Those who can, do...

There's the old adage that "those who can, do, and those who can't, teach."  I've had far too many excellent teachers in my five decades on this planet to buy into that line of thought, but every now and again, even the most tired phrases ring true.

Now, before I get into the meat of this post, I want to issue the following disclaimer: I do NOT spend (all) of my time surfing the Internet trying to find things to be angry about. It just so happens that the Internet is a very big place, largely inhabited by our fellow beings and, as a result, there is much on the Internet to be angry about.

I consider myself lucky that I am from perhaps the last generation of American school children who experienced art and music, home economics and shop, as a required part of their education.  Somewhere along our "Race to the Top" (perhaps that greatest misnomer of all time), we decided that, as long as kids could achieve decent scores on standardized tests, trivial matters like learning how to sew on a button, recognizing beauty in the world around oneself, or being able to distinguish between a claw hammer and a rock lobster, were completely unnecessary in a world where "(d) all of the above" is always the correct answer.

Now, I will also admit that I have made MANY mistakes in the shop...some of which I have paid for and have the scars to show for my carelessness. Most, however, were "near misses" that left me a bit rattled, yet grateful that there were no witnesses to my stupidity.  Most of us, from time to time, leave the safety goggles on the bench, forget the hearing protection or the dust mask, or get halfway through a cut on the table saw before we think about using a push stick. But working alone in your shop is entirely different than teaching someone else how to do it correctly.  Which brings me to this post.

While recently surfing Facebook, I followed a link to a "suggested page," which, in turn, took me to a page set up by a blacksmith who laid claim to "teaching" his craft at a prominent fine arts center in a large metropolitan city located in the Northwestern part of the United States.The gentleman in question likes to post lots of information on his Facebook page, including numerous vintage safety posters, like this one...

The natural conclusion would be that this "teacher" is safety conscious...right?  A great thing for a "teacher" to be - especially one who is "teaching" others how to comport themselves around machines, materials and conditions that could conceivably maim and/or kill them.  Which led me to a video of one of his "apprentices" bending some red hot steel rod.  Here are a couple of stills from that particular piece of work:

As you will note, our "apprentice" is all decked out in the classic "what not to wear to shop class" ensemble.  While apparently appropriate at this particular fine arts center, this outfit would get you kicked out of any 8th grade shop class in the country...and with good reason.

And, as if just showing up in that gear isn't bad enough, we compound our lack of self preservation by inching closer towards self immolation.

(As a side note, I do find the "skull and crossbones" T-shirt amusingly ironic   Do you suppose that this is a warning to the other students in the class of the imminent danger of working near this idiot or simply a self recognition of  being on borrowed time?)

So, being the concerned citizen that I am, I offered the following comment:

"Nice work...but loose clothing hanging over hot steel? That's an accident waiting to happen."

To which I received the following reply:

"All I ask is for folks to wear natural fibers cotton wool etc. Natural fibers burn quite slowly they smolder. Synthetic fibers are the ones to get nervous about they tend to melt and stick to skin. Regardless my apprentice is a 66 year old man who will take responsibility for his own actions. If I doubted his common sense we would not be working together. Thanks for your concern and stay safe."

Well...OK, then.  If you're still with me, let me sum up what I take from this reply:

1. Burning to death slowly is better than burning to death quickly...especially if the later is accompanied by a sticky mess that will just make extra work for the folks at the mortuary.
2. There are actually human beings who have lived nearly seven decades on this planet who have apparently missed some of the basic lessons in life, such as, "fire is hot."
3. There are "teachers" out there who believe that they have no obligation to actually "teach" their students about doing things correctly or safely, provided that their students take responsibility for their own actions and therefore, absolve the "teacher" from any culpability for dangerous and asinine behavior.
4. That there are two people in this equation who lack common sense - the 66 year old who doesn't have enough common sense to dress appropriately for the job at hand and the "teacher" who believes that, despite obvious evidence to the contrary, the 66 year old actually has some.

Frankly, none of this should come as a great revelation to any of us who are paying attention to the world around us, but truly, the closing line is a killer!    

"Thanks for your concern and stay safe."

Maybe it's just the cynic in me, but, when taken in context with the rest of the reply, that sounds an awful lot like "Why don't you take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut?" And, if so, I forgive you...'cause, friend, if this video is any indication of how you stay safe, and are teaching others how to do so, I'll take my chances on that doughnut any day of the week and keep myself out of any shop that would hire you as a "teacher."

You might want to take a minute out of your life and go read your posters...