Trade schools are not a tradeoff

When Peter was enrolled in college his parents often heard him say: “I don’t like it!” He took a year off and worked in construction, where he discovered he was good at using his visual and spatial abilities. 

 

Then Peter discovered the American College of the Building Arts on Meeting Street in downtown Charleston and learned that building and historic restoration are art. Finally, his parents heard: “I like that!”

 

Most schools went virtual in 2019 during the pandemic, but the college never physically closed. It was not possible to close the labs where students practice blacksmithing, carpentry, timber framing, plaster and stone carving. Charleston’s historic, classical architecture feeds the soul of these students.

 

This isn’t only a trade school, but in fact a fully accredited four-year academic college additionally having hands-on projects for students that crave to create. Peter, majoring in timber framing, didn’t find the general education requirements a bore, as subjects such as math are useful to calculate load, and geometry is applicable to

joinery design. Academics were easier to understand because they apply to real and tangible work. Ideally, students have some experience with line drawing and design, but Peter had none. Yet he was able to learn it from scratch and constructed many fine structures in timber.

 

Author Daniel Pink in his book “A Whole New Mind” talks about right-brain and left-brain dominance. Students, such as Peter, may be more left-brained as they prosper with logical, concrete tasks and are well-coordinated with their hands. They work best when given clear directions and feedback, and can be imaginative and creative,

especially on a capstone project. 

 

While visiting the school, I saw students happily engaged in their craft, smiling and chatting with one another. They formed a tight-knit group of artisans who related easily with one another yet worked on projects alone. The learning here is sequential, more concrete than abstract, and involves understanding the details of how metal, wood, stone and plaster behave. 

 

Artisans come from all sorts of mind-sets. For example, Maya Lin’s Vietnam Memorial is an example of an idea-driven concept, bereft of form, whereas the sculpture of the Marine Corps War Memorial started as an idea but is expressed in the realistic form of soldiers planting a flag. This college is for the realist who loves the way artisans in years past sculpted, bent metal to create beautiful gates like Philip Simmons did, and created beautiful buildings.

 

Some students are not served by book-driven education alone where they learn theoretical models, constructs and ideas. Students, like Peter, prefer to do and see tangible results and shine when they can develop their hands-on skills. It’s reassuring to realize that these artisans-in-the-making can have a good life that will be built by their own hands. Utilizing their new-found craft, they will not let the old-world craftsmanship pass us by. 

 

C. Claire Law, M.S. Daniel Island Educational Consultant, helps teens find the right educational setting for their innate personality preferences. For more insight, visit eduave.com.