The First Day of Shop Class
April 18, 2023 5:09 pm ET Like Mark Naida, I too found a rite of passage in wood-shop class (“I Came, I Sawed, I Conquered,” op-ed, April 13). I also went to school in rural Michigan, but as a girl I had to petition to get into wood-shop class. On the first day, I cut my finger to the bone using the bandsaw. The instructor, instead of offering medical assistance for my gushing finger, said, “That’s why we don’t let girls into shop class.” I had never before noticed sexism, but the experience redoubled my determination to overcome it. I went on to build an airplane. Lynne Wainfan, Ph.D. Long Beach Calif.
Like Mark Naida, I too found a rite of passage in wood-shop class (“I Came, I Sawed, I Conquered,” op-ed, April 13). I also went to school in rural Michigan, but as a girl I had to petition to get into wood-shop class. On the first day, I cut my finger to the bone using the bandsaw. The instructor, instead of offering medical assistance for my gushing finger, said, “That’s why we don’t let girls into shop class.”
I had never before noticed sexism, but the experience redoubled my determination to overcome it. I went on to build an airplane.
Lynne Wainfan, Ph.D.
Long Beach Calif.
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