Education Rant w/ Studebaker Connection

[BobPalma]

The Summer 2013 edition of Hagerty Classic Cars / Fueling the Motoring Lifestyle arrived in this morning's mail. Great issue.

Of special Studebaker interest was this item about SDCer Robert Roach, Auto Shop Teacher in Carson High School of the Los Angeles Unified School District:



Hopefully, all will be able to read it in the above posting.

Education Rant: For all the money that is today throw away, wasted, and otherwise squandered on the most useless and often culture-damaging nonsense imaginable, Roach is given only $200 -yes, $200 per year- for the Auto Shop program! I know it's only June 5, but I hope that is the stupidest item I read about education funding priorities this month. Ridiculous.

Meanwhile, Robert, if you are on the forum, please identify yourself. And congratulations on the Hagerty magazine exposure and your fine work with Jason Thomas and the kids out there, through Collectors Foundation. Cool beans. BP

[ddub]

One of my principals, when I worked in education, wisely said "people are programs". You get a guy like Robert Roach who builds a great program like this and the school may be forced to fund it. Have a couple of influential parents get on the superintendents case. I suppose that may not work in LA like it does in a small town.

[JimC]

That's outrageous! How can you teach any program, especially automotive tech, on a $200 annual budget?!?! If you bought a couple mechanic's grade hand tools at full retail, you'd hit your budget in seconds. And want to buy a couple SBC's to teach kids the basics about engines? Fat chance.

I get that budgets are tightening everywhere, and more and more schools are stripping down to the bare basics as far as curriculum, but isn't the whole reason we give up a little bit of our freedom to tech kids our own way and cart them of like cattle to these public institutions because by doing so, they can afford to offer more to kids?

And besides that, I don't know if the school boards out there have noticed, but pretty much everyone owns or at least drives a car. If we don't teach kids to work on those machines, what are they going to do when they break down? We are setting our kids up for failure by not providing these opportunities to them.

[JimC]

Also, this story shows why this club is so great. We stick together and get things done.

[FlatheadGeo]

I have to agree with all of the above posts. It is a sad commentary on today's educational system when all we do is teach the students to take tests. Auto, wood and other hands on classes teach critical thinking skills alongside practical math and communication skills!!!