John Chocholak, who trained as a concert violinist and is now a machinist and high school "shop" teacher (Ukiah, California) shared the following:

At my high school we just put 8.5 million dollars into rebuilding our "hands-on" industrial technology programs. State testing and the rush to raise scores has caused many of our students to take remedial academic classes instead of our welding, machining, auto, wood and drafting classes. We have state model programs (some recognized as national models) that are slowly getting smaller because of the rush to send everyone to college.

Academic proficiency is very important (but) an extra English class in place of a wood shop class is an assault on the ability of students to make choices and pursue a possible life long interest in creative, fulfilling work.

Free play in the "sand box" was great when I was a young child. I learned a lot of stuff there. As an adult my shop is my "sand box"; my free play time there helps me cope with life and enjoy the work I create with my own hands.

I love sharing this wonderful stuff with my students.
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Charles H. Ham's book, Mind and Hand, in his description of the ideal school suggests the shop where students make things from wood and metal as being the next step in progression to follow kindergarten. Kindergarten as it was envisioned by Froebel was a time of exploration of objects and creative play. Why should that stop, ever in the lives of children or adults?