Shop Class as Soulcraft: The Value of Work

Article Author name(s): Joseph Henderson
Title of article: Book Review of Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford
Title of journal: Educational Leadership
Date of publication: March 2011
Volume of the journal: 68
Issue number of the journal: 6
Article Page numbers: pp. 92-93

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar11/vol68/num06/Book-Review.aspx

Key Points: Students have exceptional skills with machinery and tools, but because they may not perform academically, they are considered “failures”. Author of Shop Class of Soulcraft Joe Crawford believes we should rethink how we value working with one's hands and reclaim that skill as a valid intelligence. Crawford's arguments challenge much about our factory-model schools, which value some intelligences and marginalize others because instead of promoting unique and creative learning, we push a forced curriculum. This author argues that as a result of placing no value on valid life skills and forcing only academic learning, we are creating a generation who is unable to care for themselves or relate to frequently occurring life experiences. Crawford states, “I want students who can fix an engine, tend the soil, and weigh ethical tensions”. In other words, there is value is students who become productive and efficient adults, whether they go to college or become experts in any given trade, either way they are considered productive and necessary members of the community.

Relevance: I thought this was an interesting article because in class recently we discussed all of the electives that we as students found beneficial that have since been cut from school, shop class included. This article may help to address the fact that not every student is college bound, but that doesn’t mean students are any less eager to learn such trades as plumbing, art, welding, etc. Many of our students this day and age may opt to go directly to work using a skill as opposed to amassing significant student loans.