The Ox

A little long ( 10 min.) but very much worth it! Love this fellow!In the whole world there only two kinds of jobs....there's a job you take a shower before you go to work in the morning and there's a job that you take a shower when you come home from work at night, and the world needs both of us.....
! http://vimeo.com/78788086

Good video. You can never get that bent piece of metal back the way it was.

Its too bad that tech programs are looked down upon and are seen as dumping grounds for children who in Eric's words "don't fit".

I went to a trade school my junior and senior of high school the guidance consoler said everything he could think of to get me to stay at my high school. He said, "Only stupid kids go to tech school your too smart to go there." After a while I caught on to what he was doing, he wanted me to stay there because of my grades. Well I called him out on it and I got in a little trouble because he didn't like it that I figured him out. I went there enjoyed it a lot and graduated with honors and had a good job less than a month after graduating.

Unfortunately some of those trade schools are too often "dumping grounds" that a lot of kids get steered to. I've hired a few over the years and they were gone within a short time because of their poor work attitude and lack of training that they were supposed to have received. But, the local BOSES can also be a dumping ground for poor teachers.

However, there are also some real diamonds in the rough too.

I had one kid that worked for me for 6 years. Very skilled in many hands-on trades and very motivated too. Also, very good at coming up with simple, affective problem solving.

He now owns his own company doing custom interior wood work and restoring old barns into houses for wealthy clients from down in the city.

Paul

Thanks Paul, You may have really helped him out when you hired him for awhile !!

theo wrote:Thanks Paul, You may have really helped him out when you hired him for awhile !!

Maybe, but he taught me a lot too.

Starting in his early teens and on his own initiative, he studied with a local black smith and set up his own forge. Even found a used forge for me.

He saved up money and got into a program of furniture making, using hand tools only and starting with downing the tree.

He's got college degrees in environmental science and electronics and computer programing.

And he's an excellent carpenter.

The kids done more at acquiring skills by age 25 then most skilled people do in a lifetime.

I think I'm the lucky one for knowing him.

Paul

I liked it. Thanks for sharing.