City Tech Haider Mahmood
Dr. Carrie Hall 09/20/2018
The Educational system has always progressed but shop classes have disappeared. Have you ever wondered how beneficial is the education system alone? Education does not always come down to mental achievement. We are never given the opportunity to discover our true passion through shop classes. Through Matthew Crawford’s “Shop class as Soulcraft” we go behind the curtains to reveal more than what we are lead on to believe. We have been sought out from early age to exceed in our education in order to better our future. We are missing another valuable part of education which is called Craftsmanship. Craftsmanship is an important part of education because it your inner soul finding craft in your work. It all comes down to weather modern education is the only education we are entitled to.
True passion and love for what you do in life comes from within. There are many who don’t even question their interests in life. According to Mathew Crawford “Educators prepare students to become “knowledge workers.” In other words, Schools are simply teaching information. Mathew Crawford states “the time is ripe for reconsideration of an ideal that has fallen out of favor; manual competence”, he claims “What ordinary people once made, they buy; and what they once fixed for themselves, they replace entirely”. In other words, the author shows that people continuously lack education in physical level that once existed. In my opinion, everyone finds themselves through experience and college simply provides a set path to your future. Shop class once provided these labor experiences which is no longer considered education.
According to Matthew Crawford “The fear that acquiring a specific skill set means that one’s life means that one’s life is determined”. I agree that college does not educate students on any specific skill set but simply educates to provide a passage to a set future. In my opinion, the education system alone does not provide enough experience to discover what exactly someone wants to do in life. The current education provides a possibility to reach your own set goals. In order to set goals, you must create them by finding yourself. The current education system sets your life path for you if you don’t have one in mind. As Sennet states “People take pride in being good at something specific, which happens through the accumulation of experience”. College does not provide experience but only provides a chance to further your area of interest. The purpose to any kind of craftsmanship is to discover yourself in the process. Experience with craftsmanship in your day to day life also provides an educational experience in discovering yourself. If you want to further yourself through your chosen craft it can easily become a life changing experience.
Through craftsmanship people do not loose themselves but find themselves by doing. They become familiar with their likes and dislikes. The author maintains this idea when stating “I built a mahogany coffee table on which I spared no expense of effort. At that time, I had no immediate prospect of becoming a father, yet I imagined a child who would form indelible impressions of this table” During this experience the author discovered their passion and imagined a future they looked forward to. As experience with craft is just as important as a college education; both come to play major roles in building a future. In my opinion both a college education and experience by doing is equally important.
A college education and experience with finding interest in your chosen path is equally important. There are many workers with and without a college education who love or hate their jobs. In order to find an area of interest it must first become a priority to explore themselves. A college education alone may not be able to provide this opportunity. A college education provides what people think are more “respectable jobs” and better paid. However, weather it is white color or blue color jobs both are equally important as long as you feel fulfilled. My brother started off college wanting to further his education so he could better his future. He started off college confident, however, after two years of attending he felt he wasted his time. He discovered his love for cars and decided to work on cars is what he wanted to do in the future. He currently loves his job as a mechanic and loves everything about it. Even though his current job did not require education he was able to find what he loves to do through experience. If he furthered his education and never experienced working with cars his life would be different. Blue collared jobs, back in the day, were more appreciated because the effort put into such work was appreciated by people. Nowadays technology and machines do the job for us. I agree with Mathew B. Crawford while he discusses the importance of shop classes. Although they seem to disappear lately he discusses the fact that it has a effect on people. He offers a insight that has never crossed my mind before. He states, “approach college in the spirit of craftsmanship, going deep into liberal arts and sciences.” I agree as he wishes people would look at all the opportunities they have besides college. He doesn’t say college isn’t important but he wants to say there is education everywhere We just have to look deeper.
