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Trade school curriculums - how could they be better?

CharlesKuang
CharlesKuang Member Posts: 1
in THE MAIN WALL

Curious if folks have any ideas on how the trades could be better taught. I'm looking at plumbing programs here in New York City and a lot of them are half theory/half hands-on. The ones I'm looking at are 900 hours, so that's like 450 hours of Zoom (does not sound fun).

Comments

  • GGross
    GGross Member Posts: 1,654

    Apprenticeships through union are the best way that I have seen. It's a commitment on par with college typically but you are working and being paid the whole time and when you are done you have options. Being union affiliated has some big advantages if for nothing else than the experience you get.

    CharlesKuangBig Ed_4
  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 6,592
    edited October 31

    https://ua.org/join-the-ua/find-a-local-union/

  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 25,952

    a good friend was a teacher at a community technical college for many years, solar and hydronics

    Before he retired a few years back he noted a majority of the 1st year students could not solve a basis math problem. That makes for a steep hill to climb for plumbing and heating students. Maybe some better testing and prerequisites

    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    Mad Dog_2Big Ed_4
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 14,643

    i mean the kids that understood math the way schools teach it become engineers. you're going to have to teach it the other ways the primary and secondary schools don't have the resources to

  • Larry Weingarten
    Larry Weingarten Member Posts: 3,973

    Hi @CharlesKuang , One thing that seems to be missing is money smarts, or education on business fundamentals and financial literacy. Knowing these things is just as important as knowing the trade work. We need both.

    Yours, Larry

    hot_rod
  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,505

    What resources don't the primary and secondary schools have access to?

    Just textbooks and teachers are all that is needed.

    My financially strapped school district offered Algebra 1 & 2, geometry, trigonometery, and the beginning of collage level calculus. (late 1960's).

    Having taken all of these prepared anyone for any trade school math.

    mattmia2
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 14,643

    the textbook explains it more or less one way. there are many other ways to explain it and many different algorithms for that matter. if you don't get that particular way you probably aren't going to learn much math in the school systems. different people learn different ways and most school systems don't have the time to explain it different ways to different people.

    Larry Weingarten
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 25,952

    Have you been in a grade school classroom lately? Mayhem! Any education received may be pure luck.

    I believe in this day and age more than ever it is incumbent on the parents to assure the students are actually learning.

    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream

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