The Cognitive Value of Making

Why do we still place so much more value on academic ability versus practical skills? In school from a really young age to the working world in adulthood! If you are academically gifted then great, but if like many you struggle, there are other valid intellectual paths. In our society manual work is seen as menial and for the uneducated, so is not valued as a career path in the same way as office/computer-based thinking work. Manual work is very often viewed as a last resort so there are not the same opportunities for learning and training as there are in academic subjects. This is evident in the many practical courses that have now disappeared including the degree course that I did.

Preserving Skills

My own creative work is centred around preserving traditional metalworking skills and passing that on through teaching. Some of the skills of our past have been lost and others are at risk. Heritage Crafts do amazing work around this with vast research and support to protect our traditional craft skills.

A brief history of manual work and creativity with a modicum of university education.

The topic of manual/practical skills versus academia has always been of interest to me as a creative hands-on person who did not do well in academic subjects. I was lucky that I was encouraged to be creative and follow the path that suited me, my sister is a social worker, and my brother is a brick layer. My mum was a single parent and has always been creative but went back into education when I was a teenager, getting a degree in psychology followed by her Ph.D. and a career in academia. My dad was apprentice trained as a cabinet maker; he had to sidestep for a while in the 1980s to get work but since then set up a successful business for many years. My maternal grandad was a farmer, and my paternal grandad was a plumber. I was the second in my immediate family to go to university and I was in my 20s (my mum was in her 30s), I only went because I didn’t know of any other way to learn metalwork and jewellery skills. I don’t regret doing the degree I did, I learnt a lot of basic hand skills and how to write a better essay, but it’s a bit like driving, the real learning came after. Of course, there is also the financial commitment and following debt that comes with going to university, often without the promise of a well-paid job afterwards.

Sharing Skills

I work with metal but many of the tools I use are wood or nylon. As part of a project a few years ago I wanted to make some of my own tools. With the help of a woodturner I made these three formers and a couple of handles for hammers.

Learning a trade.

I wish I had learned a trade! My brother is a brick layer and a couple of weeks ago I went to my mums in Lincolnshire and saw some of his work first hand. He has removed the old conservatory and built a new one, with some help from colleagues. I knew what he did but rarely get to see it and it is impressive! This is highly skilled work and is treated as such in some other countries, but not here, WHY?

Shortly after this visit to my mums I was watching the morning news and there was a segment all about the huge shortage of construction workers. This was highlighted further by the lack of opportunities to learn the necessary skills to get into a trade. Particularly somewhere rural like Lincolnshire, young people are having to travel over an hour each way by public transport to learn some of these trades.

‘The latest Office for National statistics figures shows that there are over 35,000 job vacancies and employers report that over half of vacancies can’t be filled due to a lack of required skills – the highest of any sector’.

There is a plan, but I wonder why it has got this bad. Well, I have some ideas but that would be whole different blog post! You can read more about the government skills programme plan here, if you know anyone that would benefit from this information.

Teaching Craft and learning from it.

For the last 10 years I have been lucky enough to teach jewellery and metalwork skills to adults who want to learn hand skills and make jewellery and metal objects. This is not a formal education setting but since these are few and far between now, we bridge a gap. Most of our students are working full time or retired and many have much more traditional careers of teachers, doctors, nurses, social workers and so on. Many people I know that took a more academic route into a thinking/office-based job are looking for a creative outlet! I believe it is deep in our nature to create things, grow things, build things that offer a tangible outcome, this is what keeps us connected and grounded.

A good few years ago, while I was studying, I came across a book written by Matthew Crawford. This book confirmed thoughts I had around ‘thinking and doing’ being completely intertwined. The idea that learning through doing, offers a different kind of education and most definitely the best type for me! The book is called ‘The case for working with your hands, or why office work is bad for us and fixing things feel good’.

Through my practical work in designing and making objects I use maths, geometry and science on a regular basis, I just don’t have the type of brain that can easily remember and regurgitate information so didn’t do well in exams. I also tap into multiple skills to do all the admin involved in running a small business, although I don’t excel at all of these things. Through my creative education I have learned to question things, lateral thinking, independent study skills, experimenting, documenting, and more!

I feel sad that some of our young people are getting left behind or won’t be offered the opportunities that will help them thrive. I also feel hopeful that maybe this realisation among our wider communities will create different opportunities.