Iron sharpens Iron but you have to have a clue

 

I do not have a very good Idea how it came to pass that I would go to Benson High School. Benson Polytechnic High School was what would now be called a Magnet School . It drew on students from all over the Portland Metropolitan area . Its focus was on an Industrial Arts and Science curriculum .

The School was located in SE Portland, near a newly opened Mall ( the Lloyd Center ) which was billed as the largest Mall in the Northwest . The Lloyd Center was opened August 1st and I entered Benson High School the day after Labor day in September 1960.

Looking back through my life I can easily see the reason and the good that came out of almost all of my life experiences ..Benson is the exception . If I could relive any part of my life it would have been the two years I spent at the school .

I suspect my parents encouraged me to go to Benson because of my interest in Science , and knowing my own personality I must have at least been neutral about the idea . In other words I am not going to lay the blame on Benson years on my parents . But I would have still liked to have those years back .

You had to apply to go to Benson so there was some prestige in being accepted . But that did not last long . I am guessing that in 1960 about 500 of us entered as Freshmen . At least half of the students at Benson were black . This was my first experience with people of color and the first thing I noticed is that they weren't really black I also noticed they were as complex and diverse as those of us who had been inappropriately call white kids .

Classes were hard . Writting ( english ) , Social studies , Math , Science ( we could choose which discipline ) , PE / Health , And Shop ( Shop was Two periods ) . English , Social Studies , and Science were fairly good to me ..PE was indifferent , and Math and Shop were where I failed the most spectacularly . MY Math teachers insisted I not only get the math Problems right , but tht I showed them how I got the problems right ...I insisted that the only thing important was the right answer ...in a struggle for class domination between my Teachers and myself ..the Teachers seemed to have the upper hand . Shop was ...Horrid . During the two years I was at Benson I was enrolled i 6 different Shop classes ; They were : Machine Shop , Auto Shop , Electrical Shop , Areonautics Shop , Sheet Metal and Welding . Each shop class was basically the same , you given an assignment to complete by the end of the Term . Each assignment was a series of tasks bringing you to the competed task .

 

  For instance in Machine shop we were to turn a Piece of steel that was 2 inchs in diameter and 8 inchs long into an impressive work of art . IN order to do that we first needed to build our own tool to make the changes in the Metal Cylinder ...To demonstrate how easy this was our instructor would grab a piece of tool steel , put his goggles over his eyes approach a Grinder and then in just a few minutes would grind the tip of the steel into an impressive looking point . He would then take the tools steel with its point , place it in a vise and with the Cylinder attached to a Lathe then in a matter of a few more moments turn the steel rod into a beautiful shinny expertly crafted something . All this was demonstrated to us in a matter of a few minutes. I was impressed with my Instructors skill and I also found myself wondering OK ? what will we do for the rest of the term ?

Before we began we went to the Student Supply Depot where we were given: 1: An Apron 2: Gloves 3: Goggles 4: Four little bars of tool steel 5: One large Steel Cylinder 6: a Padlock .

We were given A locker and were told that if we needed to replace any of the items we were given we could but there was a cost involved .

At first I thought the 4 bars of tool steel were really generous ....but