Categories: Continue
      Date: Nov  6, 2008
     Title: Apprenticeship- A fresh Look at a Lost Tradition

The graduates stood across the front of the church, each being introduced in turn. “Now, Tim here,” the pastor put his arm around the shoulder of the only homeschool graduate in line. “He’s not sure what he wants to do next.”

Gripping my husband’s hand, I shot him a questioning look. Tim’s parents had already arranged for him to begin an apprenticeship with my husband. Nodding slightly, my husband whispered, “I don’t think pastor quite gets it.”

Most people don’t. Apprenticeship conjures up the colonial “Johnny Tremain” notion of an apprentice living with a master to learn a trade. That notion is foreign to most people and they do not see its application in today’s society. Graduates are supposed to go to college and somewhere along the way figure out what they want to do with their lives. High school graduates who do not go to college are assumed to be unable to go to college; they enter the work force. Apprenticeship is an alternative to the status quo.

As a builder and contractor with a heart for training and discipling young men, my husband, Steve, has had the opportunity to have several apprentices through the years. Our experience has been a little different with each young man, depending on his goals and circumstances. Most were young men finishing up the academic portion of their education, not wanting to follow the crowd into college.

In contrast to apprenticeship, my husband’s trade also provides opportunities for typical employment and he has hired young men for those positions, as well. There are at least three major differences between the young men he hires as employees and the young men he takes on as apprentices, although on paper their duties and compensation may seem the same.

First, he assumes the apprentice will be basically unskilled, whereas an employee often needs experience to be hired. He expects to spend a substantial amount of time training an apprentice on the job. He will be explaining not only what he wants the apprentice to do, but why it is to be done that way. This training is in practical techniques and in running a business. They learn professional, relational, and sometimes even coping skills from my husband.

As Steve says, “The best training comes as they watch me deal in a godly manner with a foul-mouthed subcontractor, a difficult- to-please customer, or a grumpy inspector.” Apprentices are more involved in the entire process. Where an employee might be sent to work on a simple task, a more profit generating thing, an apprentice would go along to an estimate. In this way he learns all the steps (and pitfalls) of planning and pricing jobs.

We try to pay our apprentices as a reflection of their growing skills. Steve continually expands their knowledge and authority as much as possible. Young men do rise to the challenge. It has been his practice (occasionally when he believes a young man to be almost ready) to give the apprentice complete jurisdiction over a portion of the project. As he allows the young man to “figure things out” on his own, confidence is grown and abilities are stretched to a new level.

This leads to another difference: the goal for apprenticeship. An employee puts in his time, gets his paycheck, and may learn some new skills along the way. Loyalty and longevity are valued by the employer. Apprentices, however, are expected to be trained and then to launch out on their own, beginning their own businesses when they are ready. It may seem that this will provide competition and is something to be avoided. Our experience has been quite the opposite. The apprentices who live nearby and have started their own businesses are an asset, and there is a good working relationship between businesses. It is not unusual to have several similar businesses in one area all thriving. Additionally, if there really would not be room for multiple businesses in the area, an alternate choice would be taking on apprentices who live some distance away.

The greatest difference between apprentices and employees is the depth of relationship that is developed between the “master” (and his family) and the apprentice. Our apprentices watch us in daily family life. Several have lived in our home part- or full-time. They know our flaws, our weakness, and our children’s weaknesses. They watch our reactions to problems. They learn how we handle stress. They see what our family life is really like. We joke and tease with our apprentices. We have inside jokes. Two of our former apprentices number among our dearest friends. Tim, in the story above, even asked my husband to be his best man at his wedding.

The strength of this relationship calls for a caution. Often, for a homeschooled young man, the “master” (for lack of a better term) will be the first extra-parental authority figure with whom he has to contend. The “master” must emphasize respect for the apprentice’s parental authority. Reinforce what is taught and expected in the home, even if you do not completely agree with it. You may hold the keys to nudging a son into rebellion, which would indeed be unfortunate. It follows that the more involved your internship is, the more likeminded the families involved must be.

Apprenticeship need not be limited to manual labor. Traditional “blue collar” work is an obvious choice for possibilities. But there are many professions where apprenticeship can work. The pastorate provides an example. Imagine a young man coming under the tutelage of a seasoned pastor, learning both the scriptures and the practical aspects of shepherding a flock. In other “white collar” professions such as engineering, architecture, retail or restaurant business, sales, etc., it could be combined with college courses at traditional institutions, community college, or online classes. With some creativity, medical and law professions, particularly for those in private practice, could be accomplished in this manner. Apprenticeship in one field could be accomplished during the traditional high school years and provide a profession with which money could be earned while going to college for another vocation. Young men have worked in construction or plumbing, and they have owned their own cleaning or lawn care businesses while financing their college and avoid the pitfall of taking on debt. Even non-traditional work could be apprenticed. A young lady desiring to be a wife and mother of a large family, but not currently in that type of home, could even “apprentice” with a mother of such a family, learning the ins and outs of day-to-day homemaking in a homeschooling, large family. [Note to editor: With eight (Lord willing, soon to be nine) children thirteen years old and under - seven of whom are boys - I am currently taking applications for such a position.]

Finding apprenticeship opportunities for a son might be a challenge. The first logical place to begin your search is with your church family. Make your wishes known and be willing to meet with friends of friends and clearly explain your desires and goals. Another idea is to attend meetings and conferences where you will be likely to meet other homeschool families for which this idea might not seem so far-fetched. We have not found it difficult to find apprentices, locally or from some distance. Look for young men with a good work ethic and a teachable spirit. We have found it very gratifying to be a part of young men’s lives at a time when they are transitioning from childhood to adulthood. We have enjoyed watching as these young men make the decisions about what they want to do, who they want to marry, where they will live, and what type of lifestyle they will pursue.

The apprenticeship opportunities, in which we have participated, have had an additional benefit: we “practiced” on other young men. Now that our oldest son is old enough to complete most of his studies independently, he is able to accompany my husband to work most days. A block of time is given during the day for study while the remaining time he watches, helps, and learns. Even if God does not call our sons to full-time construction work, the skills learned will be valuable in supporting himself, working on his own home, and providing him with options should his primary vocation not provide the level of income needed for his family. Most importantly, it provides our son the opportunity to spend substantial amounts of time with his father and other godly men which is, of course, how a young man learns to be a man.

©2009 Homeschooling Today magazine, Nehemiah Four, LLC