The Hechinger Report- Katy Reckdahl
“NEW ORLEANS — A decade before he walked through the door of the Work & Learn program in New Orleans, Deshon Leggett, 16, knew the kind of work that excited him. When he was about 6, he began looking through his uncle’s toolbox whenever his bicycle pedals came loose or its chain popped off. At first, Leggett made repairs through a trial-and-error process. It grew into the skill that defines him: “I like fixing on stuff,” he says. Soon after mastering the repair of his bicycle, Leggett was tapped as the family repairman. “If my little brothers had a flat, I’d take the tire off and patch it,” he said. Now, whenever his uncle tunes up a car, Leggett is the nephew who stands next to him, handing him tools and observing.”(more)