yeah but I've learned nothing making this one that I could probably make another in about half a Time hey like this shop course Joe I like it swell why well uh didn't you ever wonder what good you'd get out of a course like this yeah I did as a matter of fact I went to Mr Barnes the shop teacher and asked him about it he said that with the large amount of construction work that goes on large amount of construction work that's taking place in our country's expansion we need many more young men who are trained to design our future we'll need Architects designers and draftsmen and Joe will need scores a man who can translate and build those ideas on paper into the actual homes churches schools and factories of the future we'll need engineers Carpenters steel workers and plumbers we'll need men who can design the machines of the future and men who can build operate and repair these machines we'll need electrical engineers pattern makers foundary men tool operators and mechanics and Joel these are just a few of the occupations I could name all of these jobs pay well and afford challenges and chances of advancement to the individual but Mr Barnes the courses I take here won't actually prepare me for one of these jobs when I graduate will they no you'll probably need more training by either going on to college or by apprenticing yourself into one of the skilled trades but believe me Joe the basic training you get in these courses now will give you a definite advantage over the fellow who hasn't had such experiences well that's what Mr Barnes had to say on the value of courses like this yeah but you plan to be an engineer Joe and and I can't see how industrial Arts courses will do me much good if I should decide to go into business or something like that you can huh no well come on boy let's go to basketball practice and meanwhile I'm going to set you straight on a few of The Facts of Life for instance if you know that no matter what job you're going into after you graduate you'll be able to use lots of the things you've learned in your industrial Arts courses if you go into journalism or publishing the experience you get in printing classes will give you a basic knowledge of those operations maybe you'll be a farmer and knowing how to build improvements around the farm and how to repair all the equipment you use is a must for you in that operation or you can go on in your studies and become an industrial ARS teacher like Mr Barnes he sure enjoys his work and he told me that there is always a demand for industrial arch teachers and there among the the best paid in the teaching profession hi Bill hi Jo hi but like you say what if you should go into business or selling or something like that well you'll still be dealing with material you'll still have to be able to recognize quality material and quality craftsmanship if you're in production you'll have to know what materials and techniques can best be combined to give you a quality product at a low cost no bill you're going to have to look far and wide to find a job that doesn't in somewhere or other use industrial arts training well maybe so but hey how about the coach I bet he doesn't you bet he doesn't what oh hi coach well uh well we we were just talking what about when you started making bets on me I'm interested well we were talking about different jobs in which industrialized training is used and well Bill thinks he thinks that coaching isn't one of them huh well bill I took some industrial Arts courses when I was in school and except for some work on the gym floor and knowing a little bit about Plastics and some other materials used in sports equipment actually it hasn't helped me a great deal in my coaching see wait a minute I'm glad I took those courses well we may have worked on Model A instead of hot rods when I took my mechanics course but in it I gained a mechanical interest in knowhow that's stayed with me through all these years for instance when I get in my car to go someplace place I feel pretty confident that in case of minor trouble I can fix it or at least recognize its source recently my wife and I bought a home we felt much sure that we were getting our money's worth because of my experience with industrial Arts I could tell whether good quality wood had been used whether adequate electrical wiring had been involved I could tell what interior woods and finishing materials had been used and whether these were likely to stand up underwear and since that time I've done a lot of work on the house myself I build on a new room and made a recreation room out of it most of the minor repair work that comes up around the house I can take care of myself there are lots of things I'd like to build now but I just haven't got the time but when I retire I'll have a readymade hobby to keep me busy and you know fellas there's a feel about it that I like for being able to visualize something and then create it with my own hands as a matter of fact most industrial Arts courses will help ordinate mind and body hey this is B is not a lecture course go you know Jo I believe I will take a couple of industrial Arts courses next year fine Bill say uh you're man how you think my car would look well if I uh smoothed out the hood and put a new grill in it and you know made a real rot out of great [Music]