ravells: Miko, I'm curious, What did you learn, apart from how to make a cylinder insert, bricks and digging / growing stuff in fields?
I learned:
- how the tractor engines are actually made/food is grown and harvested
- what are the working conditions at a factory/collective farm
- what it is to work an 8-hour day (or night - we had 3 shifts)
- whether I could do that kind of work if needed (say, prevented from working as an engineer for having big mouth)
- whether I would want to do that kind of work (a worker was paid 1.5-2.5 times the salary of an engineer)
- what kind of people are working at the factory/farm
- what is involved in running a factory/farm
I also unloaded freight cars on the railroad, worked as a draftsman, and probably few others.
Those jobs I did were not apprenticeships - they did not have a goal of giving me expertise and speciality for life. Rather it served as invaluable life experience helping me extend my horizons. Also I made some money.
I'm not sure it would be a great idea having children operating a iron foundry or working in other heavy industry. I would imagine the accident rate would be quite high unless there was plenty of adult supervision.
Common sense must be used by adults, as usual.
Isn't the idea behind education to allow children to learn enough so that they can have the wherewithall to choose what they want to be in later life?
There are a lot of things one cannot possibly learn through theoretical studies. Also, you may know how something is made in general but you will never know if you would like to do that yourself, unless you see the real process.
If they spend all their time working on a field they won't be qualified to do anything else later on.
Children have plenty of time in the summer or they could work some nights or weeknds. Also, if a child is not motivated to learn, his time is wasted. On the other hand he could go and work and then return to learning once he knows he wants it.
I am not talking here about the government making children work, jut about the government not preventing them from work.
miko