On 06/12/2019 11:03, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Fri, 6 Dec 2019 09:40:36 +0000 (UTC), Brian Reay wrote:

That kind of â tinkeringâ by children is pretty well a thing of the
past.

Toys like Mecanno, the various electronic assembly toys, books which
encouraged youngsters to experiment with basic science etc, are no
longer popular.

But still easyly available, so someone must be buying them.

We certainly did for our daughters but from my time teaching I'm sure we
were in a minority.

You still find youngsters who do tinker with things etc - I bumped into
a former pupil a few months back and he reminded me I'd given him a
special version of the R Pi OS I'd assembled when he was in Year 7 or
so. He had just secured a place at a good Uni to study for an
engineering degree. There were others who tinkered with computers at the
'low level' and/or electronics/amateur radio etc but not many. To most
technology was something you bought.

Even basis DIY skills seem be an issue for many youngsters.

And no, I'm not someone who likes to damn the younger generation- I
think we've done them a disservice by not ensuring encouraging them to
learn basic skills.

Our three could all do basic things like fit a plug, change a fuse, when
they could drive, change a wheel, check the oil etc. When they went to
Uni, I sent them off with a basic tool kit. When they got their first
flat etc I bought them a reasonable DIY tool set. In particular, when
they shared a house as students, they were the ones who fixed things.
Oh, they are all girls- I've no time for stereotypes, I've worked with
some excellent female engineers.



The world is a very different place these days. Kids have other ways
of "building" things that have far faster, idea, build, try, fail,
new idea loops. And for things that are all but impossible to do in
the real world. Anything from spacecraft or land based vehicles to
electronic circuits into discreet component logic blocks into
computers...

Those have their place and I'm certainly not deprecating them. However,
they shouldn't replace the teaching of the real basics. Plus, even the
best computer based modeling SW has its limitations. Been there, seen
the 'work arounds' ;-) (EMI compatibility is a good example.)


What they don't teach are the physical skills, like how to use a
screwdriver, hammer, spanner, etc. How various materials behave under
various stress's (heat, cold, tension, compression, bending,
twisting...).


Those are the key skills which are so often lacking in people.