While I really dislike painting with a broad brush about any sort of “good ol’ days”…
I think there’s been a huge loss of generalist knowledge since Gen X. Gen X got to grow up with adults familiar with the pre-tech world and where a lot of things could be and needed to be fixed by yourself, and they grew up with the advent of household technology. From mending fences to replacing a capacitor in a electric motor to fixing your own car. Some of that got passed on to the kids by the boomers. I’m not trying to say this kind of knowledge was common, it was just more common. I dunno if millennials got this knowledge dump too, but if you did, you’re on the hook to pass it on as well.
I looked at the fence and couldn’t understand why someone wouldn’t take the ten minutes to trim the bottom off and buy a small box of the correct nails, but then someone could be in the position of never having been taught to think of those things. Maybe it was just laziness.
So, I appeal to my Gen X brethren - peel yourself and your kids away from the screens and find a way to get your collective hands dirty. Change some brake pads. Fix a fence right. Change the spark plug or oil in a mower. Build a raised-bed garden, even a small one, from scratch. Make the kids do the work they can. Trll them why you chose to do what you did, how you chose the parts, what you need to look out for, etc.
It’s better for problem solving skills, planning, and just understanding how things work. Spare everyone the embarrassment of a shitty fence repair job.
While I really dislike painting with a broad brush about any sort of “good ol’ days”…
I think there’s been a huge loss of generalist knowledge since Gen X. Gen X got to grow up with adults familiar with the pre-tech world and where a lot of things could be and needed to be fixed by yourself, and they grew up with the advent of household technology. From mending fences to replacing a capacitor in a electric motor to fixing your own car. Some of that got passed on to the kids by the boomers. I’m not trying to say this kind of knowledge was common, it was just more common. I dunno if millennials got this knowledge dump too, but if you did, you’re on the hook to pass it on as well.
I looked at the fence and couldn’t understand why someone wouldn’t take the ten minutes to trim the bottom off and buy a small box of the correct nails, but then someone could be in the position of never having been taught to think of those things. Maybe it was just laziness.
So, I appeal to my Gen X brethren - peel yourself and your kids away from the screens and find a way to get your collective hands dirty. Change some brake pads. Fix a fence right. Change the spark plug or oil in a mower. Build a raised-bed garden, even a small one, from scratch. Make the kids do the work they can. Trll them why you chose to do what you did, how you chose the parts, what you need to look out for, etc.
It’s better for problem solving skills, planning, and just understanding how things work. Spare everyone the embarrassment of a shitty fence repair job.