The Joy of the Classroom: Et ut mercedem hoc faciunt

I am monitoring a computer-based class that puts geometry and trades-skills into the hands of America's future workforce. Today, this class of sophomores create house-blue prints including steps overview, draw for depth viewing, sketch and mechanical drawings.

One young gent created a cylindrical design for a two story home buttressed by concave supports.

Most designs apply Euclidian geometry with 90 degree line of sight, transfer with dividers and more triangular aspects to design.

All are really cool.

The skilled trades are screaming for capable young people to fill in the ranks of people from my generation, who decided to forgo Loyola, or Depaul for the Washburn and union trades apprentice programs.

This 'hands on' attention to academic details, that will impact on their lives in more dramatic ways than, Moby Dick, the )Peace of Westphalia, the Treaty of Utrecht, or the Henry Wallace attempt to turn America into a Soviet-agency in 1948, has the men engaged. The Class is known as AUTOCAD and it takes the place of the old mechanical drawing and drafting classes of old.

It is a great deal of fun watching the guys at each station measure twice and cut once.

We listen to the magnificent genius of Chet Baker and Bill Evans from their signature recording sessions from 1958-1959.  Perfect for the meticulous and exact work being performed on the thirty Dell desktop stations loaded with the Auto ACad soft- ware How High The Moon, Time on My Hands and You and the Night and Music. 

I get paid to do this.