Author: Andy Jeon

On Monday (April 13th) Bill Becker, architect and motorcycle builder, will be coming to speak with us.

Chapter 2 discussion

Lead: Barry- connection to Marxist ideas, conflict with Capitalism and how it forces the degradation of quality.

Jen- Connection back to ZAMM and how viewing mechanics that are not engaged in their work or “out of touch” affects their quality.

Anna- introspective look at our paths that we’re on right now–going to college, getting a degree, and pursuing intellectual work can be a not worthwhile experience. Should seek out passions rather than academia if we do not like it.

Taylor- challenges the thought of going immediately to college post high school

– Hien – some opportunities exist in certain high schools for vocational
work or getting certification for a trade.

Professor Littman – brought up point about how taking a break/time away could causea surge in motivation in people.

– Barry & Hien – related to internships in High School and the value of
getting out of the classroom.

Kaixing – It seems like people often flip around in academia, finding a career often unrelated to what they went to school for — value of post-secondary education may be inflated.

Daphne – college being close to home causes college to feel like an extension of high school.

Anna- early emphasis on career planning places unnecessary pressure on students and causes difficulty making decisions at such a young age.

For Monday-

Chapter 3 of Shop Class as Soulcraft

Keep exploring Fusion360

Fluid Mechanics talk by Professor Luigi Martinelli

– Discussion of general fluid mechanics, cooling related to our bikes, and analysis of parts such as the the tires and carburetor.

Review of Fusion 360, recap of our projects and shared thoughts on how we felt using the program so far.

Professor Littman introduced the topic of our final reports. Key points:

– Powerpoint Presentation roughly 6-7 pages related to our small                   group’s topic.

– Should look to incorporate skills with Fusion 360 (such as recreating a             part in the program)

Discussion of Introduction and Chapter 1 in “Shop Class as Soulcraft”

Introduction:

Discussion of labor and how much “thought” is involved in work.

Kate: point about necessity of manual/human jobs, difficulty during our current times.

KaiXing: Even everyday actions are thought provoking; brings up point about the underestimation of physical actions not representative of the underlying effort put into it.

Cecilia: Our dissociation from being hands-on with things reflects ideas of “helplessness” where we rely on others for certain services.

KaiXing: newer technology has brought about a forced distance between us- we now have less control over our technology.

Adam: Lack of innovation/surge of generalists may be from this new emphasis on specialization.

Chapter 1

Hien: the blue collar and white collar jobs we think are more ambiguous than we think: a mechanic puts a lot of thought into troubleshooting as opposed to intellectual work that is often repetitive and lack engagement.

Reese: Related the points about change in teaching to theories of Pedagogy

– Professor Littman adds on: application of learning is lacking, where we should be seeking out questions and identifying them.