Posted by Judy on Mon, Sep 02, 2024

In my junior high, boys had shop classes like woodworking, electric, printing, and metalwork. We girls had cooking, sewing, or home-ec. I really wanted to get into print shop and my parents spoke to the "dean" about it and he said it couldn't be done, it was for boys only. How sexist was that? I hope the same is not true today. Or do they even have shop classes like those anymore?

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Posted by John S on Mon, Sep 02, 2024

Hey Judy,Cheer up,they put me and two other guys in "Art Weaving", But PS 98 always thought"progressive"

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Posted by Dave G on Mon, Sep 02, 2024

I always thought the shop teachers in my school were like ex-prison guards. They were mean, physically abusive and generally at the low end of the IQ stick.

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Posted by To Judy- Barbara on Mon, Sep 02, 2024

You're absolutely right.........it was totally sexist. My dad was a printer, I would have loved to learn printing.
Cooking didn't interest me. I hated sewing so the teacher gave me needlepoint. I have no idea what
they are teaching these days.....but hopefully they are more conscious of ignoring gender.

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Posted by Ralph on Tue, Sep 03, 2024

At Olinville Junior High, the electric shop teacher had a line painted on the floor a yard in front of his desk. You had to stand behind that line if you wanted to speak to him. Around the edge of his desk was an exposed wire connected to a battery with a switch at his knee. If you leaned on the desk, he would trigger the switch and shock you. I suppose that was one kind of lesson about electricity and circuits we had to learn.

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Posted by Amaranita on Tue, Sep 03, 2024

At EBB, we had either cooking and sewing or wood shop and apartment. They divided us by the first letter of your last name. I think they thought we would prefer the cooking, sewing choice - those were the A - Ls. I was in the M - Z group. I loved it. Got to hammer and saw, and they actually had a classroom divided like an actual apartment. I learned how to make hospital corners and to correctly set a table. Each of those things came in handy for me later in life. (I'm pretty sure cooking would have too, but that's what restaurants are for) My grandfather was tailor. I sort of learned sewing by osmosis.

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Posted by Larry From Ps96 on Thu, Sep 05, 2024

My Olinville JHS gave bot to boys and girl!

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Posted by Ralph on Thu, Sep 05, 2024

Not true when I was at Olinville, 61-63. No girls in my shop classes.

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Posted by Larry From Ps96 on Thu, Sep 05, 2024

I was in sp's. Given to both!

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Posted by Larry From Ps96 on Thu, Sep 05, 2024

And we all go to learn how to use a typewriter!

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Posted by Larry From Ps96 on Thu, Sep 05, 2024

And we all go to learn how to use a typewriter!

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Posted by To Larry on Mon, Sep 09, 2024

Didn't learning the typewriter help you go faster on the computer. I'm grateful for that.

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Posted by Ace on Fri, Sep 13, 2024

I had to endure cooking and sewing classes - they hated me in the cooking class-- I would chew matches and also eat everyone's rejected food (not at the same time). No way in Heaven could I get into the shop classes. But wait--there's More......

Meanwhile at home I was making my own baseball glove, playing baseball and making stuff with the "Nest Of Saws" my mother bought me for $1.00

A few years later I was working on cars-- who taught me? Me.. And I would get sexist comments from SOME of the guys -- the others were polite enough to show me messed up/broken parts of their cars and ask what they could do about them. I never made fun of them, told them what needed to be done and also added some positivity to that specific era. I owned an old street-legal race car and I still have my 73 Chevy which I customized and maintained for over 50 years.....

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Posted by To Ace on Wed, Sep 18, 2024

My kind of woman. I felt that way too.......absolutely no girls in shop........you've done well with your
talents.........

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Posted by Ace on Thu, Sep 19, 2024

Many Many thanks!!

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