Adulting 101 –

Perhaps you have heard the saying, “measure twice, cut once.”  This is a phrase I use all the time in a scene shop.  However, I am finding more and more students “come close” and yet, “close” is not really good enough.  It is just guessing.  The consequence of “guessing” is wasted material… and money…  You cut wood improperly and a piece is ruined.  It’s faster to double-check than to make a mistake.

I am happy to report that measuring and reading a ruler using whole inches is a solid skill among most of the teenagers I encounter.  Most are even competent using quarters, halves, and three-fourths on a measuring tool.  However, the majority have forgotten what they learned in grade school about how to read eighths and sixteenths on a ruler or a tape measure.

Now the the kids I work with don’t see this as a problem.  They think…