I originally wrote about something else for today, but then I saw this twice yesterday on Facebook – shared both by an old friend and the first girl I ever wrote a song about (my brother and sister found my lyrics … and read them … out loud … it is the third-most horrifying moment of my life).
It’s actually from last year (the video – not my lyrics). Isn’t it funny how all good things make their way to you eventually?
My dad’s one of these guys Mike talks about. He can take apart and build anything – without directions.
Sadly, I’m a check-on-the-counter guy. Over the last few years, working so closely with so many tradesmen, I’ve learned a lot about the value and importance of work, but I’ve never said it as well as Mike said it last year before the US Senate.
Take a couple minutes and watch this today, please, and think about it the next time you just leave a check on the counter.
Click here if you can’t see the embedded video.
Thanks, Mike. Your mom and dad sitting there behind you sure must’ve been proud.
I know your grandfather is, too.
(Thanks to Chad and Amy for sharing.)
Awesome! As a former High School teacher, I saw some of this first-hand: the vocational programs were underfunded or all-but-eliminated, and every kid was pushed through a college-prep curriculum that absolutely did not suit or meet the needs of all or even most kids. And as a former production supervisor at a manufacturing plant, I can also testify to the kinds of pay that skilled labor can command. Everything Mike said was dead nuts accurate.
My wife and I took our teenage son to the Jackson Area Career Center to talk about some of the “tech” opportunities there. He has a love for all things Apple and would like to become an Apple Certified Technician. He is about to start high school and we wanted to show him some possibilities. He is an all-A student who tests off the charts, is taking AP classes as a freshman, and could graduate a year early if he wanted to. His friends laughed at him for even considering the Career Center because it was “only for dropouts and druggies”.
Au contraire! He could become an Apple Certified Technician before he graduates. Oh, and they currently make over $45/hour. He could pay his own way to college with that kind of money.
Skilled tradesmen and apprenticeships will make a comeback. I’m surprised they haven’t already.