My daughter's teacher

[Kevin Kf knives]

I did all my work in half of a normal 2 car garage...we were in a gated community and no one gave me any grief, even with the noise of the machines and dust collectors. I was not forging or using a power hammer, so the noise wasn't too bad. Running good dust collection may reduce the dust into the house issue...we had no problem with it.

Surprised to hear about the shed issues in the Redland's, thought everyone had a shed/barn there.

Yeah, I went against all the advice and pulled a homeowner's permit for the shed. It took 3 trips to Coral Way, then a "test" for them to say it's ok for a company to roll off a shed onto an existing slab. I started Nov 1st, finally passed inspection Jan 14. The biggest issue I had was, the first person I talked to told me to do one thing, the next person said something completely different, the third had their own way it had to be done too.

 

[Carterwhopkins]

Sometimes better to ask forgiveness than permission....not surprising. I was in corporate real estate in Miami and was involved in interior build outs for my clients' office spaces....permitting was always the biggest lead time item. For a while in Miramar, it could take 6 months to get a bldg permit.

 

[scott kozub]

I knew someone's daughter who's teacher asked where electricity comes from. She answered Niagara falls hydro electric plant. The teacher replied the wall. Don't read much into it.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I had a teacher correct my son's test marking that he was wrong on a question. He had written that Christopher Columbus sailed west to America. She marked it wrong ( and I assume many other students were marked wrong, too). I made a note on the test that she was wrong, and that indeed, Columbus had sailed west. He took it to her the next day and she made a comment in front of the class that his father must be an idiot if he thinks Columbus sailed west. He was very upset, and ran out of the room crying. They sent him down to the nurse, who called my wife to come get him. I told him not to worry about it and that I would make sure his teacher knew what the right answer was. It was Friday, and like kids do, he forgot it after ice cream and a weekend of family fun. That night, I called a friend who was on a civic committee with me. He also happened to be the school board superintendent. We set a meeting for Monday at 10AM at his office with the teacher (no explanation to her as of why). The teacher, superintendent, and I sat down. She asked why she was there, and I took out the test. I asked the superintendent which direction Columbus would have sailed to come to America. He replied - WEST. The teacher looked confused and asked, "Then why is it called the East Coast?" After a brief geography and compass discussion she acquiesced that she was wrong. Then the superintendent really lowered the boom about her calling a child's father an idiot in front of the class. I received an apology from her, but told her I wasn't the offended one. I also pointed out that I didn't call her an idiot for being a certified teacher who doesn't know directions or why it is called then East Coast. The superintendent told her to apologize to the entire class and my son the next morning, and explain why what she said was so wrong. It happened, and I hope she became a better teacher …. but I tend to doubt it.

 

[Carterwhopkins]

You can't fix stupid....wow!

 

[Randydb]

I had a teacher correct my son's test marking that he was wrong on a question. He had written that Christopher Columbus sailed west to America. She marked it wrong ( and I assume many other students were marked wrong, too). I made a note on the test that she was wrong, and that indeed, Columbus had sailed west. He took it to her the next day and she made a comment in front of the class that his father must be an idiot if he thinks Columbus sailed west. He was very upset, and ran out of the room crying. They sent him down to the nurse, who called my wife to come get him. I told him not to worry about it and that I would make sure his teacher knew what the right answer was. It was Friday, and like kids do, he forgot it after ice cream and a weekend of family fun. That night, I called a friend who was on a civic committee with me. He also happened to be the school board superintendent. We set a meeting for Monday at 10AM at his office with the teacher (no explanation to her as of why). The teacher, superintendent, and I sat down. She asked why she was there, and I took out the test. I asked the superintendent which direction Columbus would have sailed to come to America. He replied - WEST. The teacher looked confused and asked, "Then why is it called the East Coast?" After a brief geography and compass discussion she acquiesced that she was wrong. Then the superintendent really lowered the boom about her calling a child's father an idiot in front of the class. I received an apology from her, but told her I wasn't the offended one. I also pointed out that I didn't call her an idiot for being a certified teacher who doesn't know directions or why it is called then East Coast. The superintendent told her to apologize to the entire class and my son the next morning, and explain why what she said was so wrong. It happened, and I hope she became a better teacher …. but I tend to doubt it.

As an educator I have known some awesome teachers and some really poor ones. Of course the awesome ones make learning fun, engage with the students and are learner's themselves. The poor ones tend to be set in their ways and believe no one should question them. For them being questioned is a sign of disrespect. I sure hope your son had more awesome teachers than ones like the one you described.

 

[dirc]

My 10 year old son's teacher had a similar problem, but this one was much easier to forgive I think. We were doing colors and I got scientific & explained pigment vs structure or interference could create the color you see & how they were different things. I gave the example how a blue jays wings and feathers were in fact, not colored blue. The color came from light diffraction. If you squeeze the feather (wrecking the effect), they just look grey/brown. He thought that was the coolest thing. more info here https://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/html/stories/2003/feb03/jays.htm

Well, he came home upset since she said he was wrong. She really just had no idea. I give him the above print out and told him to show it to her.
She then said they were not teaching things that were so advanced... and tried to give herself an excuse. He now understands BS, and how to recognize it, so overall it was even a better life lesson. It would have been better if she admitted her mistake, everyone can't know everything. But instead her credibility is now (rightly) questioned.

 

[Daniel Swanson]

Makes me glad I live in Montana. The usual follow up question I get is “do you make skinners?”

 

[Kevin Kf knives]

Didn't want to start a new thread, but I use public wifi when I'm waiting around in offices or while the wife and kids are shopping. A lot of times I don't get a good signal in the buildings, so I'll just connect to the free wifi. Like right now, I was on this shopping center's wifi, and it wouldn't let me come to this website. I've had a guy walk by dressed like a girl, a couple of people openly smoking weed, and a variety of other things I don't normally see, but I guess going on a website that talks about knives is way out of line.

 

[TheEdge01]

When I was growing up, teachers and students carried knives in schools. Nowadays people are being geared to view edged tools as nothing more than weapons. The way the teacher reacted may rub a few of us knife aficionados the wrong way, but it really isn’t too surprising.

 

[Cushing H.]

My guess is that the surprise is more, "I can't conceive of even making a knife...and at home!"
You should offer bring some knifes in different stages of completion to your daughter's class for them to see what it looks like to make a knife.
All of the grade 7's in my school get a knife blank and build a handle from wood they found locally and cut by hand(or they can trade their piece with me) that I send off for stabilizing. They also make their own sheathe. It is their going away gift from our school. You just need to make it "normal" at your daughter's school.View attachment 1061122

Randy - most schools in the USA have a “zero tolerance” policy regarding that could even remotely be considered a weapon. Recently there was an honor-roll kid who worked a job in a grocery store (or something like that) that left a box cutter LOCKED IN HIS CAR. They tried to expel him... and the school board rejected pleas to recognize the stupidity of that action given the circumstances. Eventually the outcry became so loud that they let the student finish his senior year, and leave to go to Harvard (or some similar prestigious college. Go figure....

 

[seanj]

People see knives in strange ways at times. I have a relative in California who I showed a photo of a knife to. His response was "it isn't sharp is it?" I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

So many see knives as weapons that if I do talk about knives I'll usually say "cutlery" or something similar.

 

[Randydb]

Randy - most schools in the USA have a “zero tolerance” policy regarding that could even remotely be considered a weapon. Recently there was an honor-roll kid who worked a job in a grocery store (or something like that) that left a box cutter LOCKED IN HIS CAR. They tried to expel him... and the school board rejected pleas to recognize the stupidity of that action given the circumstances. Eventually the outcry became so loud that they let the student finish his senior year, and leave to go to Harvard (or some similar prestigious college. Go figure....

I've seen the same thing in the district I teach in prior to our school opening. I had a grade 7 student who had gone camping on the weekend and had forgotten a small folding swiss army knife in the breast pocket of his jacket. He realized it was in his pocket at recess so he took it to our principal. Principal and district were going to suspend the kid for 3 days! I really went after my principal and senior team and eventually they agreed to just give him a severe reprimand....whatever the hell that means. I was livid that they couldn't see how stupid their zero tolerance rule was.

Our school is so different that we get to do a lot of things with kids that regular schools don't. Knives, saws, and other items are seen and used as tools not weapons. We do a ton of teaching and setting up to be safe before the kids use these thing. You should hear some of the conversations I have with lawyers and my director around safety and risk. Lawyer: "Sh*t, we have to get an Actuary to look at that and then talk to the insurers before you let the kids help load chickens onto a truck. Are the chickens alive? How dangerous are chickens? How do you even come up with f***ing ideas like this? Don't your parents get pissed off? I can't believe I am even talking about sh*t like this happening in a school."

I enjoy the look on their faces. One day I was telling the lawyer about my students making duck soup with some ducks that a couple of my duck hunting buddies had given us. "Hold it! Were the ducks whole? Like heads, webbed feet and feathers? Bills? Guts? Hell your parents must have been ready to slaughter you!" He didn't even understand the irony of his statement. I'm told I have to let parents and the senior team know if I ever shoot a deer and take it to school fo the children to butcher. Apparently deer are higher risk than ducks.

A few pictures of tool use in our school.

 

[FredyCro]

Couple of this stories gave me a really good laugh, but I couldn't help myself to think that they are sad as well. Loved the last pics and also thought that it is something that a lot of (city) schools miss. From a European point of view the story of Columbus could make me cry.

As a lawyer to be I am not going around office and telling people I make knifes, but my friends and people that surround me in my free time think it's awesome.

 

[Horsewright]

People see knives in strange ways at times. I have a relative in California who I showed a photo of a knife to. His response was "it isn't sharp is it?" I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

So many see knives as weapons that if I do talk about knives I'll usually say "cutlery" or something similar.

Not this part of Cali! Just turned 17 year old Emma is castrating her first calf:

Keep telling ya guys there's no bikinis and palm trees around here:

 

[Ken H>]

GREAT THREAD!!!! So glad it got opened up again. I missed it first time around.

Emma's being raised right!!! I need to find the photo of my 15 yr old granddaughter skinning the first deer she shot.

Randy, those are GREAT photos of the kids cleaning fish, and holding up a string of guts... ahh, "intestines". Brought back memories of my daughters around that age cutting open the stomach of fish to see what they'd been eating.

 

[Kevin Kf knives]

I remember reading a story about a 5 or 6 year old kid that got expelled for playing with "finger guns" in class. Kind of ridiculous these days.

 

[madcap_magician]

Whenever I tell people about my knife hobby (I don't make them, though, just collect), it always seems to go over a little better when I tell them that I'm into just about everything and that I like kitchen knives and historical swords and Swiss Army Knives all about the same. Just seems to be less weird to randos than it would be if I was a basement dweller who only liked mall ninja tactifoolery.

 

[Cushing H.]

Couple of this stories gave me a really good laugh, but I couldn't help myself to think that they are sad as well. Loved the last pics and also thought that it is something that a lot of (city) schools miss..

Agreed they are sad. Like i suppose people think that the meat they but in the store comes out of the momma cow all neatly portioned and sitting on styrofoam and wrapped in plastic? Or that their washed and pre cut vegetables are plucked from the plant already sitting inside of a plastic bag?

even sadder, randy, is your story of the boy who DID THE RIGHT AND HONEST thing in handing the camping knife over to the principal, and gets punished for it? What possible kind of positive “lesson” does that teach anyone?

im not sure where that leaves this forum. Certainly some makers make some pretty funky “fantasy” knives ... but most (at least that i have seen) are tools meant to do a job. I dont hunt (never have), and most of what i cut are vegetables, but have no trouble making a skinner for a friend who does hunt (i need to get that bolster on it today!). Horsewright - you very, very clearly make tools for a job. i think your community has the right of it in exposing all, especially youngsters, to “what needs to be done”. I think it is healthier for it.

not so sure about holding the knife in your teeth though.

 

[Horsewright]

Agreed they are sad. Like i suppose people think that the meat they but in the store comes out of the momma cow all neatly portioned and sitting on styrofoam and wrapped in plastic? Or that their washed and pre cut vegetables are plucked from the plant already sitting inside of a plastic bag?

even sadder, randy, is your story of the boy who DID THE RIGHT AND HONEST thing in handing the camping knife over to the principal, and gets punished for it? What possible kind of positive “lesson” does that teach anyone?

im not sure where that leaves this forum. Certainly some makers make some pretty funky “fantasy” knives ... but most (at least that i have seen) are tools meant to do a job. I dont hunt (never have), and most of what i cut are vegetables, but have no trouble making a skinner for a friend who does hunt (i need to get that bolster on it today!). Horsewright - you very, very clearly make tools for a job. i think your community has the right of it in exposing all, especially youngsters, to “what needs to be done”. I think it is healthier for it.

not so sure about holding the knife in your teeth though.

Two schools of thought on that. One you are keeping it cleaner for the calf rather than setting it down. You will find that most folks that cut a lot of calves will do this and hold the knife in their teeth. Ready for the second cut, they just drop it from the teeth into the hand and away ya go. The other way is to set it down and then pick it back up to finish. You set it on the ground? Ya set it on the calf hmm? Trouble arises when ya mix the two. Ya set it down and gets some of that guacamole that can abound at such times on it and then you forget and put it back in your mouth. Predigested grass is not tasty! In that pic above between the guy in the blue and tan plaid shirt and the guy in the yellow and blue plaid shirt that were coaching Emma, they've probably cut over a couple quiltrillion calves. Emma asked after the first cut, what do I do with the knife? They both said put it in your teeth and she did, didn't even heistate. Real life stuff, kinda like Randy's school. Emma has just been hanging with us for a couple years, she didn't grow up doing this but she's learning fast.