The Cellar - View Single Post

glatt · 11-20-2014, 08:07 AM

I'd love to see the product. Probably a secret for now, but maybe someday. It's cool that the prof is so enthusiastic and there is still some interest out there.

So my son has another massive study guide to go over for this same social studies class. There's a test next week. It's clearly just memorizing shit for the state standardized test. The concepts behind this one 10 page study sheet would fill an entire introductory macroeconomics class in college. But he has two weeks to memorize the definitions of each item on the 10 pages. There's no way he can understand the underlying concepts that quickly. Pisses me off. This entire subject is a waste of everyone's time. He will learn nothing from it but be in agony the entire time.

But this is the proud thread, so let me tell you about Monday of last week. They do a career shadowing day, where the student spends the day with an adult at their job so they get a sense of what kind of work is out there. Glatt Jr. is a builder and tinkerer, so we wound up arranging for him to shadow our electrician friend. He absolutely loved it. Our friend gave him real jobs to do all day long. He was using a right angle drill to drill through the studs the entire length of a wall. He was pulling wire and making connections with wire nuts. He was nailing outlet boxes to studs, after measuring the proper distance from the floor. Cutting holes in drywall and fishing wires through. And he loved every minute of it. Our friend told him that the helpers he normally hires need to have things explained to them a few times, but the boy did everything right the first time. He promised our son that once he turned 14, if the business has enough work lined up and is busy, he would hire him for summer jobs. And then our electrician friend went home and was talking to his wife, saying that if it all worked out, he could see selling the business to our son one day and retiring. The boy is really smart, but hates academics. I think he would make an awesome electrician, and this business has provided a good life for our friend. So who knows? But he got a job offer at age 12!

11-20-2014, 08:07 AM	#168
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	I'd love to see the product. Probably a secret for now, but maybe someday. It's cool that the prof is so enthusiastic and there is still some interest out there. So my son has another massive study guide to go over for this same social studies class. There's a test next week. It's clearly just memorizing shit for the state standardized test. The concepts behind this one 10 page study sheet would fill an entire introductory macroeconomics class in college. But he has two weeks to memorize the definitions of each item on the 10 pages. There's no way he can understand the underlying concepts that quickly. Pisses me off. This entire subject is a waste of everyone's time. He will learn nothing from it but be in agony the entire time. But this is the proud thread, so let me tell you about Monday of last week. They do a career shadowing day, where the student spends the day with an adult at their job so they get a sense of what kind of work is out there. Glatt Jr. is a builder and tinkerer, so we wound up arranging for him to shadow our electrician friend. He absolutely loved it. Our friend gave him real jobs to do all day long. He was using a right angle drill to drill through the studs the entire length of a wall. He was pulling wire and making connections with wire nuts. He was nailing outlet boxes to studs, after measuring the proper distance from the floor. Cutting holes in drywall and fishing wires through. And he loved every minute of it. Our friend told him that the helpers he normally hires need to have things explained to them a few times, but the boy did everything right the first time. He promised our son that once he turned 14, if the business has enough work lined up and is busy, he would hire him for summer jobs. And then our electrician friend went home and was talking to his wife, saying that if it all worked out, he could see selling the business to our son one day and retiring. The boy is really smart, but hates academics. I think he would make an awesome electrician, and this business has provided a good life for our friend. So who knows? But he got a job offer at age 12!