I support this petition. With tough economic times looming, it is especially important for students to learn practical trades that can be used as a means of financial support in an uncertain job market. Tom Cook provided some fond memories during my time at Cornell. The value of these courses is far greater in my opinion than itwould be for storage space. Ezra Cornell founded the university on the idea that students could find instruction in any study. Please refer to the vision of Ezra Cornell and not to the agenda of the "necessary requirement of our faculty."
The principles and techniques I learned in Professor Cook's class are proving to be as valuable as any business or animal science course I took at Cornell. Taking these courses out is a step backwards for Cornell. Without hands on courses like these you might as well go to Harvard.
I support this petition. How can woodworking be obsolete? Woodworking involves mathematics and problem-solving skills. It provides a creative outlet and acts as a stress-reliever for many students. Also, woodworking has been featured in many major TV shows recently.
I support this petition 100%. What sets Cornellians apart from the rest is their sense of true practicality and hands-on experience. What a great loss this would be for future engineers, architects, designers, hotel developers, restaurateurs...
If you can justify all the different PE classes you have (such as 3 different yoga classes, not to mention all the others listed under "Personal Growth") then you can easily justify keeping Wood and Metalworking classes. I strongly support this petition.
In a University enviroment where so much time is spent on numbers and letters, and where so many students can become one-dimensional in their focus on academics, it is critically important to provide this kind of instruction. Wood Construction was not required to fulfill my major, but it has had a tremendous positive impact on my life. Woodworking and historical restoration are not only important hobbies for me, they have improved my quality of life drastically by giving me the ability to restore my own home and build real wealth through "sweat equity." These classes provide balance and well-roundedness in the very same way that Wines and Culinary arts do for non-majors. It would be a terrible shame to lose these classes, and especially to lose an outstanding instructor like Tom Cook. Tom made these courses incredibly enjoyable while also holding the curriculum to the very same elevated standards one would expect at Cornell. The Wood Construction course was infinitely more than just "shop class," and I sincerely hope the University will reconsider this terrible decision.
I have taken 2 of the 3 courses taught by Tom and I must say that he is a PHENOMENAL instructor. My experience was INVALUABLE not only because I acquired some very fundamental skills but also because every job I have considered since I graduated has REQUIRED those skills. I think it would be a great loss to current and future students to be deprived of these courses; I sincerely hope the department will reconsider its decision to cancel these courses.
I support this petition. Tom Cook is an excellent instructor and I thoroughly enjoyed taking Principles of Wood Construction in the fall of 1999. I echo the sentiments of many other commenters here who found the hands-on aspect of Tom's courses to be one of the high points of their Cornell experience. Indeed, while my diploma languishes in an envelope in a closet, the coffee table I built under Tom's supervision is still in daily use in my living room.
I support this petition.
In addition, Tom's class was one of the most useful and enjoyable experiences I had at Cornell. I enrolled in the wood working class, as many other students did, out of interest and not academic requirement. I would argue that the class could continue to have the requisite amount of enrollment with no curriculum based attendance and that perhaps a compromise on the allowed space could be reached. The rooms, after all, are in the bowels of Riley-Robb. I feel removing the classes would remove part of the roots of BEE and would represent an unacceptable lapse in judgment.
It would be a tragedy to lose these valuable courses at Cornell. I took the introductory metalworking class about 5 years ago as an elective, and really valued my experience. This is something a lot of women especially may not get a chance to do again, and I thought the class was very empowering. I learned a lot and Tom is a great teacher, always giving help when necessary. We have a lot of great alumni who I bet would be willing to fund an improvement in this area. I believe it is in the spirit of CALS to keep this course and support well rounded students.
Both of my elder brother have taken Tom Cook's classes. They enjoyed them and learned very practical skills. I look forward to taking these classes in the next few years while I am at Cornell. I think that Cornell and colleges in general need to have more practical skills classes like these.
I support this petition.
Tom provides an extremely practical class in a world of education which dwells too much on theory to the detriment of its students. You can't take shelter under a diploma, but Tom gives you the skills that allow you to be self reliant and a productive member of society. Viva the Shop!
As a medical student, future physician and home-owner, the woods and metals classes that a took (as a Cornell English major!) were among the most valuable and memorable of my classes. Getting rid of these courses would be a huge mistake, especially considering their practical value to Ag. students.
I support this petition. The classes I took with Tom Cook were some of the most memorable learning experiences I had at Cornell. To discontinue this course would greatly hurt the experience of current and future students.
I support this petition. These two course were, by far, the two most practical courses I took at Cornell. More courses should be created at Cornell using this hands on experiential learning method, not terminated.
This would be a terrible mistake on your behalf to cancel these courses. I have taken both of these courses and both classes were filled with students eager and ready to learn these arts. The material is interesting, challenging and practical. I cannot think of a better combination of course work. 'Any person, any study'
I support this petition. BEE Wood and metal courses were a major part of my Landscape architecture education and have been invauble in my professional life.
These courses were key for my education in Engineering. Understanding the basics of tooling and welding greatly eased my experience with design for production while both in school on the HEV team and as a TA for MAE 225 as well as professionally in the workspace. While I have now moved into organizational consulting in the Facilities Management space, being able to connect at a basic level with mechanics and technicians has been integral to earning their trust and getting the valuable information necesary to deliver real value to the management organization. Please save the shop classes or at least a portion of it so that future students who did not have experience with more vocational competencies can get a taste of that world that the engineering school does offer nearly as much as it should.
I support this petition! Even though the course was not required by my major (Plant Sciences) I gained a lot of very practical and useful knowledge from this course. This knowledge was useful to me in my current pursuit of a masters degree in horticulture. Please reconsider eliminating these valuable courses. Thank you.
I support this petition. I took Mr. cook's class back in the fall of 1988. He taught me the basics of welding and gave me the confidence to pass these skills on to my Ag. Class at Edwards-Knox. I believe these classes to be essential, if Cornell still entends to educate Agriculture teachers or is this the next program on the block's... Concerned alumus and big supporter of the few remaining hands-on classes left at Cornell. Glenn Bullock Class 1989
I support this petition. The class sucked while I was taking it, but at the end of the day, I'm very proud of myself for diversifying and trying new things. This class made me feel like I got the full college experience.
As a 2002 BEE program graduate, I support this petition. I continued my education in a more engineering-focused program and have very much regretted not taking the wood and metal courses. They would have prepared me to better understand mechanical design and tolerance as I designed components with AutoCAD and machined things myself with only minor guidance while pursuing my PhD in Bioengineering. I now realize that removing these courses will forever place Cornell as an inferior engineering institution for BEE students. Many of my colleagues have gone on to do bioinstrumentation or component design where the course experiences would have provided a decided advantage to their careers. I know of the value of the Metal and Wood courses from discussing the content and reviewing the course notes of Cornellians and my husband.
I support this petition. While my degree was in CS, to this day I find the Tom Cook's wood and metal working courses two the most important courses I took while on the hill. Removing these courses will forever scar my memory of Cornell.
I support this petition. I took Tom's wood construction class in 2001, and found it to be extremely valuable professionally. I am now a professional civil engineer and I do some construction management, and I've found Tom's class to be far more useful than my classes on things like differential equations or thermodynamics!
I support this petition. I took woodworking class with tom more than 20 years ago. I thought it was a great class, still using things I learned in this class in our dairy operation. Tom was a great person to learn from, it would be a shame to do away with these classes
I support this petition. Losing this course would be a travesty. Mr. Cook's classes provide Cornell students with a much needed dose of common sense and critical problem solving skills. I value my experience in the metal working lab among the highest of all my time at Cornell.
I have taken both BEE 110 and BEE 310 and I value these courses as some of the best ones I took at Cornell. What other Ivy Leagues teach practical courses like these? Don't take these courses away from future Cornellians, when so many in the past have benefited!
I support this petition. We can't all be executives or "professionals". Some of us have to be the laborers of this country. Some of that labor needs to be highly skilled and where are those people going to get the well-rounded education that they need with the business classes, design classes, and practical knowledge (such as wood and metal working) if not at Cornell?
I support this petition. It appears too much theory coming out of Cornell and not enough application. Recent graduates not adequately prepared for practical, real life applications. These courses not only teach the subject matter but also critical thinking and decision making in the heat of the moment - something no theoretical class can relay.
I support this petition. I cannot disagree more with the plan to terminate the wood and metalworking classes. The metalworking class that I took was one of the most challenging, rewarding, and practical courses offered on this campus.
I support this petition. Losing a teacher like Mr. Cook makes Cornell less special. It's funny because after spending 4 years at Cornell, and being around all these other smart people with no skills, I always thought his courses should be required.
Are you CRAZY!!! Some of the best classes i had at Cornell. Mr. Cook is a great teach, he'll make sure you do the best job you can and then drive you to do better. I apply more of what i learned in those two classes then many others Cornell classes.
KEEP BEE WOOD AND METAL
This is ridiculous. The metal working class was the ONLY useful course I took in my 3.5 years at Cornell (and yes I graduated). At the time I thought it was ridiculous that it wasnt required for the Mechanical Engineering degree. If the problem is that the BEE major no longer requires it, then I have a solution. Require it for Mech-E's!
I whole heartedly support this petition. These two classes impart real life knowledge and hands-on skills that are hard to come by these days. Mr. Cook is an incredible educator and passionate about his job. There is no good reason why these classes should be dropped.
I support this petition. It is extremely important that these courses remain in place at Cornell University. Students benefit immensly from hands-on experience in these fields. Although most Cornellians will not become woodworkers and metal fabricators, it is vitally important for the leaders and innovators of this country and abroad to have an appreciation for skilled labor.
As former student of the Metal Construction Shop, I strogly support this petition. Not only it is a mistake but goes against teaching trends, which more and more rely on shop experiences. After my Grad experience in Cornell we settled in my home University our own shop arq.puc.cl/labprototipos/ which is quickly turning into a backbone of our teaching in Architecture. Do not waste such advantage for Cornell education!
I STRONGLY support this Petition. To get rid of these courses would be a HUGE mistake on the administration's behalf. As a past student of Tom's in both woodshop and metals classes, as well as a volunteer TA, I can say I have seen in myself, and countless other students, the confidence and skill set he offers students to find in themselves is not found anywhere else at Cornell. Let's stop this from happening. If you have the time available, further help Tom and write a letter of support. We all know he would have the time for us.
The elimination of the Wood Contruction and Metal Fabrication courses at Cornell is a huge disservice to past, present, and most importantly, future big red students.
I support this petition because hands-on knowledge is being lost anywhere, and experiential learning is absolutely vital for students of all ages. If we do not experience with more than text what we are learning, then a great deal is lost.
The metal fabrication and wood construction classes that I took with Mr. Cook have proved to be invaluable to me in life and in my career. I support this petition.
I support this petition and find it an insult that a willing and able professor, that teaches a course so loved by his students, is being pushed aside. I have heard several personal accounts. I wish I knew more and was able to make more of an impact, and in an even more informed manner.
I support this petition. My son expressed how much he valued Professor Cook's class from the moment he began it, several years ago. Practical skills and new dimensions of knowledge and confidence were added to his highly theoretical base.
