What math class looks like in a modern American HS

[JohnL]

There needs to be more of the hands on skills oriented education in the public school system and I'm happy to see this going on. We have quite a few mountain high schools doing this exact type of class in their vocational tech departments . Berea College in KY does quite a bit of this hands on approach in their work program and they don't charge tuition.

[Judas Maccabeus]

Love it.

Love to see this kind of thing happening!

Hey, I’m pretty sure you guys aren’t allowed to say stuff like that in here. Any discussion of public schools must include complaints about how libs and leftists are ruining education these days. It’s got to be in the user agreement somewhere. . .

Trouble is, at least in our parts, “industrial arts “ had been completely eliminated from the curriculum by the time my daughters were in high school, about 20 years ago. Old shop wing was torn down.

[barnhart]

...Any discussion of public schools must include complaints about how libs and leftists are ruining education these days. It’s got to be in the user agreement somewhere. . .

How will we get clicks without the outrage?

Technically this thread is about "American high schools" not only public schools, so I will add a few things my daughters are doing this year.
1. Choir. It has been quite impressive how much they have accomplished, especially with a student body where less than half have any singing experience.
2. Sight reading music. The course started out aiming too high and was trimmed back part way through but they accomplished an amazing amount. It was a college course for music majors applied to general highschool students so no surprise it proved a little difficult.
3. College curriculum for math classes like geometry. I doubt many adults could handle it unless they are math majors. (Some students couldn't handle it either).
4. Free Fridays where parents teach the last hour on a skill of interest, baking, carving etc...
5. Building ukuleles from scratch.

[barnhart]

Trouble is, at least in our parts, “industrial arts “ had been completely eliminated from the curriculum by the time my daughters were in high school, about 20 years ago. Old shop wing was torn down.

This was for lack of demand, how many jobs in your area would prioritize skills with a table saw, drill press, or milling machine. Would you recommend your children take industrial arts training to fit into the job market?

[Wesleyb]

Love it.

Love to see this kind of thing happening!

Hey, I’m pretty sure you guys aren’t allowed to say stuff like that in here. Any discussion of public schools must include complaints about how libs and leftists are ruining education these days. It’s got to be in the user agreement somewhere. . .

Trouble is, at least in our parts, “industrial arts “ had been completely eliminated from the curriculum by the time my daughters were in high school, about 20 years ago. Old shop wing was torn down.

The county school system here has a very active "vocational technical center". When I was in our church's high school 40 years ago two of my friends were allowed to come to the church school in the morning and take vo-tech classes there in the afternoon. One in masonry and one in auto mechanics. I think they stopped doing that soon after because they changed the schedules so it no longer worked out.

[ohio jones]

This isn't "modern American" but a unique educational concept I saw referenced recently at the Queensland Railway museum. At one time they had rail cars fitted out as portable classrooms for home ec and shop, as a way of providing intensive instruction for a week or two at a time in remote communities where permanent facilities were not available.

[Ken]

Love it.

Love to see this kind of thing happening!

Hey, I’m pretty sure you guys aren’t allowed to say stuff like that in here. Any discussion of public schools must include complaints about how libs and leftists are ruining education these days. It’s got to be in the user agreement somewhere. . .

Trouble is, at least in our parts, “industrial arts “ had been completely eliminated from the curriculum by the time my daughters were in high school, about 20 years ago. Old shop wing was torn down.

Strangely, you can thank Ross Perot in part for that. But that is a long story.

Everything in education seems to come full circle though. So we are back emphasizing CTE (career and technical education) in high school again. Newly built high schools tend not to have "wood shop" and "metal shop" like the high schools of old. Instead they have "maker spaces" which tend to have a lot of the same equipment but where they teach things like mechanical engineering, robotics, and so forth.

The facility I pictured above which is more construction trades oriented is a little more unique. It was built at just one HS in the district (out of 5) with a combination of donations and grants.

[Judas Maccabeus]

Trouble is, at least in our parts, “industrial arts “ had been completely eliminated from the curriculum by the time my daughters were in high school, about 20 years ago. Old shop wing was torn down.

This was for lack of demand, how many jobs in your area would prioritize skills with a table saw, drill press, or milling machine. Would you recommend your children take industrial arts training to fit into the job market?

I would want them to at least have a year of woods/metals/basic electrical as I had. One class out of seven for a year, I have found it to be one of the most useful classes I have ever taken.