Ruth Barton wrote:
>Now to my real question. Is anyone here familiar with the MCAA, Mason Contractors Association of America or IMTI, which is a stone masons training institute?
>
Yes.
>If so what can you tell me about these institutions?
>
They do not like to teach anyone that is not going to be in the union.
>Is it really necessary to go to school to learn to be a mason?
>
No, not neccessary... but recommended -- and I will say why here.
I started out in the field as an electrician working for my stepfather.
I was not too good at it. They called me Sparky.
My brother continued and he is now, without going to school very much,
an accomplished electrician and a manager for a solid company.
It took him a long time to get to where he is.
I then went to work, in the field, with a stone mason, an old guy that
taught me how to build fireplaces.
He had been in the union, but kicked out for teaching kids at a juvie
school.
The union really does not like teaching outside of their control... and
mostly it is a control situation more than that they hold "special
knowledge."
Don't expect them to be particularly philanthropic and open hearted. If
they are then look to see what they are holding in their other hand.
So after surviving a year at masonry my stepfather said it must be a
whole lot simpler than electrical work.
Masonry is deceptive... it looks simple to those who look at it from the
outside and yet it is full of complications.
Truth is I found something that I understood and had a feeling for and
therefore it was a whole lot easier for me than electrical work.
But I did not stop with simply having a day job... I snuck off to the
Cornell Univ. architectural library on bad days and read everything I
could find on masonry.
As a resident of the county, at that time, I could sneak into the stacks
and spend hours not being bothered, alone with the books.
I don't imagine that most kids either have such a resource, or would
look for it, or would realize that there is a lot to know besides how to
set a brick.
Educators need to point their students toward resources and
opportunities and the vision needed to sustain ourselves in the trade.
Therefore I think schooling is very important for those starting out in
the masonry trades.
There is way to thinking about masonry that has to do with an intimate
knowlege of the materials. It is like this with any trade, but the core
difference I feel between a mason and a carpenter and a plumber is how
they think with their materials. When a carpenter thinks like a
carpenter thinking about wood and they are working with masonry it
shows. When a mason works with wood there is often nothing left to work
with. I avoid plumbing entirely, though I enjoy working on fountains.
The elegance of masonry is in the realization that you take such a
simple looking thing... a brick... and you then can turn it into an
amazing variation of structures. Keep in mind that every brick that is
set in the world had someone not only make it... but someone for a brief
instant had to think about it when they set it. A brick building is
thousands and thousands of small thoughts. A stone building such as a
cathedral is often very much more thinking.
One of the talks that I like to give starts out, "This is a brick." I
can then talk for an hour or two hours without notes or a whole lot of
prior preparation... depending upon the interest of the audience. Bricks
bring out the ham in me. Most of what I can say about bricks is BS...
the reality of masonry is in the physical motion of working with the
material and there is not a whole lot that the body says... excepting
for the pain. Masonry is a very physical trade, and should be thought of
as applied dance.
One reason to go to school is to practice counting. It helps to be able
to count the bricks that you will need, and match it to the other
materials. Another reason is layout... how to make sure everything is
going where it is supposed to go. Blueprint reading and specification
reading are necessary talents... and you need to be able to read the
information of the other trades as well as your own. It helps to
understand a contract well enough not to get screwed by it. Then there
is the incredible world of variation in masonry that the young student
can be exposed to... a realization that there is a whole world full of
masonry.
Those in the trades who do not support OPEN schooling are usually
invested in lowering the common denominator to a position where they can
manage... the trade needs to be maintained at their level of simplicity
because they never had the vision to reach further and they are
afraid... this is where I tend to see the union. The union is a
response, a reaction to industrialized labor, and as such it is very
appropriate, but within the realm of historic preservation, which is
certainly at the complex end of the spectrum in masonry, the tendency to
supress individual talent and aptitude is an anachronism.
After six years of building stone fireplaces I was told I could join the
union with a wheelbarrow. Other opportunties showed up and I never
looked back. I have fondly enjoyed the times that I have supervised
union stonemasonry crews and each of my friends in the union has my
highest respect for their accomplishments. But they are individuals and
not always did they get along so well with their unions.
You don't get taught a whole lot of head stuff on the job as the need is
for production. Don't talk, work. The tendency is for those who know
that they don't want to teach because the young ones are stronger and
once they know a little bit they set off in their own business and
become competition. I did. For this school is a kinder way to go. If you
only have on-the-job training then the perspective of the trade is
locked down into a very narrow focus of working... and it is not a very
comfortable one for anyone... and there is always a need to match
physical work with vision and imagination. Working during the day and
schooling at night and on weekends I think is best.
][<en
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