I once met this guy from Russia that told me that as a 12 year old he had a job at the train station, making the train signals fall in time and the alarms go at their scheduled times and no one in his town thought this was a bit unusual. I always thought that story was pretty badass.
They gave him a job that he really wanted and didn't force him into anything. It was only on weekends.
My point was that training kids to do things is not a bad idea. We should have open, voluntary programs across the country where teenagers can apply to learn trade skills and be a part of apprenticeship programs free of charge.
Totally agree. I'd have thrived with an exposure to welding and machinery as a child but it's all "too dangerous". Which I guess can be very true, but this 8-3 math oriented ratrace they call school that teaches you only to work in data entry has got to go before we progress as a county, in my opinion.